Читать книгу Ferrari: The Passion and the Pain - Jane Nottage - Страница 17

SCHUMACHER WAS IN A CLASS OF HIS OWN

To say it rains in Spain is like saying it snows in Switzerland. There is normal rain, and then there is Spanish rain which falls in torrents. King Juan Carlos turned up for the race and Schumacher took him for a spin round the track, pointing out the dangers of driving in the wet! From third position on the grid, Schumacher made a poor start (because of a temperamental clutch) and was briefly down to sixth before overtaking the hapless Hill, who’s race was about to end.

Then Schumacher took on Berger and Alesi. By the 12th lap, he had left the others behind, was out in front and in a class of his own. He pulled away from the others at a rate of four seconds a lap. It was awesome to see and put Schumacher firmly up there with the all-time greats. The most recent comparison had been Senna’s remarkable drive at the European Grand Prix at Donington in 1993.

Team-mate Eddie Irvine qualified sixth, but spun out of the race after one lap. It was a shame because Ferrari had clearly got the set-up and race strategy perfect and could have had a one–two finish.

Edward Asprey will never forget it as, by chance, nearly all of the Asprey hierarchy were at the race. ‘It was a simply staggering drive by Schumacher, we were all stunned by the drama. We had never expected to witness such sheer talent and guts at such close quarters. It was indisputable proof of Schumacher’s greatness. He just left everyone else standing. It was as though the rain didn’t exist. We celebrated with a serious bottle of champagne on the way back.’

As Schumacher took the chequered flag, the Ferrari garage became the scene of a kind of rain dance as the team members celebrated their joy. For Ignazio Lunetta, there was the promise of a brand new Vespa from Ferrari Chairman, Luca di Montezemolo to celebrate the victory; for Giorgio Ascanelli there was the great satisfaction of knowing that the race strategy of two pit stops had worked to perfection.

Montezemolo was overjoyed, Todt relieved and happy. The media started to talk about World Championships. It was a good job no one could look into the future. Spain was a high that would be remembered fondly as the team’s fortunes took a dive in the next two months. There were still problems to sort out; a new higher nose for the Canadian Grand Prix; a clutch that wasn’t so difficult to use, and other small modifications to improve the aerodynamics.

On their own these were problems that could easily be sorted out, but combined they were about to become overwhelming and put the team under the kind of pressure that, in the past, had blown it apart.