Alternate F1 2001 Storyline

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good_Ralf
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Joined: 06 Jun 2013, 13:14
Location: Hitchin, UK

Alternate F1 2001 Storyline

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For some reason, Ferrari, McLaren and Williams are excluded from the championship. Moderators can merge this with the Alternate F1 2001 thread if they wish.

Australia

Jordan had the most competitive car in qualifying, with Frentzen and Trulli locking out row 1. Honda power also ruled row 2, with the BARs of Villeneuve and Panis in 3rd and 4th respectively.
But in the race everything collapsed for the Jordans and BARs, as one by one, they hit problems. Frentzen led initially but then spun off on lap 3, rejoining P10. Trulli was the new leader. On lap 5, Villeneuve scarily flipped his BAR, a loose tragically killing marshall Graham Beveridge. RIP Graham. The SC came out and stayed on the track until the end of lap 15. Through all this, Panis was 2nd and Heidfeld was 3rd by lap 14, when Verstappen pitted for Arrows.
Trulli still led, but after his lap 32 stop, he suffered engine problems and retired from the lead. From there, Panis held P1 to the flag. But after the race, Olly was handed a 25-second time penalty for overtaking debutant Kimi Raikkonen under yellow flags. From P5 on the grid, new Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld was awarded victory from a recovering Frentzen and rookie teammate Raikkonen, who scored a maiden podium.

1) Heidfeld
2) Frentzen
3) Raikkonen
4) Panis
5) Burti
6) Alesi

Malaysia

Once again, Honda filled the front 2 rows, but this time Villeneuve qualified P2 behind Trulli, Frentzen P3 and Panis P4. Nick Heidfeld was P5 again.
Behind Trulli, a chaotic first corner saw Irvine spin and Verstappen fly from P12, to a remarkable P3! And if that wasn't mad enough, it started to rain! The eventual deluge caught many drivers out, including Melbourne winner Heidfeld and Villeneuve, P4 when he spun off. The SC was deployed again.
The wet weather put Frentzen into the lead from Verstappen, Trulli down to 3rd. At the restart, Verstappen passed Frentzen to take the lead. But the Dutchman's two-stop strategy, against the Jordan's one, put Jos at a disadvantage and he was beaten into P2. Alesi came P4, Jaguar's Burti P5 and Benetton's Button claimed the struggling team's first 2001 points with 6th.

1) Frentzen
2) Verstappen
3) Trulli
4) Alesi
5) Burti
6) Button

Brazil

The Jordans were 1-2 on Saturday again, but this time the Saubers were 3-4 and the BARs 5-6.
For the majority of the race, the Jordans were the dominant force, the only threat coming from the two-stopping Panis. From 5th on the grid and 8th after lap 1, Olivier surged through the field with some clinical passing moves, such that by lap 21 he had overtaken both Jordans for the lead. His first stop dropped him to 5th. But, for the second race running, the weather caused some great changes.
Panis led the race when it rained around lap 45, but he was badly delayed at his next stop but a troubled Villeneuve and was a disastrous P8. The Jordans still led, but as in Melbourne, they failed to capitalize on their superior pace. Trulli was left on monsoon wets, while the conditions were only severe enough for intermediates. He fell back, losing P2 to Heidfeld on lap 60. Just 4 laps later, Frentzen had an engine fault and dropped out. Panis eventually finished P2 after passing Trulli late on. But the star was Heidfeld who won again, this time on merit. Prost were disappointed with their race, with Alesi 4th but losing it to Fisichella and then Villeneuve.

1) Heidfeld
2) Panis
3) Trulli
4) Fisichella
5) Villeneuve
6) Alesi

San Marino

Trulli scored a 3rd consecutive pole, Panis alongside him.
From there, the front two led the race from the fast starting Raikkonen, but a steering failure pitched Kimi into the barriers on lap 18. Panis had troubles at his stops, so he dropped way back. On a heavy fuel load, Villeneuve led before what would most likely become his only pit stop, but an engine failure ended Jacques' chances of a sure podium finish. After 4 races, he had just 2 points and was left 10th in the championship. After a poor start, Frentzen came back to 2nd, making it a Jordan 1-2. Now Heinz-Harald was just 2 points off Heidfeld in the battle for the title, although the Sauber driver scored another podium. As for Trulli, it was his first 'win' of 2001 and for Enrique Bernoldi, his first F1 point with P6.

1) Trulli
2) Frentzen
3) Heidfeld
4) Panis
5) Alesi
6) Bernoldi

Standings after 4 rounds

1) Heidfeld - 24
2) Frentzen - 22
3) Trulli - 18
4) Panis - 12
5) Alesi - 7
6) Verstappen - 6
Check out the position of the sun on 2 August at 20:08 in my garden

Allard Kalff in 1994 wrote:OH!! Schumacher in the wall! Right in front of us, Michael Schumacher is in the wall! He's hit the pitwall, he c... Ah, it's Jos Verstappen.
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