As of tomorrow, the European part of the 2013 Formula 1 season will have started in Barcelona. Unfortunately, the Spanish Grand Prix has a reputation for not holding the most exciting or mesmerising of races, but when it does, it does so in style.
We at Auto123.com have gone through the history books to discover one of Barcelona's most scintillating races; the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix.
The 1996 Spanish Grand Prix, despite not being one of the most action packed races ever seen in Barcelona, was one of the most spellbinding with Michael Schumacher guiding an unfancied Ferrari to take the first win of his career with the team in treacherous conditions.
Not only was the Spanish race special for Michael as it was his first victory in red, but the way he did it was one of the reasons why he was dubbed the rain-master.
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| Photo: WRi2 |
After finishing the warm up some 0.86 seconds from the quickest time set by Damon Hill in the Williams Renault, Schumacher gambled with a two-stop strategy and a full wet setup on light tanks.
The start of the race almost didn't happen for Schumacher, with the Ferrari almost stalling on the grid and dropping to ninth. Meanwhile, Jacques Villeneuve had jumped his Williams teammate Damon Hill to lead into the first corner ahead of Jean Alesi's Benetton.
However, the full wet setup seemed to benefit the Ferrari in the worsening on-track conditions, as Schumacher had managed to recover to sixth by the end of the first lap.
Schumacher's progress, whilst undoubtedly helped by the strategy and setup, thereafter was scintillating; the then-double world champion was managing to find lines that shouldn't have been there, straying off of the rubber laden racing line to find grip on the wetter extremities of the tarmac, which given the wet tyres on the car, gave him a grip advantage.
After taking advantage of Eddie Irvine's spin and Damon Hill's off-track excursion, the Ferrari was up to fourth a few laps later, and by lap five, he'd passed Gerhard Berger's Benetton for third. By now, Schumacher was lapping two seconds a lap faster than anyone else, and had closed to within six seconds of the race lead. The following lap, he went quicker again and was lapping 3.7s than race leaders Jacques Villeneuve and Jean Alesi.
On lap nine, the Ferrari swept around the outside of the fourth gear Renault right hander to take Alesi for second after braking late and putting the nose of the Ferrari into such a position, that the Benetton driver simply had to get out of the way. Three laps later, Schumacher put the same move on Villeneuve to take the lead of the race and come the end of the lap, had pulled three seconds clear.
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| Photo: WRi2 |
Fast-forward to lap 14. Schumacher once again records the fastest lap, some four seconds quicker than Villeneuve. After his 12 laps in the lead, the Ferrari driver had consolidated a jaw-dropping 40 second lead by the time of his first stop on lap 24, giving him around 20 seconds in pocket when he emerged from the pits.
Before his second and final stop on lap 42, Schumacher had by one point, extended his advantage at the head of the field to a staggering lead of a minute and a half; a 90 second lead in a car that was far from the class of the field.
On lap 65, Schumacher crossed the line to take the emphatic first win of his Ferrari career by a huge 45 seconds in a race marked by six finishers due to the appalling conditions.
The win was made even more incredible by the fact that the Ferrari finished the race at all; on lap 33 the F310 lost a cylinder - despite rectifying itself later in the race - and also suffered a cracked exhaust.
"It [the exhaust problem] started on lap 33," said Schumacher after the race. "I thought I was running on eight or nine cylinders. I guessed it was probably caused by the water, but I was worried.”
"I wouldn't have bet a penny on myself winning this race," he continued. "In Brazil the car didn't handle and it hadn't felt good in the wet warm-up at Monaco.
“I've no explanation other than that it is very sensitive to the circuit.
“Here, we hadn't been competitive in the dry, but suddenly, in the wet warm-up, it felt great. We made a few more changes afterwards and it was perfect."
And on that wet day in Barcelona 17 years ago, with the right setup on a car which was far from the class of the field, Michael Schumacher was just that; perfect.
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