The San Marino Grand Prix confirmed a lot of things: it proved that Michael Schumacher is perhaps even more heroic now than he ever was; it proved that Ferrari are still a force to be reckoned with; and it proved that without the unpredictable consequences of inclement weather, F1's new rules have not changed the sport in the manner desired.
It was perhaps inevitable that honeymoon period would end. The coverage surrounding F1 as it entered the Imola race had reached an almighty crescendo that was almost begging to collapse. There was the quandary of whether Ferrari and Schumacher would ever return to former glories, the emergence of Iceman Raikkonen, the tumultuous races in Melbourne and Interlagos, the misfortune of Williams and the emergence of Renault. Everything that F1 wanted had returned and newspapers and television stations that had previously had been devoting little time to the sport last year were falling over themselves to cover Schumacher and co. But that all ended at Imola.
F1 will still enjoy extensive coverage after San Marino as correspondents trot out story after story about the heroism of the Schumacher brothers, and no doubt begin once again to question Michael's future beyond 2003. But this aside, the race was dull and lacking in anything resembling the furious excitement that characterised previous rounds. It proved that with stable weather all weekend and no sudden downpours of Biblical proportions, the new rules cannot mask F1's inherent weaknesses.
All afternoon the cars ran nose to tail; closing up then falling away again, afflicted by understeer. Commentators were back in the old routine, trading theories on fuel strategies and getting flustered at the excitement of Schumacher's pit-stop being a couple of tens faster than Raikkonen's in their battle for victory. Once again, this was not real motor racing and it proved that MOTORSPORTFORUM was right to proclaim Melbourne a false dawn for F1.
Imola illustrated perfectly F1's failings that remain despite recent rule changes: aerodynamics make passing very difficult; refuelling allows teams to run radically different strategies masking their true speed; small teams cannot compete on a level playing field; and the lack of a parity between tyre manufacturers makes direct comparisons of teams impossible. Without inclement weather at every round of the championship, these problems will remain and the new rules will have no impact on them at all. In simple terms, little has changed that would not have changed naturally, McLaren's improved performance being a prime example.
Worse still the new points system appears set to backfire. It is not inconceivable, if the new McLaren MP4-18 is super quick and reliable, that Kimi Raikkonen could run away with the 2003 championship in the manner the new points system was intended to prevent. It is then a moot point whether victory by the Iceman would capture the imagination of the sport's fans or not: a new heir apparent, a challenge to the old guard? But to all intents and purposes it is going to be the outcome F1 wants to avoid: one car (albeit without the help of his team-mate) running away with the championship.
MOTORSPORTFORUM suggested that the 2003 rule changes would do little to change the core problems facing F1. If Imola is indicative of future races, the sport could well see itself cobbling together another set of radical rule changes over the next winter break. Let us hope that those changes start to tackle to core issues in the sport so that we do not ever have to rely on cosmetic 'showbiz' changes again.
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