Analysis: Formula One Rides its Luck in the Rain

Formula One can count itself lucky even if the world still does not know who won Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

People may question how this technology-obsessed sport, with some of the most sophisticated timing equipment known to man, is unable to figure out who won the race and on what lap it ended.

They may wonder at a podium rewarding one driver whose car had just caught fire, another who was heading for a pitstop and a third taken to hospital after a crash that ended the race prematurely.

But few probably paused to consider just how lucky Formula One was to have remained on the right side of the divide between real entertainment and a real nightmare. Talk of demolition derbies, Formula One scrapyards and Brazilian slide shows masked the fact there were some close calls on Sunday.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso, the man being attended to by doctors as it was announced that he had finished third, may not have considered himself fortunate but others felt he was. The 21-year-old's accident, resulting in a bruised knee when his car shattered after hitting a stray wheel, was one of several that could easily have had a far more serious outcome.

Car Safety

There is little any driver can do other than hope for the best when aquaplaning on a rain-soaked track towards a recovery tractor - as Ferrari's Michael Schumacher did. The five-times World Champion's head could have taken the brunt of the impact had he hit the vehicle rather than smashing backwards into the tyre wall as marshals jumped clear.

It was only after that incident that the safety car came out for the third of five appearances. Car safety has improved significantly since Formula One's last fatality, the death of Brazilian champion Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994, and the strength of modern cars was amply demonstrated on Sunday.

Australian Mark Webber's high-speed crash on the start-finish straight, leaving his Jaguar with just one rear wheel and the front end ripped off, proved the rigidity of the protective tub around the driver.

"That's certainly the biggest crash I've ever had in a Formula One car," said Webber, who needed nothing more than a sticking plaster on his neck.

He expressed concern about turn three, the Curva do Sol where Schumacher went off, where two 'rivers' of water crossed the track. "You're just playing with Russian roulette really through there," he said.

Luck, and lack of it, has marked this year's Championship run under new rules designed to liven up the sport, cut costs and revive waning television viewing figures. There is no doubt that audiences have increased and the racing livened up but the weather has played a big part and so too have circumstances outside a driver's control.

Every race brings a new crop of 'what if' scenarios. Brazilian Rubens Barrichello might have won his home race for the first time had his Ferrari not coasted to a halt while he was leading at Interlagos.

Ferrari blamed a fuel feed problem, others said simply that the car had run out of petrol. Briton David Coulthard, who also led the race, might have won had he not had to make a pitstop shortly before the red flags came out.

He might have won also in Malaysia had a spark plug been properly connected - he did win in Australia as his luck came good and Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya spun out while leading. Schumacher's luck has finally turned after he won 11 races last year. It could well change back when he returns to Ferrari's home track at Imola next week, but of course there are no guarantees.

Juan Manuel Fangio, the late Argentine champion whose five titles the German equalled last year, never took anything for granted.

"Seventy five percent of it is the car and the team around it," he said when asked as an old man what had been the secret of his success. "Only 25 percent is the driver and much of that is to do with luck."