Cooper Straight

Of course, there's a lot of 'ifs' involved in that proposition. And the fact that Michael has only triumphed at Silverstone and Hockenheim one time apiece suggests that it's a long shot. But the very fact that it can happen is remarkable, and will lend an extra edge to this weekend's proceedings.

If he does it, Michael won't be the first man to be champion with five races still to run, for Nigel Mansell managed that feat when he took the title in Hungary in August 1992. Everyone knows how lucky we've been with last round showdowns since Michael picked up his first title in Australia in 1994. But the surprising thing is that Mansell apart, you have to go way back to 1971 and Jackie Stewart to find the last time a driver secured the World Championship with three races to go, never mind five.

In 1992, the destination of the title was clear from the first couple of races of the season. On paper, with six wins and three seconds from 10 starts, this season also looks like a walkover for Michael. The irony is that the championship has been far more open than the statistics suggest. As recently as Austria, Michael was only four points clear of Coulthard, and over the past few races we've had arguably the most competitive situation we've seen for some years, with Ferrari, Williams and McLaren all in the picture.

And yet Michael keeps winning. In the end, it comes down to getting it right - something that the main opposition hasn't done. Driver errors have blown apart some potentially great battles. Schumacher hasn't slid too long when stopping in the pits, he hasn't selected first gear when the mechanics are still fitting the tyres, he hasn't crossed the white line on the exit - all small but costly sins committed by his brother in the last two races. And nor has he broken the speed limit by being a little too eager on the limiter button, as Coulthard was in France. You don't win 50 races simply by being quick...

The team has also been on the case. Ferrari has managed to squeeze its two biggest errors into one race, when a poor tyre choice and a terminal brake problem thwarted Michael in Imola. On other occasions things haven't been perfect, but one way or another the luck fell Michael's way. The team had a strange set-up problem in the wet in Brazil, but he still salvaged second. He had a tyre vibration in Spain, but recovered victory on the last lap. The launch control had a glitch at the start in Austria, but again second was recovered. Most importantly, he has found the best compromise between making the tyres work in qualifying and over a race distance.

This year's championship might not have a thrilling climax, but perhaps the fun is going to come from seeing if Michael can really blitz the record books. Four wins in the last seven races will give him a new record of 10 in a season, beating the nine set by Mansell in '92 and Michael himself in '95 and '00. He's currently on 78 points, and thus he could well break the season record of 108 set by Nigel in 1992 and equalled by Michael last year. A total of 121 or more by Suzuka will put him above Alain Prost in the all-time points list on 799. And so it goes on...

One wonders where he'd be now if he hadn't broken his leg at Silverstone and lost the 1999 title. But the really intriguing thing is that Michael has committed to another three years at Ferrari. Where on earth might he leave the points and win totals by 2004? Can he break Fangio's record with a sixth championship?

Whatever marks he leaves will not even be approached for over a decade, and it won't be by a currently established driver. At 26, even Ralf has missed the boat; his frontline career won't be long enough. So it will have to be someone of the Button/Raikkonen generation, or even a 13-year-old who is currently racing karts...

The one thing which always seemed likely to frustrate even Michael is Ayrton Senna's record of 65 poles. Or at least it did a couple of years ago. Until last season Michael's qualifying strike rate was pretty average compared to his race results. Even in those Benetton championship years of 1994-95, he took a total of only 10 in 31 races, and the first four years at Ferrari brought just 13 poles. That has to be a reflection not of any weakness in his driving, but of the fact that for so long he simply didn't have the best car in the pitlane.

It all changed last year when he clocked up nine, and he's had seven more so far this season. His total now stands at 39, and thus he needs 27 to beat Senna before the end of 2004. Say three more this year, and then eight a season for three years. It won't be easy, but I wouldn't bet against it...

Ross Brawn is adamant that Michael has not hit his peak yet, and the qualifying results bear that out. Traditionally someone of his age and experience eventually loses that slightest edge in qualifying, but makes up for it with a canny performance on Sunday. The pole record suggests that Michael is quicker than ever. And with due respect to Rubens, there's no sign yet of a young team mate who can do what Prost did to Lauda, or Senna did to Prost...

If he can't win the title at Hockenheim, let's hope he doesn't make it in Hungary. Monza might get the emotional vote, but I would like to see him do it in Spa, on the 10th anniversary of that famous Grand prix debut, and at the track where he has so often performed miracles. The perfect time and place.



When like me you're lucky enough to see Grand Prix cars in action once a fortnight, you tend to get a little blasé about it. But there was something special about Goodwood last weekend.

The paddock resembled the one I'd left at Magny-Cours a few days earlier. No fewer than seven teams were represented, and while Benetton wasn't actually running, and Minardi had only its two-seater, Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, Jaguar and BAR turned out with pukka machinery, and the Jag was even this year's car. It was an impressive effort by all concerned, especially when you consider the logistical problems.

There might not have been a clashing Grand Prix, but testing at Monza, Barcelona and Fiorano ran on until Friday and accounted for drivers, test team mechanics and sundry equipment. An Italian air traffic control strike on Friday didn't help matters.

But come Saturday everyone was present and correct, and just after lunch Juan Pablo Montoya, Pedro de la Rosa, Alex Wurz, Luca Badoer, Darren Manning and Formula 3000 driver Andrea Piccini (in the Minardi) picked their way through the crowded paddock and made their way down the hill to the start.

Already waiting there were a bunch of classic racing motorcycles, but it was decided to send the F1 cars first, and it was almost a surreal sight as they threaded their way past the bikes and set off on their runs. I was standing with the punters just past the first corner, and there was a real buzz in the air.

We tend to take Goodwood for granted, so successful has it been. But let's put this into perspective. Six F1 teams sending cars, in the middle of the season, to a hillclimb in front of an English stately home? Full marks to the teams (and drivers) for making the effort. Just a shame that Jenson Button had to drive a Clio...

But the F1 car I most enjoyed seeing was James Hunt's Zandvoort-winning Hesketh. It looked immaculate, just like the Corgi toy, and even better it had the right helmet on board. David Hunt had gone to the trouble of getting a replica made in his brother's Wellington School colours (safety rules would not allow him to wear an original), and he'd also been able to borrow some pukka Hesketh team jackets. While I was talking to him a fellow from Canada came up and said he owned the original Hesketh race suit, complete with legendary 'Sex; breakfast of champions' badge, but I doubt that the scrutineers would have let David use them...

I first met the younger Hunt in 1979, when I was 14. At the time I was neglecting my homework to work as a 'gopher' for a local guy called Adrian Russell, who raced an F2 March in the Aurora series and the odd European round. The team consisted of about three of us (my contribution extended only to polishing wheels and moral support), and when Adrian advertised in Autosport for a junior mechanic, Hunt Jr, who lived nearby, got what was his first job in motor racing.

To my frustration he always deftly fielded my questions about James, who was of course my hero, and at that time was still racing for Wolf. David had ambitions of being a driver himself one day, and clearly wanted to forget about his famous brother and do his own thing. At Goodwood it was good to see what lengths he was now prepared to go to honour his affection and respect for James. And he hadn't sat in a racing car for 11 years...



Amongst all the old stuff, the third-placed Le Mans Bentley was one of the most up-to-date racing cars at the Festival of Speed. Team boss Richard Lloyd had managed to leave it in exactly the same state that it finished the race, covered with the muck and grime of the gruelling event. This gave the Goodwood spectators at least some idea of that special end-of-race atmosphere you get only at Le Mans.

And believe me, it was special. Because of clashes with Canada I hadn't been to the race since McLaren's victory in 1995, but this one took me back a few more years than that. There was always something memorable about the TWR Jaguar years (1986-'91, plus a one-off with the XJ220C in 1993), and at their first attempt Bentley and to a degree MG had recaptured the magical atmosphere that those races enjoyed.

You have to be there to fully appreciate the goodwill generated by the punters when a legendary British marque is racing. Win, lose or draw, the emotion reaches a peak in the last hour, when every lap by the favoured car gets a huge cheer. Almost within sight of the flag Andy Wallace had to take a four-minute stop and go penalty, and it seemed to drag on forever. By the end the entire crowd opposite the pits was jeering the poor official with the stopwatch, who must have felt like a visiting player taking a crucial penalty at Old Trafford...

Any questions about the national make-up of the crowd were answered by Radio Le Mans, the superb English commentary service. With half an hour to go their guy in the pitlane attempted to create a Mexican wave at the Ford Chicane, and send it through the main stands and up to the Dunlop Curve. The reaction after his countdown was phenomenal; the wave did indeed take off, and its sustained strength indicated that 75 percent of the crowd were tuned in on their headphones, and were therefore Brits. Superb.

Memories of the Jag days were bolstered by the presence in the Bentley team of not only Wallace and Martin Brundle, but also engineers Eddie Hinckley and Alistair McQueen, familiar faces from the old Silk Cut operation. Both admitted to a feeling of déjà vu - something they didn't experience when TWR was running Nissans, for example...

"I think we exceeded expectations here, so it's at least as good as a win, possibly better," said Alistair at Bentley's post-race party. "With the heritage of Bentley behind it, it's quite fabulous. It's British fans rooting for a British team. There's something very special about it..."

Also in the Bentley camp was a familiar F1 face in the shape of James Robinson. At one time Senna's engineer at McLaren, Robinson was a key figure at Williams for the past few years before joining BAR this season. He was last involved at Le Mans with McLaren in 1995, but as the owner of a vintage Bentley, he could not resist the challenge of getting involved in the new project. BAR gave him dispensation to 'moonlight' in his spare time. He was impressed by the quality of the cars in modern prototype racing.

"I think this category is getting stronger, and I hope it can grow and go forward," said James. "The level of the engineering is very good, but obviously the budgets make the difference. The F1 teams have got the back-up of the $100m that goes with it. Here obviously we're restricted. But the joy of Le Mans is that it's a lot more hands-on. You've got to think on your feet, you've got to be quick, and you haven't got the back up. And that makes it exciting..."

The whole Bentley experience was wonderful, and while you might suggest that it was a nifty case of badge engineering, so what? That's the way the world works these days. Mercedes boss Norbert Haug regularly winds up Brundle with mentions of the 'green Volkswagen' (and it can't be denied that the Norfolk-built car could well have ended up as a VW), but then his F1 engines aren't actually built in Stuttgart. And if that cheeky new road car was called a BMW 2-series and not a Mini, would the world be getting so excited about it?

While we're on that track, I suspect that last year British fans were a little wary of Jaguar Racing, but slowly but surely the team has been making progress on and off the track. Eddie Irvine's spectacular charges have been a highlight of recent races, and the British crowd has always liked a good underdog. It will be interesting to see how much green is in the crowd at Silverstone this weekend...