Grand Prix World 1998: The Tyrell Challenge Part 36

Why can't we fight too?: The 2001 Hungarian and Belgian GPs

Welcome back to the Tyrell Challenge where we already have 2 wins. Both by the same guy, the up and coming Nick Heidfeld. As I've said before, he's been very boom-or-bust, either he finishes high or low, no in-between ... some of it is my fault. Diniz is winless, but has been more consistent. P3 in the WDC over the Prosts, the Williams and the number 2 drivers of Ferrari and McLaren is no small feat. That's probably as high as we'll go. though.

Something I forgot to note last time out is that Ford brought a power upgrade for their engines. That's why all Ford Powered teams (Ferrari, Williams) moved up. This time around, Arrows, Jordan and Minardi are packing.

A track that kept growing on me to the point that I like it, the Hungaroring is one of the best tracks for the player. Low car wear and high chances of AI DNFs. The Player drivers have a tendency to tire out, but that's easily fixable. It's also very Dusty and we all know what that means.

Mostly "Dust" points. After the Austrian GP, I don't trust the Mugen-Hondas a whole lot, so extra "Heat" point just in case.

First things first, this IS NOT a representative lap time for Pedro. On his first flyer, he overtook a Stewart and, due to the way overtake animations, gained a full sec over his real pace. I won't complain getting pole by nearly 1 sec but ... just be aware race won't go as well. Second, Nick on the hards. I wanted him to serve as the rear gunner for Diniz, sadly he couldn't climb too much. We'll still get to test the 1 stop around here.

Takagi is NOT last!!

Well, F, say good bye to any chance of a decent Quick Nick finish. He sucks in the wet. Diniz, however, is extremely competent in the wet.

I can still one stop Nick from the wet to the dry thanks to the Hards. Diniz does need a two stop if the track takes too long to dry out. Man's blessed with suck/cursed with awesome.

Yup, we executed our strat the correct way. AIs take quite a while to switch from Inters to Wets and viceversa. And at times they take a while to go Inters to Dries. As I expected, Diniz had to 2 stop the Dry portion of the race due to the tires. The AI had to because of the FUEL! Nick ... man is slow in the wet. And the last 2 races are in wet prone tracks.

Oh, dear lord, the DNFs. Lap 1 wasn't nice to Minardi. Then an Arrows took out a Prost. The other Prost didn't fare much better.

... Uhhh ... I might know what you are thinking, and if you are not thinking that, I might make you think that. Hold that thought, we'll be back to this.

Same here, hold that thought ... not as much as the previous one, but hold it.

On the flip side, the 4 2002 cars are finished and ready for preseason testing.

The Pedro Diniz dominance show.

Oh, no, screw that. That's your fault, Nick. Also, Williams Mercedes sounds familiar.

Luca Badoer to Minardi ... where have I seen this before? What did it result in ... to ... no ... no, I'm not crying, he is crying!

What the F'ing Fok you mean "not lived up to its promise"? This isn't the year we fight for a championship!

I've been trying to find that Williams Power Brakes assist, but their Mechanics crew is good.

Full Clutch reliability done. Now time to improve the Performance a bit. More Clutch Performance = better race starts, which I'd like.

Add an improved TC to the list of addons on our car.

Fully guaranteed Gauloises deal. Thank you!

Thanks for your patience, so ... about the World Drivers Standings, here they are again.

17 points behind the leader which ... big gap, yes. But not impossible. Mathematically speaking, even Nick has a shot at the title, though realistically he's well out of it. As for Diniz, man's 2 race wins away from taking the lead of the WDC ... this reminds me of 3 real life seasons which were "Out of this world" good, a pair of seasons that are very dear and near to me ... despite the fact that I didn't exist for one of them and didn't have the brain processing power to understand the other two.

• The first is in 2012, and the one least relevant to us (and IMO, and I know 99.9% will disagree understandably, THE drive of the 2012 season) . 2012 Kimi Raikonnen, with 4 races to go, was 48 points away from the lead, about 2 race wins (Remember, 2010-present scoring system). Predictably, he didn't do much, as he ended up 74 points away from the lead. Still, he locked up 3rd in the WDC in arguably the 4th car on the grid over other big names.
• The second is the one you all should know: 1999 Heinz-Harald Frentzen. With 4 to go, Frentzen was 20 points away, exactly 2 race wins away from the lead. He would proceed to win one ... then Europe and Malaysia happened and the dream died. He would end up 22 points a drift. But for a few moments, the yellow Jordan was a serious title contender.
• And the third one sees a familiar face, 2003 Kimi. With 4 to go, he was 9 points adrift. 9 points a drift with a car roughly as good as our Tyrell, as it was the 2002 car with a bunch of upgrades. After tire shenanigans and wet weather heroics, he would end the season 2 points away. The dream was death half a season away, and we didn't know it. His Merc engine blowing up at the Nurbugring is ... pretty similar to Pedro blowing up the Mugen-Honda at Austria.

I bring those seasons up because, mathematically, Diniz can still crawl his way up and fight for P1. It isn't impossible. Historically, of course, that usually ends up terribly ... doesn't mean we won't give it a go. Maybe Diniz finishes 2 points away from the championship, in a season we didn't expect to fight for it. Or maybe ... Diniz conjures a miracle and wins it all. 4 races to go, anything can happen. It usually doesn't, of course ... but why couldn't it this time?

Enough of my ranting and psyching the team up. Still have races to do. Spa Francorchamps, a track that we can Soft 1 stop this, just like in Germany. Wet Weather can play a part, which means Nick might be out of the picture again, but if it stays dry, there's a solid chance of a double podium at least.

So, full "Dust" because we can, and a point in "Rain" because if it starts raining, I want to be prepared.

Well, F. This could be an issue. Diniz was out of it (again). Even Quick Nick couldn't find that tenth to fight the guys ahead. However ... the Prosts are unreliable and we still have the 1 stop by our side.

Weather update: It did stay dry!

Our reward for running the Juan stop is the single best possible result we could get on any weekend. Pedro-Nick 1-2 finish, with Michael and Mika out of the points. I would have preferred Magnussen to score less points to help Nick, but it isn't a big deal. Yes, team orders happened on this one.

BTW, The Michael's very good race start got neutralized by Hill tackling him and taking him out of the race which ... is utterly hilarious.

And suddenly, Pedro Diniz is just 7 points away from the lead of the championship, and 1 point away from P2. Nick is still not out of it, mathematically, but we must prioritize someone, and Diniz looks better. 

At this point, with 3 to go, '99 Frentzen was just 10 points away, having won the Italian GP and up next was ... Europe. As for '03 Kimi, he was just 2 points away.

We are in good shape.

This one looks a bit more difficult, but still achievable. We COULD potentially win the WCC and not win the WDC. Best believe it.

Back to earning tons of cash.

I completely love everything on this page. Good for Jan, great for us.

That second news article irritates me. Also, Arrows Ford ...

In the end, couldn't find those Williams Power Brakes. Have to focus on protecting our aids.

Clutch Performance Upgrade for better race starts. We have 2 more possible upgrades. It'll be the final Clutch Performance, then the final Hydraulics Reliability.

Extra 5% for the Handling Percentage rating ...

... but we can't stop, there's a very real chance we have a shot at this, we WILL bring an upgrade for Japan. "Poor Balance" means more driver errors, reduced defensive ability and increased brake wear which ... the last one isn't a concern, but the first 2 are. It's just two race they'll have to deal with it, plus they'll have all the "Dust" points in the world.

That's it for this chapter. There's a lot hanging in the balance for the next GP. If we execute, Japan could be an explosive final race to the 2001 season. If something goes wrong, then we'll be looking from the outside. There's no inbetweens. We NEED points. See you at Monza.