Formula 1

Japanese GP Jordan race notes

A disappointing race for Jordan Grand Prix in Japan as Jarno Trulli finished 13th and Heinz-Harald Frentzen was forced to retire with hydraulics trouble. Michael Schumacher's eighth win of the season gave the Ferrari driver the World Championship ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

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A disappointing race for Jordan Grand Prix in Japan as Jarno Trulli finished 13th and Heinz-Harald Frentzen was forced to retire with hydraulics trouble. Michael Schumacher's eighth win of the season gave the Ferrari driver the World Championship with one race remaining.

'We started on a three-stop strategy in the hope that it would help me improve on my low grid position,' said Trulli. 'I got up to 10th place before making an early first stop but it was then decided to switch to a two-stop. When I came in for a second time on lap 28, the weight of the extra fuel on board made the car bottom out in places and it was difficult to drive. I just had to hang on the best I could to the finish.'

Frentzen was forced to make a last-minute switch to the spare car when a power steering failure affected his race car as he was about to go to the grid. Heinz-Harald ran in the mid-field but began to have trouble selecting gears and was forced to pull off the track with hydraulics trouble on lap 30.

The 53-lap race was a close fight between the championship contenders, Mika Hakkinen taking the lead after a poor start by Schumacher. Pit stops tactics and a light rain shower allowed Schumacher to take the lead on his second stop, the 1.8-second victory giving Ferrari their first drivers' title since 1979.

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