McNish spill overshadows the thrills

Say what you will about Formula One races and the suggestion that Ferrari have belittled the sport either by imposing team orders or by letting its drivers decide the outcome in the closing stages, qualifying remains a pure mano a mano contest. And thankfully Suzuka remains a genuine challenge to any driver. It was thus a pity that the accident that befell Allan McNish overshadowed the fight for pole between Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

The 32-year-old Scot stepped unharmed from an accident so severe that his Toyota actually punched its way through the steel guardrail after he lost control in the notoriously tricky 130R corner and went off backwards at 170 mph. He was extremely fortunate that the engine and gearbox bore the brunt of a huge impact. Had he hit nose first, the outcome would undoubtedly have been much more serious.

McNish, who was able to get himself out of the car, escaped with nothing worse than bruising and a nasty shaking. "The car suddenly snapped into a big oversteer and I reversed heavily into the barrier," he said. "My natural instinct was just to make sure everything was still in working order, and thankfully it is." He will start what is likely to be his last F1 race in 18th place; a few years back, he wouldn't have been starting anything.

While McNish had good reason to be thankful for the way F1 currently is, others seek further change. The cynic might see in recent proposals, put forward by Bernie Ecclestone and FIA president Max Mosley, a wish to create publicity at a time when the sport's popularity is showing signs of slipping, but if nothing else they generated plenty of conversation topics this weekend. Ecclestone has mooted weight handicapping, further aerodynamic restrictions, a ban on the controversial electronic systems that allow the teams' engineers to have a greater influence on the cars' set-ups than the individual drivers, aggregation of times from four qualifying sessions rather than one, and a return to single-make control tyres. Mosley has mooted the idea that drivers should no longer be contracted to individual teams but should swap cars at each race. Obviously that is not meant to be taken seriously, but it has had useful shock value.

The two powerbrokers are intelligent individuals who do not make such proposals for the fun of it. But they are also astute enough to know that when you seek change in a world where team principals are often unable to agree on the weather let alone technical matters, scare tactics can be useful. The Formula One Commission meet in Paris at the end of the month, and the state of the sport will be top of the agenda.

Formula One is not the only sport to face the dilemma of trying to contain costs and rein in the dominant teams. America's NASCAR saloon car series imposes limits on aerodynamics, engines and testing; the CART ChampCar series likewise has limits on turbocharger boost pressure, aerodynamics and testing. In unlimited hydroplane racing, winning boats have their power restricted by means of fuel flow limitations for the following race. But the critical difference is that none of these categories have ever tried to pass themselves off as a hotbed of engineering development, something that has always been a cornerstone of Formula One which prides itself on its pursuit of technical excellence and innovation. Now it may have to decide whether it should stay that way, or evolve into a public entertainment.

Reactions to the various proposals have been mixed. Jaguar Racing chief Niki Lauda said: "First you have to decide whether or not to change the whole principle of the sport which has been a showcase for technical excellence for more than 50 years. If you decide this, then you can do anything. These suggestions from the Fia are a typical example of things getting out of hand. We should restrict all the electronic control systems to put the control of the cars back more in the drivers' hands."

At Renault, Flavio Briatore thought: "The first thing that needs doing is to reorganise qualifying so that it is a better show. Doing nothing is clearly not an option. We have a ridiculous situation whereby most of the cars don't go out for the first half hour of qualifying. And we have to make sure that the Friday practice sessions count. At the moment the Friday session means nothing. What sort of show is that for the paying public?"

The most considered reaction came from McLaren boss Ron Dennis. "I understand the pressure for change," he said, "but I think we need to consider these things very carefully. The worry is that you make changes which have not been thought through and they don't have the hoped for results. The only way of making the racing better is for the teams like ourselves and Williams to get on and beat Ferrari, something which we haven't been doing recently."

McLaren-Mercedes certainly showed improved form yesterday as David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen edged out the BMW Williamses of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya in the wake of the fleet red cars, but the performance of the Ferraris suggests that, whatever change might lie in F1's future, the status quo is highly unlikely to be disturbed this weekend.

The Grand Prix season

Australia (3 March)
1: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 2: JP Montoya (Williams) 3: K Raikkonen (McLaren)

Malaysia (17 March)
1: R Schumacher (Williams) 2: JP Montoya (Williams) 3: M Schumacher (Ferrari)

Brazil (31 March)
1: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 2: R Schumacher (Williams) 3: D Coulthard (McLaren)

San Marino (14 April)
1: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 2: R Barrichello (Ferrari) 3: R Schumacher (Williams)

Spain (28 April)
1: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 2: JP Montoya (Williams) 3: D Coulthard (McLaren)

Austria (12 May)
1: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 2: R Barrichello (Ferrari) 3: JP Montoya (Williams)

Monaco (26 May)
1: D Coulthard (McLaren) 2: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 3: R Schumacher (Williams)

Canada (9 June)
1: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 2: D Coulthard (McLaren) 3: R Barrichello (Ferrari)

Europe (23 June)
1: R Barrichello (Ferrari) 2: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 3: K Raikonnen (McLaren)

Britain (7 July)
1: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 2: R Barrichello (Ferrari) 3: JP Montoya (Williams)

France (21 July)
1: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 2: K Raikkonen (McLaren) 3: D Coulthard (McLaren)

Germany (28 July)
1: R Schumacher (Williams) 2: R Barrichello (Ferrari) 3: J Villeneuve (BAR)

Hungary (18 August)
1: R Barrichello (Ferrari) 2: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 3: R Schumacher (Williams)

Belgium (1 September)
1: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 2: R Barrichello (Ferrari) 3: JP Montoya (Williams)

Italy (15 September)
1: R Barrichello (Ferrari) 2: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 3: E Irvine (Jaguar)

United States (29 September)
1: R Barrichello (Ferrari) 2: M Schumacher (Ferrari) 3: D Coulthard (McLaren)

Championship standings: 1 M Schumacher (Ferrari) 134pts; 2 R Barrichello (Ferrari) 71; 3 JP Montoya (Williams) 47; 4 R Schumacher (Williams) 42: 5 D Coulthard (McLaren) 41; 6 K Räikkönen (McLaren) 20; 7 J Button (Renault) 13; 8 J Trulli (Renault) 9; 9 E Irvine (Jaguar) 8; 10 N Heidfeld (Sauber) 7; 11 G Fisichella (Jordan) 7: 12 J Villeneuve (BAR) 4; 13 F Massa (Sauber) 4; 14 O Panis (BAR) 3; 15 M Webber (Minardi) 2; 16 M Salo (Toyota) 2; 17 HH Frentzen (Arrows/Sauber) 2.

Constructors' Championship: 1 Ferrari 205; 2 Williams 89; 3 McLaren 61; 4 Renault 22; 5 Sauber 11; 6 Jaguar 8; 7 BAR 7; 8 Jordan 7; 9 Minardi 2; 10 Toyota 2; 11 Arrows 2.