EXCLUSIVE TACH COVERAGE

Australian Grand Prix: Familiarization Thursday

by Nicholas Frankl

TACH European Bureau

A beautifully poetic beginning to the '96 season as No 1 Micheal Schumacher took his gleaming F310 scarlet Ferrari out of garage number 4 and onto the Albert Park track for the start of the first familiarization of the year. It didn't last long for him nor any of his fellow driver's, for most came back in after 1 lap and were swamped by fiddling mechanics adjusting set ups, as the serious side of this global marketing circus got under way.

Schuey was feeling hot but the car wasn't, spending most of it's time sideways in corners, the rest in the pits. His neighbors at Williams were all together more accomplished. Damon posting the days first "quickie" lap of 1.34.392 and young blood Villeneuve e throwing the FW 18 around and by the end posting the a best of 1.36.232. In between, came various pirouettes from various cars and pilots. Some achieved almost perfect scores, like Berger who it must be said has had a great deal of practice at it, in the tail happy Benetton. Others ( Hill, Hakkinen, Katayama and new boy Fisichella ) just fumbled and stalled and bought out the man with the red flag so the stranded assortment littering the track could be collected.

Familiarization 2 was splashed with red flags as well, the track being new and the grip levels low. This combined with eager boys pushing the limit made for entertaining exits and I'm pleased to add nothing more serious than dented pride and the odd wing. Jacques surprised every one including himself by setting the fastest time of the day 1.33.401, a mere second ahead of his arch rival and team mate Hill who could only manage 1.34.404. Meantime, Alesi was keeping his head down and doing a decent job, the only other guy to break the 1.34 barrier (1.34.664). But it was Verstappen who woke up the aging cynics in the press room, somehow coming home 4th in the Footwork Hart. This is a car run by ex racer Jackie Oliver and equipped with a Brian Hart V10. It may be t he first time you've heard of this package but if he keeps this up it won't be the last! I've spent the last 30 minutes standing with the rest of the media out side the Ferrari garage waiting for the Champ. He clearly didn't get too familiar with the circuit t and finished a lack luster 9th. No doubt there’s some one out there who could tell me what he earned this afternoon and how it compares to Irvine, his team mate, who was 6th. But F1's not the fairest game and Micheal uncharacteristically won't come out of hiding from behind the telemetry machines - is this what is known in the trade as a sour kraut?

Some things never change, and it seems that the Team PR's get ever more arrogant and stuck up as the years go by, anyone would think it was them that won the races. It's now impossible to have a one on one interview with Hill. He has a private nanny who listens and records every word he utters. Villeneuve is surrounded by little minions, who take you aside if you try to speak with the great one without "going through them" first. The pity is that the drivers themselves are perfectly civilized and quite smart enough to look after themselves when confronted by the terrible press terriers. But grumbles apart Melbourne is great and if you don't like it you can always do darts in New Delhi.