SPAIN ROUND5

ROUND 5 - Spain

HAKKINEN PEERLESS IN SPAIN

The Formula One World Championship resumed in Barcelona, Spain, and Mika Hakkinen of Finland utterly dominated the race, expanding his lead in the season points over teammate David Coulthard.

Hakkinen was quickest in every timed session on the weekend, and led every inch of the race without ever being challenged, such was the domination of his McLaren- Mercedes car.

We have seen this kind of domination before in Formula One, and it is somewhat inevitable given the emphasis on technology. One team gets it just right, and the rest are left to fight for the scraps.

The downfall of the dominant team of this decade, Williams, has been especially surprising. Their drivers, Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, have been nowhere near the leading pace set by McLaren, and Villeneuve was fortunate to score one point in Spain for sixth place.

As usual, Ferrari was on the pace to challenge McLaren, but Eddie Irvine tangled with Giancarlo Fisichella in the only challenge for position among the top six all race long, and Michael Schumacher was penalized ten seconds for a pit speed violation. Nonetheless, the German still finished third, so far back were the other cars.

On the TSN telecast, Canada's most respected F1 observer, Gerald Donaldson, described the race as having been "a bit of a bore". In the sense that it was a procession, and an exercise in technology more than a race, we can't disagree. Formula One needs competition up front, but it seems that this year, that may not happen too often.

Anyway, the next race is at Monaco, the scene of many upsets and surprising performances the last few years. The tight street circuit allows virtually no passing, so qualifying will be all-important. It’s a real driver’s track, so we’ll see if Schumacher's brilliance can overcome the technical superiority of the McLarens