| Sunday marks the final race of the longest season in Formula 1 motor racing history. Never before has a championship consisted of 19 stages. Frankly speaking, the experiment was a failure. Marathons rarely end in an interesting finish. The favorites quickly move into the lead, the potential winner is determined even faster, and the spectators in the time remaining until the end of the race are entertained only by watching the crowd at the water and food distribution points. In F1, this is usually replaced by a discussion of the rumors, gossip and scandals that inevitably arise with the beginning of a period of transition.
In this regard, the season was a success. The “Jenson Button case” turned out to be especially loud. The council for monitoring the fulfillment of contractual obligations issued a verdict regarding him only last Wednesday, almost three months after the moment when the BAR-Honda team pilot announced his decision to move to Williams. The matter seemed settled, but BAR chief David Ruchards had a different opinion. Lawyers entered the fray, with the positions of the driver himself and his new team looking preferable. But the highest body monitoring compliance with contractual obligations, after a lengthy consideration of all the nuances of the case, ruled in favor of BAR-Honda. So Button lost without even starting the last race. Now he will have to put aside his dreams of returning to the team where his F1 journey began for at least a year.
Button's failed transfer put Williams in a difficult position. At the end of the season, almost all the great riders have already been dealt with, and stable owner Frank Williams definitely has something to puzzle over. To pair with the fast, but never performed at a high level, Australian Mark Webber needs a driver with experience. There are rumors about contacts between Sir Frank and Mika Hakkinen, but the two-time world champion himself says that he is too old to return to Formula.
His former team-mate David Coulthard will also become a free agent next year. In Brazil, the Scot will hold the 150th anniversary race at the wheel of McLaren, which will also be the last in this longest alliance between driver and team in Formula history. But it is unlikely that a veteran with 13 victories will find a place at Williams. They love the young and the fast, and David, unfortunately, cannot boast of either. The threat of a reduction in the number of teams next year due to Ford management's decision to close its racing program could put an end to Coulthard's long career.
While the owners of the Jaguar team are still trying to find a buyer, other outsiders - Jordan, Minardi - still have a chance to retain their place in Formula 1. Meanwhile, no one is in a hurry to buy them. Even rich Arab sheikhs, who have long dreamed of joining this elite sport, decided to create their own team from scratch, so as not to share future glory with the previous owners.
So, the marathon finishes. The provisional calendar for next season still includes the same 19 races. But at least two of them (Imola and Magny-Cours) are in doubt, and the fate of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone is almost a foregone conclusion. Championship promoter Bernie Ecclestone was unable to agree with the organizers of the British stage on the price and terms of the contract and stated that the legendary track was excluded from the calendar. So the 2005 championship, which starts on March 6 in Melbourne, will be a little shorter and, we hope, much more interesting. Dmitry SITNIK
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