Gerhard Berger demonstrated that his role as Formula One's senior citizen has in no way blunted his competitive edge when he scored a dominant victory in the German Grand Prix here yesterday at the wheel of his Benetton-Renault. By any standards, this was a brilliant success which took on added lustre because it marked the 37-year-old Austrian's comeback after missing three races with sinus problems.
It was a sentimental occasion, coming as it did less than three weeks after the death of Berger's father Johann, the driving force behind his career and his number one fan, in a light aircraft accident in the Tirol.
Berger finished the race 17.5 seconds ahead of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari, the German driver now extending his championship advantage to 10 points over the Silverstone winner Jacques Villeneuve, who spun off while running fourth with 12 of the race's 45 laps left to run. Villeneuve's failure to finish rounded off the worst day in recent memory for the Williams team after Heinz-Harald Frentzen retired at the end of the opening lap with damaged suspension following a first-corner collision with Eddie Irvine's Ferrari.
"I have experienced big emotions throughout the weekend," said Berger after celebrating on the podium yesterday. "This has been special for me, very special. I have to say I am happy for myself today, but also for the team. "It really was time to give something back to them. After Michael (Schumacher) left at the end of 1995, it was difficult to change to another area, so I am very happy for them all. We have come close several times, but today takes away some of the pressure. I hope I gave them what they deserved."
Berger said that he had been lucky to finish after Jan Magnussen's Stewart-Ford had blown up its engine in a cloud of smoke right in front of him. "I thought I had lost the race," he said. "I almost had to stop because I could not see. I thought I would not be able to get ahead after my final pit stop, but I was very surprised that I was only just behind Giancarlo Fisichella when I came back into the race."
He also joked that he had struck a blow for Formula One's older generation. "The younger drivers still have to practice a little bit," he said. Berger, a veteran of 203 grand prix starts over almost 14 seasons, had been in a class of his own throughout qualifying, taking pole position with aplomb during Saturday's hour-long qualifying session. He then never looked back as he sped to the 10th victory of his career and his first since winning here in Germany for Ferrari three years ago.
His success was a timely snub to the Benetton team who effectively advised Berger three weeks ago that they would not be requiring his services in 1998, although they had the good grace to allow him the announcement of his "decision" to leave late last week.
Schumacher did well to finish second, driving beyond the capabilities of his car to scrape home ahead of Mika Hakkinen's McLaren after he was forced to bring his Ferrari in for an unscheduled late refuelling stop. Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella, who will join Benetton next year, qualified second fastest and held that position from the start. On lap 39, he suffered a 190 mph rear tyre blow-out on the return straight and was lucky to keep the car under sufficient control to struggle back to the pits. A replacement tyre was fitted, but unfortunately, he soon retired with a damaged oil cooler, sustained when the original tyre failed.
Having withstood the pressure from his more youthful rivals to qualify an impressive fastest, Berger took full advantage of his pole position to accelerate cleanly, going into the lead as the pack jostled for the first corner.
Further back, Eddie Irvine made an electrifying getaway from 10th on the grid, only for his right rear wheel to make smart contact with the left front wheel of Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Williams on the exit of the first right-hander. Both men dropped to the tail and came limping in to retire long after the pack had chased through behind Berger at the end of the opening lap.
Mechanics immediately fell on both the cars, fitting fresh tyres, but further examination revealed that both had sustained terminal damage and were quickly pushed away. The bodywork on Irvine's Ferrari ahead of the left rear wheel was very badly damaged and a brief fire was quickly extinguished before he climbed from the cockpit.
Behind Hakkinen, the young Italian Jarno Trulli drove well to take fourth place for the Prost team ahead of Ralf Schumacher's Jordan and the other Benetton-Renault of Jean Alesi. Damon Hill finished eighth behind Shinji Nakano's Prost, but there were generally slim pickings for the British drivers as Johnny Herbert's Sauber was rammed into retirement by Hill's Arrows team-mate Pedro Diniz.
Scotland's David Coulthard also had a bad day, falling foul of the Frentzen-Irvine collision which saw him trail into the pits at the end of the opening lap with a damaged nose section on his McLaren. This was duly replaced, but as he accelerated back into the race, something in his car's transmission broke and he ended the afternoon stranded by the side of the circuit.
