Rogue Profile of Jos Verstappen

Verstappen’s gallant run came to its near tragic conclusion on lap thirty-one
when the Dutchman succumbs to the perils of turn three.

After starting the race form the pit lane with a full tank of gas and wet set-up,
"Jos the Boss" had a great race. (Given a number of Safety Car interventions,
he had sufficient fuel on board to run non- stop.) Then, on lap thirty-one he
too hit the steam that was running across the track at turn three and he too aquaplaned
off when he became unsighted in the spry form Raikkonen’s McLaren. The Minardi
failed to make contact with the barriers but as it came to a rest, its engine
stalled.

"The track conditions in today’s race were very, very difficult and,
of course, I’m extremely disappointed not to have finished today, especially when
we don’t have so many opportunities to score points," Jos said. "This
was definitely a race where there was an excellent possibility. When Raikkonen
passed me in Turn 1, I was running behind him in the spray with virtually no vision.
The car just spun very quickly two corners later, in Turn 3. I feel extremely
sorry for Paul and the whole team, but that’s life and that’s racing."

Before the start of Saturday’s qualifying session there were theories that rain
may fall within the hour. As it transpired, there were a few drops of rain before
the start of the session. Justin Wilson was the first driver on the track and
he struggled to cope with the greasy conditions.

Verstappen followed and was determined to best his teammate’s time. Coming
in to Variante Alta, the Dutchman had been overly optimistic in the braking area
and slid fractionally deep, just enough to pitch him off the racing line. In a
desperate bid to save his lap, he rode the kerb on the second apex but as the
Minardi rattled over the concrete projection, it lost all grip and the Dutchman
slipped off the track, onto the grass.

The co-efficient of fiction of damp grass proved to be much lower than tarmac
thus, confronted with a total loss of grip, the Minardi snapped into a spin, before
slamming into the tyre barrier. The suspension damage that the PS03 sustained
was considerable, leaving it looking like a tortured insect.

It was the first crash in the new "one shot" qualifying format
since the introduction of the rule and in accordance with the document, the session
was red-flagged while the debris was cleared.
"Obviously, I’m not very happy with today’s qualifying performance. The situation
wasn’t helped by the fact we had to do an engine change after the end of practice,
and in this afternoon’s pre-qualifying warm-up the new engine felt different,"
Jos said. "I wasn’t absolutely sure how it would be in qualifying, but
as it turned out, it was fine and the car was performing well up until the point
when I had the accident. I just hit the curb too hard, picked up oversteer, slid
off the track and hit the wall. I’m fine, but the car was a bit damaged and I
apologise to the guys for the extra work that will be required to make the repairs.
Tomorrow could be another unpredictable race, depending on the weather, so once
again it is going to be important for us to finish in order to capitalise on the
misfortunes of others."