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Team and Driver Quotes following the Race
(selected
team quotes, for a full team and driver preview click on the team name) Renault ( Giancarlo Fisichella
- 1st, Fernando Alonso - 3rd ) Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
“This afternoon’s results are
a tribute to the work of the entire team, here at the circuit and back at our bases in England and France. Fisico marked his return
to the team in the best possible way with a victory, and I honestly thought Fernando would struggle to score points this afternoon:
it’s an amazing achievement to be on the podium. I said before the race that the new rules would force the drivers to demonstrate
new skills, and it was pleasing to see both of them demonstrate a deep understanding of their requirements so quickly. We must also
thank Michelin: we couldn’t have asked for better tyres for today’s race.” Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Ferrari
( Rubens Barrichello - 2nd, Michael Schumacher - Retired ) Jean Todt:
“The first weekend of the season ends
with mixed emotions. On the one hand, satisfaction with Rubens’s second place after he drove a great race. Given how things went
into qualifying, it was quite a long call to expect a podium finish. On the other hand, there is disappointment for Michael, forced
to retire when he was in the points, following a collision with Heidfeld’s Williams. It is a shame, because Michael had staged a
good climb up the order and could have brought home some valuable points. We proved we were competitive in the race and to achieve
that with the F2004 M is encouraging for the future. However, we know that, along with Bridgestone, we have a lot of work to do to
reach the level of performance we are aiming for.
I want to congratulate Giancarlo Fisichella who drove a splendid race to take
his second Grand Prix win. Today’s result confirms our prediction that it will be a very very closely contested championship.” Full Team and
Driver Race Report Back to Top Red Bull ( David Coulthard -
4th, Christian Klien - 7th ) Christian Horner, Sporting Director Red Bull Racing
"It was an unbelievable
race for the team. To have David running up there was great. Although we couldn't quite keep a Ferrari and a Renault behind us,
fourth and seventh gives us seven points. It is a fantastic start and gives us a great platform for the future." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Williams
BMW ( Mark Webber - 5th, Nick Heidfeld - Retired ) Sam Michael (Technical Director WilliamsF1):
It is good
to come away with some points, which is the most important thing. It is a shame that we could not get some more. We certainly were
fast enough to score 2 or 3 more, however, it's only the first race of a long season. Mark drove a good race and Nick did too until
his incident with Michael. We are looking forward to the Malaysian Grand Prix now to where we will bring some more performance to
the car. The Michelin tyres were solid for the whole race. Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top McLaren Mercedes ( Juan Pablo Montoya -
6th, Kimi Raikkonen - 8th ) Ron Dennis
"Juan Pablo's race was unfolding as expected until he went on the
grass. He also lost a deflector but if things had gone our way he would have finished on the podium. Kimi's grand prix was
effectively over after he stalled the car at the start. During the race he was hampered by the loss of a deflector which
subsequently jammed underneath the car. The positive outcomes of the opening race are the very good performance from our Michelin
tyres and that we had the pace to win and as a result are looking forward to Malaysia and the rest of the season." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Toyota ( Jarno Trulli -
9th, Ralf Schumacher - 12th ) Tsutomu Tomita - Team Principal
"We are naturally disappointed that we could
not convert our front row qualifying result into points this afternoon. We had a very competitive first stint. Jarno was able to
retain second and keep pace with the leader. But after his first pit stop, one of his rear tyres blistered and that meant he
struggled thereafter, especially in the middle stint, dropping him out of the points. Ralf had a great first lap. After his first refuelling
stop, his seat belt became loose, so he had to pit for an adjustment. His final two stints showed the true pace of the car with some
competitive running. There are many positives from the weekend. We scored our best ever qualifying result with Jarno starting the
race from second place. Starting the race from the front row was fantastic to witness and particularly pleasing for the top
executives from Toyota who joined us today. Additionally, I am encouraged by the performance of the TF105. Even with the problems
that we encountered during the race, the car's reliability was excellent and we were able to finish the race on the same lap as the
winner. Compared to last year, when we finished two laps down, I think that demonstrates the progress we have made over the last
twelve months. And there is plenty more to come. With the new engine regulations in place, we have enjoyed a totally trouble-free
weekend here in Melbourne with our RVX-05 and Toyota has no concerns for the next Grand Prix in Malaysia." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Sauber ( Felipe Massa -
10th, Jacques Villeneuve - 13th ) Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
"We tried two different strategies
today. Since Felipe had to start so far back we elected to run him on a one-stop plan, while Jacques made two stops. Unfortunately
Jacques lost the majority of his positions after losing momentum battling with Nick in the first corner after the start, and we
could not recover them. The season has started, we have learned a lot from this race, and we are already pushing forward with our
development programme to put ourselves in a stronger position in Sepang." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top BAR Honda (
Jenson Button - 11th, Takuma Sato - 14th ) Geoff Willis, Technical Director
"On the positive side both cars
ran reliably and we proved towards the end of the race with Jenson that we could record very competitive lap times. At the start of
the race both drivers struggled with poor tyre warm-up and both found it difficult to follow other cars closely enough to give them
the opportunity to overtake. In the last stint, once we were in clear air, the cars were very much better and performed as we
expected.
"As we were out of the points, on the last lap we decided to stop both cars which gives us the opportunity to
change engines for Malaysia without further penalty. This could be an advantage at a race where we normally encounter high
temperatures.
"We are clearly very disappointed with this race performance and will be working very hard to identify our
problem and find a solution." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Jordan
( Narain Karthikeyan - 15th, Tiago Monteiro - 16th ) Trevor Carlin, Sporting Director
“We
are very glad we finished the year’s first Grand Prix. We got both cars to the finish and that is an achievement, even though it
would have been nice to finish a bit higher up the results table. Now we are looking forward to going to Malaysia and if possible
improving the car a little bit.” Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Minardi
( Patrick Friesacher - 17th, Christijan Albers - Retired ) Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth
“It
was good to leave the politics at the starting line today and get on with the racing, especially as this marks the 10th Australian
Grand Prix in Melbourne. The event remains undoubtedly the most popular race on the Formula One schedule. Driving cars they had
never driven in the dry, and which had been modified in a way that was never intended, one should not underestimate the performances
of either Christijan or Patrick, who on their debut in Formula One, clearly proved they have a future in this great sport. Today, we
saw former Minardi drivers finish in first, third and fifth places in the race, again demonstrating one of the contributions the
small, independent teams make to F1. Sadly, Christijan’s race was curtailed by a gearbox problem; however, Patrick soldiered on
for a well-deserved race finish in a car that, without question, was the most difficult in the field to drive. Finally, my sincere
thanks to all members of the team, for the total professionalism they have demonstrated throughout a difficult week, and to the
Australian people, for their overwhelming support of Minardi during this Grand Prix.” Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Bridgestone Hisao
Suganuma – Technical Manager – Bridgestone Motorsport “Rubens started 11th and Michael 19th on the grid and Rubens managed
to finish the race in second position which is a fantastic result. It really proves that the development direction we have taken is
the correct one. The tyre performed well for both Ferrari cars and kept its performance from beginning to end. We’ve had no
problems with the tyres which is very encouraging for future races. It’s good to see the two rookie Jordan drivers finish the
race. It’s good experience for the team and I’m sure that they will assist our tyre development this season. Patrick Friesacher
also finished his debut race which is encouraging. Overall, while we always like to win, the result was a good one. With the new
tyre regulations the requirements of the tyres are different and today we saw that our tyres suited the new regulations and we now
just have to push our development to continue to be competitive.” Full
Bridgestone Race Report Back to Top Michelin Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin Motorsport Director
“We finished 2004 with a flourish – and it is very
satisfying to begin the new season in similar fashion. “We came to Australia envisaging all kinds of situations that might arise
because of the latest regulations, but everything has run smoothly. We had no tyre wear problems at all. The temperatures were
cooler than expected, so we had quite a margin to play with – it was clear from Giancarlo Fisichella’s performance in the
closing stages of the race, when he set his fastest lap, that he had been pacing himself very comfortably. “Today’s result
vindicates the hard work we have done during the winter and gives us an excellent platform on which to build for the rest of the
season. This has been a very productive weekend, because we had an early opportunity to assess our wet-weather tyres, which
performed very favourably, as well as our dries. We won’t rest on our laurels, though, because we know that there’s plenty of
hard work to do in the months ahead.” Full
Michelin Race Report Back to Top
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