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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) McLaren Mercedes (
Kimi Raikkonen - 1st, Juan Pablo Montoya - Black Flagged ) RON DENNIS
"Throughout the race
we had to take some difficult decisions which only increased the pressure on the pitwall. Against this backdrop the mistake was made
of not calling Juan Pablo in immediately after the deployment of the Safety Car which, of course, was only compounded by him driving
through the red light. This shadow should not detract from a fantastic race by both Kimi and Juan Pablo. A one-two was possible and
would have most likely seen Juan Pablo take his first victory for the team. However, there are many more races this season and as
always as a team we will bear the consequences of our actions whether they are positive or negative. Our strategy for the remaining
races remains unchanged. We will attack with a clear intention of winning with a firm and continuing commitment to equality for the
drivers." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Ferrari
( Michael Schumacher - 2nd, Rubens Barrichello - 3rd ) Jean Todt: “This is an encouraging result, but we
must not forget that our aim is to take the win, which escaped us again today. Having said that, prior to the race, I would have
happily settled for both drivers on the podium, given that Michael, who had chosen a very aggressive strategy, had a problem at the
start and Rubens, who went on to drive an extraordinary race, had started from the pit lane. It was a great performance from him. To
finish third, starting where he did is exceptional.
We cannot ignore the fact that several cars ahead of us retired and that the
team also brilliantly exploited the opportunity presented by the Safety Car. We still have eleven races to go and we and all our
technical partners, especially Bridgestone and Shell, will do our utmost, to get back to where we are used to being.” Full Team and
Driver Race Report Back to Top Sauber (
Felipe Massa - 4th, Jacques Villeneuve - 9th ) Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "I am very happy with this result. Felipe was finally rewarded after
two unlucky races. He drove a fantastic, controlled race, particularly in the closing laps. Unfortunately Jacques was not able to
benefit from his high grid position after damaging the front wing in the second corner, which compromised his race straight away. I
would have been very happy for him to score points in his home race. "Besides the performance of the drivers we should never
forget that a key part of the game is to build reliable, strong and consistent cars, so thanks also to our team at Hinwil for their
crucial contribution to this success." 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 pick up some points, but it is a shame because a lot more was possible with potentially at least one car on the podium.
However, circumstances prevented us from achieving that. The brakes on the cars were fine, and the tyres were solid as well. This
result moves us into equal third place in the Constructors' Championship and we are aiming to build on that in Indy. Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Toyota ( Ralf Schumacher -
6th, Jarno Trulli - Retired ) Tsutomu Tomita - Team Principal
"Both drivers put in fantastic efforts today,
but as a team we were very unfortunate. Jarno made a great start, he drove well all afternoon and he was heading for the podium
until he suffered a brake failure. We had lost all the telemetry on his car shortly after half-distance so we couldn't monitor what
was happening on the car. He reported back no problems so we'll have to see what happened when we get the car back. Ralf had a bad
start and lost positions so it was difficult to move forward with his strategy. He did a very good race, and did well to make up
some places in the first laps. During the safety car period he ended up the lead car when Montoya pitted on the instructions from
race control. From a lap back all he could do was stay in 6th for three valuable points. The good thing is that Toyota again showed
its strong performance to the world and we will continue to challenge next week at Indianapolis." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Red Bull ( David Coulthard -
7th, Christian Klien - 8th ) Christian
Horner, Sporting Director:
“Persistence paid off at the end of the day and both drivers kept their noses clean, reacted to
situations well, looked after their cars’ brakes and we picked up three points. So, in terms of a team result, it was as much as
we could have hoped for today. We knew we didn’t quite have the pace here, but we maximised our chances, the tyres lasted well and
came away with a solid result.” Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Jordan
( Tiago Monteiro - 10th, Narain Karthikeyan - Retired ) ADRIAN BURGESS, SPORTING DIRECTOR
“It was a very eventful race for Jordan Grand
Prix today. I would like to congratulate Tiago for breaking the record of consecutive race finishes in his first year in Formula
One. It is very impressive for him. Narain made a small mistake, which was unfortunate but we are relatively satisfied with the
progress we are making so far. Now we will work hard to have another good race in Indianapolis next week.” Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Minardi
( Christijan Albers - 11th, Patrick Friesacher - Retired ) PAUL STODDART, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth “Without doubt, today’s race was
Minardi’s strongest so far this year, with a gutsy performance from Christijan to finish in P11. Sadly, Patrick retired on lap 39,
with a power steering failure, which resulted in a loss of hydraulic pressure. There’s no question but that there is still
performance to come from the PS05, and we now look forward to next weekend’s race, in Indianapolis.”
Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top BAR Honda (
Jenson Button - Retired, Takuma Sato - Reitred ) GIL DE FERRAN,
SPORTING DIRECTOR
"We are obviously disappointed not to have finished the race, however that's racing and the overwhelming
feeling as we leave Canada and head to the US is a very positive one. Overall, our performance was much improved from the last race
and we were challenging at the front end of the field throughout the weekend. Hopefully that's where we'll be in Indianapolis." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Renault ( Fernando Alonso -
Retired, Giancarlo Fisichella
- Retired ) Flavio Briatore,
Managing Director
"This was a negative week-end for us but we have to consider that so far, we've had a strong season. In
this sport, you can't expect a great result at every race. The team did a great job all week-end and today both cars were extremely
competitive. We have to keep this in mind and be confident that we will be back on top next week-end at Indy." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Bridgestone Hisao Suganuma – Technical Manager – Bridgestone Motorsport
“It
was great to see the two Ferrari drivers on the podium today as everyone has worked very hard for this result. We experienced very
hot track temperatures today, which were quite tough on the tyres, so I was pleased to see them perform so well. After Michael
qualified in second yesterday, our tyres then provided both him and Rubens with a consistency in performance that enabled them to
achieve second and third places today. Considering Rubens started from the pitlane, a third place finish was excellent. I was also
pleased to see that Ferrari didn’t experience wear or blistering problems today while both Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro
also crossed the finishing line. I must say thank you to our race and test teams because a result like this comes from a lot of hard
work and cooperation. We have certainly made a good step forward with the new tyre specification which was brought here and once we
have made the appropriate post race checks, hope to use it again in Indianapolis. However, while the results were an improvement on
our earlier race performances, we always try to win so we will continue to push hard.” Full
Bridgestone Race Report Back to Top Michelin Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director
“Despite losing four of our front-running cars through a variety of
problems, we maintained our impressive run of F1 form today. The Renaults and McLarens were untouchable in the early stages and all
four drivers looked like potential winners, with Jenson Button’s B·A·R-Honda comfortably holding the leading Ferrari at bay not
far behind.
“In the end, a number of race incidents forced out several of our fastest cars – but Kimi Räikkönen did an
excellent job to stay ahead all the way to the flag. In terms of tyre performance, everything has gone absolutely to plan this
weekend.” Full
Michelin Race Report Back to Top
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