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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 ( Fernando Alonso -
1st, Giancarlo Fisichella
- 6th ) Flavio Briatore, Managing Director
"This was a fantastic victory for
the whole team, and especially Fernando after a drive where he did not give up from start to finish. We thought before the race that
other cars were lighter than us with their fuel load, and the race proved us right; it also showed we had the right strategy as we
made up places on the other cars. Michelin provided great tyres, and we used them in the right way to keep pressure on McLaren until
the last laps – and it paid off. We showed today that our car is quick, as Fisico managed to climb fourteen positions from the
back to finish sixth. Congratulations to the whole team on a great win." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Williams
BMW ( Nick Heidfeld - 2nd, Mark Webber - Retired ) Sam
Michael (Technical Director WilliamsF1):
It was a fantastic drive from Nick which made our three-stop strategy work. We were
on hard tyres to complement our plan and it proved to be the right decision. It was the harder compound from Michelin which made it
onto the podium today. It is another good result for us and it is just what the team needed. Mark had an accident in the first
corner which was a shame as he was on a different race strategy with higher fuel load compared to Nick and the other cars around
him. Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Ferrari
( Rubens Barrichello - 3rd, Michael Schumacher - 5th ) Jean Todt: “This was a very difficult race. In the chaos after the
start, we ran the risk of seeing both our cars out of the race and, at the end of the first lap, Rubens was ninth and Michael
fourteenth. We had to fight from start to finish. Rubens, who had chosen an aggressive strategy based on three stops, drove a great
race, managing to get on the podium, after the leader retired on the final lap. Michael, who had opted for two pit stops, finished
fifth. Obviously, these are not the results we aspire to, but at the moment, we have to settle for what we can get. If we cannot get
near the front of the grid, then it is hard to win the race. This race marks the start of the second third of a long season. We know
we still have a lot of work to do along with Bridgestone to get back on top and we will do that with our characteristic
determination and methodical approach. I am convinced that we will soon succeed. These ten points are the result of a great job from
our drivers and the entire team.” Full Team and
Driver Race Report Back to Top Red Bull ( David Coulthard -
4th,
Vitantonio Liuzzi - 9th ) Christian Horner, Sporting Director:
“It was a
fantastic race for us. We capitalised on the first lap incident on the first corner and David had the pace today. He was doing very
good times and set a string of fastest overall laps towards the end of the race. It was a shame that the Minardi pulled out right in
front of him in the pit lane, which distracted him and caused him to release the speed limiter button fractionally early. But, it’s
another fourth place for the team and a podium cannot be that far away. Tonio also did a good job and missed out on scoring a point,
principally due to traffic on his out lap.” Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top McLaren Mercedes ( Juan Pablo Montoya 7th,
Kimi Raikkonen - Retired ) RON DENNIS
"Perhaps understandably
the whole team has a strong sense of disappointment, heightened by the fact that Kimi's retirement took place on the last lap. Kimi
flatspotted his right front tyre passing Jacques Villeneuve and from that moment on the front suspension was subject to extremely
high levels of vibration. Kimi was able to cope with the inevitable blurred vision for over 15 laps and the team discussed with him
his tyre condition. We jointly decided to go for the win and no member of the team including Kimi regrets this decision. The
resulting suspension failure was understandable in the circumstances. Juan Pablo's race was looking good after a strong start
putting him third after the first corner. Inevitably someone is going to get the braking wrong into the first corner and in this
instance it appeared to be Mark Webber with Juan Pablo suffering the consequences. Once he had returned to the field and even with a
badly damaged floor he was able to race to seventh place." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Toyota ( Jarno Trulli -
8th, Ralf Schumacher - Retired ) Tsutomu Tomita - Team Principal
"This was obviously a disappointing
race result for us but Jarno did well to bring the car home for a point - even if it was helped by a competitor's troubles. We knew
we were in for a tough afternoon right from the beginning. Our problems started on the grid when Jarno's engine didn't start and we
couldn't get the spare starter quick enough to get off the grid in time. That's why we got the drive through penalty which left him
too far behind to manage anything higher than 8th place. Then Ralf was involved in an accident at the first corner. From then on he
kept pushing but he spun off trying to catch Sato. Still, this is a long season and we will have good results on some days and less
good on others. This result will spur us on even more for the next two races in Canada and the USA." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top BAR Honda (
Jenson Button - 10th, Takuma Sato - 12th ) GIL DE FERRAN, SPORTING DIRECTOR
"Unfortunately this has been a disappointing day for
us as our speed in testing clearly has not translated into good race pace this Sunday. Basically, our car just wasn't fast enough.
At this stage we do not fully understand why, but we will investigate this during tests at Monza and Silverstone this week. We
clearly need to find a solution before we leave for the races in North America. On the positive side, both cars finished reliably,
with the Honda engines passing the test of surviving two race weekends with flying colours, despite lying dormant for the five weeks
since Imola. We will also have a better position in the qualifying line-up for Canada." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Sauber ( Jacques Villeneuve -
13th, Felipe Massa - 14th ) Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "We had
a disappointing ending to what had been a great race for us. Felipe was able to steer clear of the first-corner incident and drove
with strong pace and the chance to score points for sixth place until he encountered a problem. We have yet to examine the tyres,
and while we await a report from Michelin we will also carry out our own analysis of all our car data from the race. As for Jacques,
his strategy was compromised by the first-corner collisions and he was never in a position thereafter to be able to recover the lost
ground." Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Jordan
( Tiago Monteiro - 15th, Narain Karthikeyan - 16th ) TREVOR CARLIN, SPORTING DIRECTOR
“Both our drivers
had eventful races. Fighting with Jacques Villeneuve for the first part of the race was exciting. It took quite a long time for
Villeneuve to pass Narain and he did not actually pass Tiago. Then, the race settled down after the pit stops. Unfortunately Narain
made a small mistake in the end. We are quite satisfied with our race pace throughout the race and the progress we are making.” Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Minardi
( Christijan Albers - 17th, Patrick Friesacher - 18th ) PAUL STODDART, Team Principal, Minardi
Cosworth “Once again this weekend, I think we’ve demonstrated that we have made progress with the new car, and it is very
satisfying that both Christijan and Patrick ran to the chequered flag today. It is unfortunate that Christijan incurred a blue-flag
penalty for failing to move over quickly enough for David Coulthard, and we have apologised to Red Bull Racing over the incident. It
is now onward and upward to Montreal and Indianapolis, for the Canadian and US Grands Prix. They are races in which Minardi has
shown well in the past, and we will be aiming for a strong performance in both.”
Full Team
and Driver Race Report Back to Top Bridgestone Hisao Suganuma – Technical Manager – Bridgestone Motorsport
“I’m
very pleased to see the return of a Ferrari to the podium again. Rubens drove a good race and deserved the reward. He also set the
third quickest lap in the race this afternoon and I think overall, today’s result was a reflection of our good tyre performance in
race trim. We had no tyre issues such as high wear or blisters and I am only sorry that the Ferrari drivers got caught up in the
first corner incident. Had they not been held up and had a clear run I think they could have capitalised even more. The Jordan and
Minardi drivers all finished the race too which I am pleased to see and we now look forward to the two flyaway races in Montreal and
Indianapolis.” Full
Bridgestone Race Report Back to Top Michelin Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director
“Another gruelling weekend
has produced yet another Michelin F1 success – and one or two talking points besides. Our partner teams were as dominant in the
race as they have been throughout the weekend and, indeed, throughout the season. Looking at the overall picture, it is clear that
our tyres provided their usual combination of speed and durability.
“One has to feel sorry for Kimi Räikkönen, though. He
flat-spotted his front-right tyre, which caused a serious vibration that clearly took its toll in the race’s closing stages. When
he made his second scheduled stop on lap 43, we could see the problem very clearly. The trouble is, it becomes very easy to lock
your brakes repeatedly once a tyre has been flat-spotted – and that just amplifies the problem. We have seen cars locking up on
many occasions throughout the weekend – it seems to happen quite a lot here, because one or two corners encourage drivers to turn
in while braking.” Full
Michelin Race Report Back to Top
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