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2005 Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix
What the teams and drivers said - Sunday

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 - 3rd, Giancarlo Fisichella - Retired )

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director
“This was a great success for the whole team, and for Renault. We must thank Michelin for extremely good tyres, and all the partners who contribute to our success. We have shown that the team is competitive with both cars, and all the hard work until now is beginning to come good: I particularly want to congratulate my colleagues at Viry, as our engine had no problems at all during the weekend. Fernando drove a fantastic race from start to finish: he was very cool, and managed his lead comfortably, as Giancarlo did in Australia. As for Fisico, I feel bad for him: it is a shame he had to retire, but we don’t blame him. We are very happy to have two drivers like Fernando and Giancarlo; it makes Renault a very strong team.”

Full Team and Driver Race Report  Back to Top

Toyota ( Jarno Trulli - 2nd, Ralf Schumacher - 5th )

Tsutomu Tomita - Team Principal "It has been four years of preparation and three years of racing for Toyota to achieve this fantastic result. The style in which we did it was even more rewarding. I would like to firstly extend my thanks to the drivers, everyone at Toyota Motorsport, Toyota Motor Corporation and the team's sponsors whose invaluable support made this result possible. We have experienced so many challenges this weekend in terms of the technical regulation changes for the season. I am especially pleased that our engine has completed eight free practice sessions, four qualifying sessions and two demanding races without any issues. Toyota always rises to the technical challenge and this has been no exception. This is how racing can be done and should be done. We know have to consolidate this result, but I will happily take this for starters."

Full Team and Driver Race Report  Back to Top

Williams BMW ( Nick Heidfeld - 3rd, Mark Webber - Retired )

Sam Michael (Technical Director WilliamsF1): It was a good day for us showing that the car performance is improving steadily. Nick proved himself to be a fantastic racer with all the overtaking he did without causing any incident. He drove the second fastest lap of the race and finished third coming from tenth. We have scored some points which we definitely needed and it is a shame that Mark had this coming together with Fisichella. However, that's racing. Today the car has been competitive. But we know we need to push hard to close the gap to Renault. We had no mechanical problems.

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McLaren Mercedes ( Juan Pablo Montoya - 4th, Kimi Raikkonen - 9th )

Ron Dennis: "A challenging race for everybody. Juan Pablo struggled with a flatspotted tyre and Kimi's race was effectively destroyed when a tyre valve failed. It was disappointing not to be able to take advantage of the durability and pace of our Michelin tyres. On the positive side Kimi's fastest lap and Juan Pablo's fourth place despite his problems are a small but worthwhile consolation, and we are already looking forward to Bahrain. Congratulations to our partner Michelin for a dominant performance in such extreme conditions."

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Red Bull ( David Coulthard - 6th, Christian Klien - 8th )

Christian Horner, Sporting Director, Red Bull Racing
"It’s another great result for the team. We now have eleven points so we’ve outscored Jaguar’s 18 races in just two events! Both drivers did very well, we tried very hard to get Christian ahead of Michael Schumacher but ran out of laps. Both drivers deserve full credit, as does the team and Cosworth for their reliability. We just have to keep looking forwards and today’s performance endorsed the potential of the car."

Full Team and Driver Race Report  Back to Top

Ferrari ( Michael Schumacher - 7th, Rubens Barrichello - Retired )

Jean Todt: “There can be no excuses after a race like this. After qualifying, we knew the race would be one of fighting our way up the order and so it turned out. We were beaten by opponents who proved to be stronger than us. We have won so often thanks to the work of the team and our partners and now we have to work together to turn the situation around. Once again, this shows how difficult it is to win. We know we have all the elements required to succeed. Our will to win and our readiness to work hard remain the same as ever. We already have three days of testing scheduled for next week at Mugello to develop the F2005 and the Bridgestone tyres. After that, we will make a decision as to the programme for the new car.”

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Sauber ( Felipe Massa - 10th, Jacques Villeneuve - Retired )

Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "This was a difficult weekend for us, especially here in PETRONAS' homeland where we had so hoped to perform strongly. But what we saw today were the facts, and I'm sure that everyone in the team understands that we have to redouble our efforts in order to improve quickly."

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Jordan ( Narain Karthikeyan - 11th, Tiago Monteiro - 12th )

Trevor Carlin, Sporting Director
“We are very pleased we were able to bring both cars home again. We would like to congratulate our engine partner Toyota on their first ever podium finish. It is a testimony to the engine department in Cologne that all four cars powered by Toyota again finished the race.”

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Minardi ( Christijan Albers - 13th, Patrick Friesacher - Retired )

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth
“First of all, congratulations to Toyota for their first-ever podium position in Formula One. They have been there or thereabouts all weekend, and thoroughly deserved today’s result. Turning to our own race, sadly, Patrick’s afternoon was over early as the result of spinning on oil that had been dropped on the track. Christijan soldiered on to finish his first Formula One race, however, setting some impressive times by Minardi standards. Unfortunately, when his car lost one of its bargeboards, it spoiled the aero balance, but nevertheless, it was a gutsy drive in gruelling conditions to take the chequered flag. Special thanks go to the whole team for their efforts in improving the car since Melbourne, and their relentless drive throughout a tough weekend.”

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BAR Honda ( Jenson Button - Retired, Anthony Davidson - Retired )

Geoff Willis, Technical Director
"This was a bitterly disappointing end to our race weekend, particularly since Jenson got such a good start and was easily making places in the early laps. The car was handling well and we were confident that our race pace and strategy would bring very good results. It was also very disappointing for Anthony who, having stepped into the car at short notice, did such an excellent job but was deprived of an opportunity to race."

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Bridgestone

Hisao Suganuma – Technical Manager – Bridgestone Motorsport “Obviously we are disappointed that our tyre performance was not up to our usual high standards this weekend but we will leave Malaysia with some positive feedback which can be carried forward into our future tyre development. It is often the case when a good result has not been achieved that we gain a valuable insight into our tyre performance and this was certainly the case this weekend. Admittedly our tyre performance was not enough but we are pleased that we supplied safe tyres in extreme weather conditions. We are now looking ahead to next week’s test in Mugello where we shall assess the best candidates of tyre specifications for the forthcoming Bahrain Grand Prix. We will react as quickly as possible to turn around the situation.”

Full Bridgestone Race Report  Back to Top

Michelin

Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director “The combination of fierce heat and a punishing track will almost certainly make this the most challenging race of the year for tyre manufacturers – and Michelin passed with flying colours. That bodes well for the rest of the season. We have shown that we can produce a full-race tyre for such extreme conditions. Now we can go away and do a little fine-tuning for the forthcoming circuits, which are a little less demanding but remain challenging nonetheless.
“We had no concerns at all about any of our partners’ cars running into tyre difficulties. The rate of wear was higher than we experienced in Australia two weeks ago, but all the Michelin cars finished the race with usable tyre life to spare. Although Kimi Räikkönen’s McLaren suffered tyre deflation, that was caused by a broken valve. 
“The Michelin tyre chosen for this race proved to be incredibly effective and, once again, allowed several of our partners to challenge at the front of the field. This was a very good race for us – and clearly a very disappointing one for our rivals.”

Full Michelin Race Report  Back to Top

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