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2005 Turkish 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 report click on the team name)

McLaren Mercedes ( Kimi Raikkonen - 1st, Juan Pablo Montoya - 3rd )

RON DENNIS
"A very good race for the team and an excellent result for Kimi who drove a consistent and disciplined race. He made sure that he didn't get involved in any incidents. Our strategy proved to be superior, and two podium places are a good reward for the team's efforts. Regarding Juan Pablo's incident it should be noted that somebody who has been lapped already twice should make certain that he leaves enough room. The damage caused by the accident and Juan Pablo's off at Turn eight prevented us from achieving a one-two. We are looking forward to the rest of the season"

Full Team and Driver Race Report  Back to Top

Renault ( Fernando Alonso - 2nd, Giancarlo Fisichella - 4th )

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director
"This was a strong result for the team after a difficult afternoon. McLaren were very competitive today, as we expected, so we tried something different in qualifying to get to the front of the field. It worked well, and both Fernando and Fisico drove great races – Fernando was in the right position to take advantage of Montoya's mistake, and Giancarlo recovered well after problems at his pit-stop. Our reliability was perfect, and although the gaps are a little smaller after today, we are still leading both championships. But we know we need to find more speed as well."

Full Team and Driver Race Report  Back to Top

BAR Honda ( Jenson Button - 5th, Takuma Sato - 9th )

GIL DE FERRAN, SPORTING DIRECTOR
"This was the best race of the year so far for our team. Both Jenson and Takuma drove faultlessly, aggressively and very fast indeed. Our engineers' inventive strategy paid good dividends, especially in the case of Taku. The pitstops were executed very well and, last but far from least, Honda once again built an engine that remained strong throughout the race. One can't help wondering what could have happened had we started further up the grid!"

Full Team and Driver Race Report  Back to Top

Toyota ( Jarno Trulli - 6th, Ralf Schumacher - 12th )

Tsutomu Tomita - Team Principal
"We were able to bring home both cars with no technical problems, but we were short of outright race pace. Our lap times were reasonable but a long way behind the top teams. So with the performance we had today, we couldn't really expect a lot more. Both drivers did well and pushed as hard as the car would let them go. Still, we got three points from Jarno and the teams we are fighting with in the constructors' championship didn't pick up any points, so that's good news. But I hope we can make more steps forward for the remaining races of the season."

Full Team and Driver Race Report  Back to Top

Red Bull ( David Coulthard - 7th, Christian Klien - 8th )

Christian Horner, Sporting Director:
“After the penalty of having to go out to qualify first and second here, to finish the weekend in seventh and eighth is pretty good. It also means we maintain sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship which is great, especially at this stage in the season, and we’ll certainly be fighting very hard in the next few races to stay there. The strategic team, the engineers and the mechanics all did an excellent job today. The pit stops were fast and it was a strong, disciplined performance. The drivers did a superb job and I’m pleased with the result.”

Full Team and Driver Race Report  Back to Top

Ferrari ( Rubens Barrichello - 10th, Michael Schumacher - Retired )

Jean Todt: “It was a race to forget. For the third time this season, we head for home having failed to score any points. Chronic lack of grip, which we have suffered from since the start of the season, prevented us from running competitively right from the start of this weekend. This afternoon, we saw how our competitors’ times improved step by step as the track got more rubber on it, while ours got worse. Rubens did what he could, while it was a shame to see Michael pitting with a damaged car having been run into by a lapped car. We worked on his car to send him back out on track to get him a better start position for qualifying in Monza. In the past years, we have developed the nice tradition of winning races on a new track, but today that run has come to an end. I am very disappointed, especially for the large number of Ferrari fans we could see in the grandstands at this great facility. We must get back to work immediately, along with our partner Bridgestone, to analyse the situation. Our aim is to be as well prepared as possible for the race in Monza and those that follow in what has turned out to be a particularly tough season.”

Full Team and Driver Race Report  Back to Top

Sauber ( Jacques Villeneuve - 11th, Felipe Massa - Retired )

Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "We did not score any points today, but that was not really possible anyway given the performance of the top teams. Jacques might have been in contention but spoiled his first pit stop and fell some way back, while Felipe's strong performance enabled him to move up from 16th on the grid to 10th, overtaking both Williams cars and the Red Bulls."

Full Team and Driver Race Report  Back to Top

Minardi ( Christijan Albers - Retired, Robert Doornbos - 13th )

PAUL STODDART, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth
“We knew we had a good strategy for the weekend, which we proved today, and Robert put in a gutsy drive to finish 13th in the race. Sadly, Christijan suffered a multitude of problems, ranging from a fuel rig failure to gear selection difficulties; however, he almost reached the chequered flag, and put in a sterling performance in the process. It’s quite clear that the Minardi Cosworth PS05 is improving race by race, albeit with a few reliability issues still to be ironed out.”

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Jordan ( Narain Karthikeyan - 14th, Tiago Monteiro - 15th )

DOMINIC HARLOW, CHIEF RACE & TEST ENGINEER
“We are very pleased that both cars have finished again. Tiago had his 14th consecutive finish, which is fantastic for a rookie. Narain did a great race having had so little running on a new circuit, having done only less than half a race distance here before. It is a very useful experience for both drivers and we will now go to Monza next week to test the EJ15B.”

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

Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1): It is disappointing that we had to retire both cars from the race. However, after the two rear tyre incidents on each car, we had no choice. It is too early to speculate what the cause is but we are looking into it now with our tyre partner, Michelin.

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Bridgestone

Hisao Suganuma – Technical Manager – Bridgestone Motorsport “A disappointing weekend for the Bridgestone teams considering we had a good race in Hungary three weeks ago. Michael had steadily worked his way up through the field but his racing incident ruined his chances so he simply tried to make the best of going out again. Rubens had a consistent race but was caught mid field and it was good see Robert Doornbos have a good run. From a tyre performance point of view, we have plenty of data on this new circuit for the future. It was good to see we had no specific tyre problems but we shall be looking to improve our level of grip on these types of circuits.”

Full Bridgestone Race Report  Back to Top

Michelin

Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director
“That was an absolutely magnificent performance by Kimi Räikkönen – the sight of him running side by side with the Renaults on the opening lap is one that will live with me for a very long time.
“From Michelin’s perspective, everything has run absolutely according to plan from the start of the weekend to the moment the chequered flag dropped. This morning’s rain shower – accurately predicted by our meteorological observers – cleaned up the track a little bit, but it didn’t have any significant effect. Wear rates were perhaps a little bit higher than yesterday, but it was nothing to cause us any worries. This victory – our 88th in F1 – was the crowning moment of yet another successful grand prix weekend.”

Full Michelin Race Report  Back to Top

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