Both BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers achieved their career best Formula One results at the most important Grand Prix of the entire season. Nick Heidfeld finished second in Monaco while his team-mate Mark Webber joined him on the podium having followed Nick over the line in third position.

Nick Heidfeld: 2nd
Best time: 1:17.159 (lap 15, 9th overall)
Chassis: FW27 04 / BMW P84/5 engine 2nd GP

I am very very pleased to get my best ever result here in Monaco. I had a very good start and I even touched Mark at the first corner, but that's racing. But then I was stuck with other drivers behind Trulli for some time so I tried to save fuel and tyres. When the safety car came out and the engineers called us both in, the guys did a fantastic job in getting us out so quickly. Then I was lucky because the engineers decided to take a risk and pit earlier, for my second stop and this allowed me to get ahead of Mark. A lot of cars seemed to have problems with their tyres today but we didn't and towards the end I pushed as hard as I could. When I caught up to Alonso I knew he was struggling with his tyres so I decided to wait for a couple of laps to weigh up the best possibility to overtake him. Fernando defended well but I was just able to out-brake him which was such a good feeling.

Mark Webber: 3rd
Best time: 1:16.971min (lap 77, 7th overall)
Chassis: FW27 05 - BMW P84/5 engine 2nd GP

It's my first podium finish in F1 and it's very good to have two cars on the podium here, after a not so easy start to this season. Last week in Vallelunga we made a lot of tyre testing for this race and our choice paid off today because apart from McLaren today we were much stronger than anybody else. I was stuck behind Jarno in the first part of the race and it was frustrating. Then unfortunately Nick passed me at the second pit-stop and we were both again held up by Alonso, who was struggling with his tyres. Obviously, once Nick had got ahead of Fernando he made it very difficult for me into the chicane. We had a good fight and I just made it past him. It's been a great effort from WilliamsF1, BMW and Michelin. We showed today good performance and reliability. I just wished I could have driven in some clean air today!

Sam Michael (Technical Director WilliamsF1): It was a good job from the whole team and it was fantastic to see Nick and Mark side by side on the podium. We raced a tyre that was perfectly suited to Monaco. This is a circuit that rewards cars with a lot of downforce and an ability to look after the tyres. From today's result we were clearly the closest to McLaren. On the strategy we made ground during the safety car period by stopping both of our cars. On the second stop we took a risk with Nick by calling him in earlier. We then did the same with Mark but unfortunately for Mark he lost a place to Nick.

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): This was a Monaco Grand Prix with all sort of highs and lows which are typical for this unique race. Both drivers got stuck behind slower cars for most of the race distance. Only the overtaking manoeuvres at the end set them free. At the end of the day we have a great result for both drivers and the entire team. It is the best result of our season so far and reminds us of the Monaco Grand Prix of two years ago which marked a turning point.

Test: Silverstone: 23rd May - Nico Rosberg (shakedown) .

2005 Monaco Grand Prix - Main Page
2005 Monaco Grand Prix - Team and Driver Race Reports Page

Sunday Qualifying

Weather: sunny, dry. Air 22-23°C, Track 25-27°C

In a race where grid position counts more than anywhere else, both the BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers look in good shape, with Mark Webber starting from third place, having confirmed his qualifying place from yesterday and Nick Heidfeld starts from the third row, having set the 6th fastest time.

Mark Webber:
Chassis: FW27 05 / BMW P84/5 engine : 2nd GP

It's great to be in the top three again today. It's going to be a hard race with McLaren and Renault looking very strong. We are generally happy with our car and for us this has been the best race weekend so far this year, which makes us confident for the race. It will be interesting to see if our tyre choice will pay off. I would love to be on the podium today, Monaco has been a special place for me in the past having won from pole position in the 2001 F3000 event.

Nick Heidfeld:
Chassis: FW27 06 (T-car FW27 04) / BMW P84/5 engine: 2nd GP

We will know after the end of the first race stint on which fuel load everyone was this morning, therefore it's premature to comment accurately on my grid position. I was satisfied with my qualifying lap anyway, even if I am not too happy that Jarno Trulli gained one position over me. I believe that we are in good shape for the race.

Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1): It's a good qualifying result, giving us good starting positions for the race. The lap times were more or less as expected. It will be interesting to see how the different strategies evolve during this afternoon's race. We are looking forward to it!

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): Having one car on the second row and the other one on the third row gives us a good starting position for the race. Start performance will be crucial as well as the different fuel loads which will decide the timing of the first pit stops and furthermore tyre degradation will be an important factor over the whole race distance.

2005 Monaco Grand Prix - Main Page

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