Formula 1 Round 3 – Alonso/Renault win, Schumacher DNF
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Image Gallery ( 23 images )Norbert Haug, Vice-President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Congratulations to Kimi for third and Pedro for fifth place. The potential for top results is there, which can be seen from Kimi’s podium finish and Pedro’s fastest lap. With better grid positions more will be possible soon. We will continue to work hard to further improve our package and look forward to the start of the European season in Imola in three weeks time.”
Ralf Schumacher, Panasonic Toyota, fourth: "Another great result for the team after our success in Malaysia. I had a good race, although it was pretty slippery, but that is to be expected at this track. The end result was dictated by the mistake in qualifying yesterday which bumped me down to eleventh but the team did a great job to move me up some positions on the grid. We have two cars in the points, including one on the podium, so well done to Jarno and everyone in the team both here and in Cologne. After my 5th place in Malaysia and now 4th in Bahrain, it must be my turn for the podium next."
Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren Mercedes, fifth: "I had a great time racing today. My lap times were consistently fast when I had a clear track ahead. However most of the race I had fights with competitors which kept me busy. I gave it my all to win the battles against Takuma Sato, Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button and Mark Webber. It was hard work to make my way through the field after a difficult first few laps coming from ninth after the first lap. I must thank the whole team who have worked so hard to provide me with a car that was both fast and reliable.”
Mark Webber, Williams BMW, sixth: “It was a tough race for me. Unfortunately with about 20 laps to go I had a spin at turn 10 when I was running third and I lost two positions. My tyres were in bad shape after I spun and the car was difficult to drive because of strong vibrations. So in the last few laps I lost one position to de la Rosa. Everyone in the team did a very good job and also Michelin provided us with good tyres. Now I am looking forward to Imola.”
Sam Michael, WilliamsF1 Technical Director: “This is obviously not the result we were aiming for after qualifying. In the ambient conditions we ran the engine at its thermal limits, which may have contributed to Nick's engine failure. In terms of lap times we had to manage the engine revs during the race which made it difficult for both drivers to defend. Either way we are confident that we will be able to race more strongly in Imola.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director: “After a strong qualifying we were hoping for more from this race. The intense heat compromised us in two ways. First of all Nick drove the only car with an engine that had already endured the Malaysian heat. The combined temperature effects of both those races was obviously too much. We will find out in Munich what was the exact reason for the failure. The other reason is that even with the car's maximum cooling configuration we were running at thermal-limits and we could not exploit our engines to their full revs and this contributed to Mark being unable to properly defend his good position.” Felipe Massa, Sauber Petronas, seventh: "That was exactly what I hoped for in my heart before the start of the race! The C24 was strong and consistent all the way through and I am sure that my hard tyre choice was the right one. I think it was a good move I did on Rubens, but he was in trouble with his tyres so to be fair it was not real overtaking. I am proud to have scored our first points of the season in our 200th race, and now I'm looking forward to continuing our intensive preparations next week before the championship moves to Europe for the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola."
Peter Sauber, Sauber Petronas Team Principal: "This was a very tough race, and both drivers did a very good job. Jacques was unlucky to lose the final point when Coulthard ran into him in the closing stages, but Felipe's two points for seventh place were a great present, a thank you to the team as everyone here in Bahrain and back home in Hinwil celebrates our 200th race. It is a satisfying way to finish the opening stint of the season, and sets us up for our forthcoming test session in Barcelona later this week which will help us to prepare for the European races."
David Coulthard, Red Bull F1, Eighth: “At the end, Barrichello was a lot slower in his braking area and kept overshooting, so I pretty much lined him up for a couple of laps and I knew I was going to have a go on the last lap. A point out of a difficult weekend is encouraging but now we need to do a total investigation of where we are with the car because I just struggled badly in the race and in qualifying.”
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