San Marino F1 GP - Fantastic duel between Schumacher and Alonso

Wurz made a fine return to racing by hanging onto fourth place while Sato claimed his first points with fifth. Villeneuve got past Webber to claim sixth place, while Trulli and Ralf Schumacher claimed seventh and eighth, until the latter was penalised for a dangerous pit stop release, giving eighth to Heidfeld.

Fernando Alonso, Renault, Winner: “I think this was my best win in Formula 1 so far, because it was different to all the others: I didn’t have a gap to allow me to be conservative, and I knew Michael was catching up from behind and that meant I had to push all the way through the race. In the end, it worked perfectly and things were very close in the final laps, but I was 99% sure he would not be able to overtake here in Imola. The car was good, but the race was the first time I had done more than three timed laps in a row this weekend because we were managing the engine very carefully: we had to make our best estimates with the set-up, and then each lap was a surprise as we discovered how the car changed. I lost some grip towards the end of the race but in the end, we did enough to get the win. Three in a row is a fantastic feeling, and I’m really looking forward to Spain: it will be a big party for everybody, and I think we can aim for the podium again.”

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director, Renault F1: “I am very happy for the team and Fernando. He did an incredible job today, and the way he held off Michael in the last ten laps was incredible. I think this was a great race for Formula 1 and congratulations to Ferrari for their performance today. For me, this was a great afternoon for Renault and Fernando, but also for our sport. I would also like to thank Louis Schweitzer: this is the last F1 victory before he leaves his position as President of Renault, and we are proud to offer it to him.”

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering Renault F1: “It was fantastic to see two drivers of the calibre of Fernando and Michael fighting for the victory until the last corner. Michael’s pace this afternoon was amazing, and Ferrari are certainly back. Fernando nevertheless coped with it, and dominated and controlled the race in difficult circumstances. As we have seen before from him this season, it was the drive of a future champion. We are all very sorry for Giancarlo. All we know at this stage is that his accident appears to have been a car problem, but we will not know what happened until we investigate further. Michelin also provided us with a strong balance of tyre performance between qualifying and the race. While obviously we now face very strong competition from our rivals, Michelin have done a very good job in responding to the challenge so far this season, and we look forward to an equally exciting race in Spain.”

Michael Schumacher , Ferrari, reigning champ, second place: “I am happy in one way and excited after such a race, but on the other hand, I am disappointed after making a mistake this morning, when I braked on a bump with a full fuel load and locked up a wheel. If not for that, this would have been a perfect day for us. But I have a second place and it is due to a stunning effort from everyone, the engineers, the test team, Luca Badoer, Marc Gene and everyone else who worked flat out since the last race. And big, big thanks to Bridgestone whose performance today is just a first step and there is more to come from them. There is more to come from us too and we are still in the fight. I was helped in getting past Jenson because the two Williams put some dust on the track and Jenson slipped on it a bit. I could see that Fernando was not that quick, but there was never a real opportunity to have a proper go at passing him. Basically, he had a good race today and made no mistakes. That’s why he won and I did not.”

Jean Todt, Ferrari F1 Team Principal: “It was a thrilling race. It is clear we cannot be completely happy, given that Rubens was unable to finish the race because of an electrical problem, the cause of which we still have to identify. Michael had an exceptional race, starting thirteenth and finishing within a hair’s breadth of the winner, who had a great race. I am happy for the team, for Michael, for Bridgestone and for Shell, with whom we have just renewed our agreement to the end of 2010. It was an important weekend on the contract front for the Scuderia, as we also signed an agreement to supply Red Bull Racing with our engines for the next two years. We like to respond with our actions and today’s performance is our answer to those who thought we would not be more competitive again. We know that championship titles are obtained by winning races and that is what we will be trying to do in the next round in Barcelona.”

Ross Brawn, Ferrari F1 Technical Director : “This was a magnificent race for Ferrari and a magnificent race for Formula 1. It was frustrating that Michael got held up for half the race, but once we had the space in front of us, you could see what the car could do and what Michael and the tyres can do. It was fantastic, even though a win would have been an even bigger boost for the team. But the luck will come our way and maybe in the next race we can get on with the job of winning. It was a great shame for Rubens as we did not get to see his potential as he looked in good shape too. We think it was an electrical problem, but we need to investigate.”

Luca di Montezemolo, CEO of Ferrari: “This morning I said that we still had the whole race ahead of us. I am pleased for Michael who had an incredible race; a race of a true champion. I am also pleased for the whole team who have worked extremely hard this week. I am happy for Bridgestone whose tyres proved to be very competitive and for the fans who were repaid for the passion and support they gave us. There is a little regret as if we had started where we should have, we would surely have collected a win. However, to finish second after being thirteenth on the grid is the proof that Ferrari is back as a main player in the championship, as we have been in recent years.Compliments to everybody and especially to Schumacher.”

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