Monte Carlo Formula 1: McLaren and Raikkonen win and bring title back to life
from Automotive (1599 articles)
Raikkonen conquered Monte Carlo with a wickedly quick drive
Image Gallery ( 42 images )Tsutomu Tomita, Team Principal, Panasonic Toyota Racing:"It was a very good race from Ralf and it was a very good, richly deserved result. After his crash yesterday, to drive a completely rebuilt car from last to 6th is a very good performance. It shows again that in Monaco anything can happen at any time. You just need to keep up there until the very end. By contrast, Jarno was very unlucky. Because we were on a one-stop strategy the safety car period didn't play into our hands and he ended up stuck behind another car. When he tried to pass him he went over the kerbs very heavily and then he reported a handling problem. We checked the car in the pit stop and didn't see anything which was why we sent him out again. It's a pity he missed out on points but both drivers performed very well and in terms of a spectacle this was one of the best races of the season."
Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, seventh: “Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong at the beginning. I got stuck behind the Minardi that blocked the track and then I had to pit to change the nose on the car. It is clear when you look at the times that we had a very competitive race pace. It is a shame that we were not able to get the most out of it. But, given everything that happened, I have to be reasonably happy with my two points. As for my move on Rubens, we are all here to race and I did not think there was much risk involved in the move.”
Jean Todt, Ferrari: “This weekend ended much as we expected. Although we had a car-tyre package that was very quick in the race, the characteristics of this circuit meant that neither of our drivers was able to overtake slower cars which would have allowed them to exploit the potential of the car. On the track, Michael’s race was conditioned by what happened during the incident behind the Minardi. He could not avoid colliding with Coulthard, which broke the front wing. Michael therefore had to pit earlier than expected. Rubens also had some troubles. As he was about to leave the pits after his stop, his engine stalled and, as he rejoined the track he broke the pit lane speed limit and had to return for a penalty. The outcome of the race shows once again we have to work very hard on improving the performance of our package in qualifying. Our rivals have built the basis of their success on the one flying lap which leaves us to fight an uphill battle in the race.”
Ross Brawn, Ferrari: “It was a bit of a frustrating afternoon, because you could see in the middle of the race that our car had huge potential. Michael set the fastest lap when he still had a lot of fuel in the car. But this was typical of the type of race you can expect to have at this circuit if you do not qualify well. Basically, we had to follow other cars and were not able to use our pace. The tyres were perfect for the race, but we were not able to qualify well and here we paid very heavily for that. Things might have been different if Michael had not got caught up in the mess behind the Minardi, while Rubens stalled in the pits which cost him a lot of time. So, a lot of potential, but we could not use it.”
Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari, eighth: “All sorts of thing happened in this race. My car stalled in the pits unfortunately, which cost me a lot of time, but I had a really good car. The tyres were excellent throughout and meant I had a good pace, but here there is so little space to overtake, I could not make the most of the tyres. I lost a position to Michael right at the end, as I was trying to overtake Ralf. Michael took a gamble for the extra point. The most important thing we can take away from here is that the car was very good in the race.” Felipe Massa, Sauber, ninth: "I made a very good start and in the incident at Mirabeau between Coulthard and Schumacher I was just able to find a way through a small gap. The team called me in to refuel as the Safety Car came out and that was a brilliant plan. After that I was running strongly behind Heidfeld and was able to make a second stop later on, on lap 50, without losing much time. Unfortunately my tyres were losing grip and Montoya passed me, and then there was the incident with Jacques at Ste Devote. I think it was wrong from his side, but now I am just focusing on the next race."
Jarno Trulli, Panasonic Toyota Racing, tenth place: "I made a good start and I was doing a very good race at the beginning, keeping the pace. We were on a one-stop strategy so I was pushing 100 percent while taking care of the fuel. It wasn't easy but I was doing well. Unfortunately when I came out from my own pitstop I spent the second half of the race behind Fisichella who was struggling with his tyres and losing several seconds per lap. That meant I lost position on the two Williams as well. Then Giancarlo made a mistake into Mirabeau and I was able to overtake him into the Loews hairpin. But I hit the inside kerb which made my car feel unbalanced at the end. I came into the pits to check the problem and that moved me out of the points."
Jacques Villeneuve, Sauber, eleventh: "Our strategy today was very good, and to begin with my plan was to save the tyres as I had plenty of fuel on board. But then I got really messed up with the incident at Mirabeau on lap 25. Felipe was able to get through a gap and make his pit stop, but I got badly held up and there was no point in refuelling then because I was on a long run strategy, so really I got nothing out of the situation. Towards the end I caught up with Felipe again and I could see that his rear tyres were finished, whereas my car felt pretty much as good as it had been all through the race. I was told to reduce the gap to the guys in front of me because a lot of us were closing up in the fight for points, and I tried something that unfortunately didn't work."
Giancarlo Fisichella, Mild Seven Renault, twelfth: “I am extremely disappointed – it was probably the most difficult race of my life today. The car was impossible to drive for the last 25 laps – the rear tyres were completely gone and although I did my best to keep the other cars behind, I couldn’t do it. The first part of the race was not too bad, and I was going well in third position, but when the safety car came out we fuelled until the end of the race. My situation got very difficult after that: the car was tricky to drive immediately after the stop, and things just got worse from there.”
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