European F1: last lap heartbreak for Raikkonen

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European F1: last lap heartbreak for Raikkonen

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Felipe Massa, Sauber Petronas, 14th: "Several laps after I made my second stop on the 44th lap, I started to experience vibrations from the front tyres. I hadn’t flat spotted either of them, but when I got to Turn 5 on lap 51 I just couldn’t stop the car and slid off into the gravel. I got back on to the track but after that the left front was vibrating really badly and then the tread began to break up and damaged my front wing endplate, so I had to make a stop for a new front left tyre and a new wing. That was such a shame because my car was fantastic in the race and I was easily keeping ahead of Michael and Montoya until that final stop."

Willy Rampf, Sauber Petronas, Technical Director: "We had a disappointing ending to what had been a great race for us. Felipe was able to steer clear of the first-corner incident and drove with strong pace and the chance to score points for sixth place until he encountered a problem. We have yet to examine the tyres, and while we await a report from Michelin we will also carry out our own analysis of all our car data from the race. As for Jacques, his strategy was compromised by the first-corner collisions and he was never in a position thereafter to be able to recover the lost ground."

Tiago Monteiro, Jordan F1, 15th place: “It was the race in which I had the most fun so far this season as we had a lot of fighting. I managed to keep Villeneuve behind me for a while. After the first pit stop, Narain overtook me so I pushed as hard as I could to pass him again after the second stop, which I did. Approaching my second stop, I did not respect the blue flags and was punished with a drive-through penalty. However, I kept on pushing as the race is never over until it is over and suddenly I saw a yellow car in front of me, so I pushed even harder and managed to pass Narain again after he made a small mistake. It was one of the best races for me as I was pushing all the way, working with the balance of the car. The car was getting better and better throughout the race, therefore I would like to thank the team for having done an amazing job to provide me with a better car. Bit by bit, we will get there.”

Narain Karthikeyan , Jordan F1, 16th place: “I had a reasonable start and managed to avoid the chaos in the first corner and stay in front of Jacques Villeneuve for about 10 laps. I had a good first pit stop and passed my teammate. For the second stop, I had very good in and out laps but unfortunately right after, the leaders had to lap me so I lost nearly about 10 seconds in two or three laps, which allowed Tiago to go ahead of me again after his stop. Then Monteiro had a drive-through penalty so I overtook him. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake near the end and he went in front of me again. I am really happy I have finished here. I knew it was going to be a hard race as it was my first time on this circuit. Canada and Indianapolis will also be new for me so this will be a bit difficult but we will cope with this.”

Trevor Carlin, Jordan F1, Sporting Director: “Both our drivers had eventful races. Fighting with Jacques Villeneuve for the first part of the race was exciting. It took quite a long time for Villeneuve to pass Narain and he did not actually pass Tiago. Then, the race settled down after the pit stops. Unfortunately Narain made a small mistake in the end. We are quite satisfied with our race pace throughout the race and the progress we are making.”

Christijan Albers, Minardi Cosworth, 17th: “The fuel load we were carrying this afternoon meant the car had a little bit more understeer than I would have liked for the qualifying run. As a result, I ran wide in one spot and lost a little bit of time there. Even so, it was not a bad run, and I think we have a good strategy for tomorrow. We should have a good pace in the race”.

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth: “Once again, we feel encouraged by today’s times, especially considering the fuel loads in both cars for tomorrow’s race. Indeed, all weekend, we have been exchanging lap times with our nearest rival, Jordan, and are pleasingly close to Sauber and Red Bull Racing. If we are able to split the Jordans at a circuit we really didn’t expect would suit our new car, and bearing in mind there is still a huge amount of development potential in the PS05, it bodes very well for the upcoming North American races, as well for the rest of the season”.

Patrick Friesacher, Minardi Cosworth: “Generally, I was quite happy with my lap. We were struggling a little bit this morning with one or two small problems on the car, but we made some changes, which enabled me to find a good balance. I think we’re in a good position for tomorrow’s race”.

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