F1 - Canadian GP: Raikkonen & McLaren again

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F1 - Canadian GP: Raikkonen & McLaren again

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Rubens Barrichello, third place : “In over 200 grands prix, this is the first time I have ever started a race from the pit lane. It’s nice to do something new after so many races. In the early stages, the car was difficult to drive because it was so heavy. We changed our strategy by putting some extra fuel in at the start, as it would not have been any use to make my stops at the same time as everyone else. It took me a while to pass a Minardi, but after that I pushed all the time. The pit crew did a fabulous job to call me in at just the right time. I had a little bit of oversteer and was locking the rear brakes a bit, so I think my rear tyres suffered. I was lucky when Webber ran wide, Massa tried to avoid him and I passed both of them on the outside. Apart from that my only problems were with my drinks bottle and my radio which stopped working early in the race. What happened in qualifying was a shame but to come from last to third is a great achievement.”

Jean Todt, Ferrari : “This is an encouraging result, but we must not forget that our aim is to take the win, which escaped us again today. Having said that, prior to the race, I would have happily settled for both drivers on the podium, given that Michael, who had chosen a very aggressive strategy, had a problem at the start and Rubens, who went on to drive an extraordinary race, had started from the pit lane. It was a great performance from him. To finish third, starting where he did is exceptional. We cannot ignore the fact that several cars ahead of us retired and that the team also brilliantly exploited the opportunity presented by the Safety Car. We still have eleven races to go and we and all our technical partners, especially Bridgestone and Shell, will do our utmost, to get back to where we are used to being.”

Ross Brawn, Ferrari : “Obviously a very pleasing result given the problems we had in the last few races. However, at the start, things looked bad with Rubens in the pit lane and Michael getting swamped at the start. He actually made a good start and his initial acceleration was good and then he seemed to run out of grip. With our very aggressive strategy, running sixth on the road was a disaster. We worked out what could be done and had a pretty good race from then on. The car was good, well balanced, but not exceptional. We were still a little bit off the pace. We got the most out of it and with our strategy around the time of the Safety Car, everything worked extremely well. The guys did a fantastic job and the Bridgestone tyres worked well right to the end. With some new developments coming, I think we can look forward to some good races in the very near future.

Felipe Massa, Sauber Petronas, fourth: "I made a great start - two places straight off the grid. After that the car was so consistent the whole race that I was really able to push hard, until the last 15 laps. I just couldn’t generate enough heat in the rear tyres after the safety car went in, and I had Webber right behind me all the way. They were the toughest 15 laps of my life! In the last corner I could see he was going to try something but I was able to discourage that and hold him off. This was a fantastic day for the team, and for me. I didn’t make a mistake the whole race."

Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "I am very happy with this result. Felipe was finally rewarded after two unlucky races. He drove a fantastic, controlled race, particularly in the closing laps. Unfortunately Jacques was not able to benefit from his high grid position after damaging the front wing in the second corner, which compromised his race straight away. I would have been very happy for him to score points in his home race. "Besides the performance of the drivers we should never forget that a key part of the game is to build reliable, strong and consistent cars, so thanks also to our team at Hinwil for their crucial contribution to this success."

Adrian Burgess, Sporting Director, Sauber: “It was a very eventful race for Jordan Grand Prix today. I would like to congratulate Tiago for breaking the record of consecutive race finishes in his first year in Formula One. It is very impressive for him. Narain made a small mistake, which was unfortunate but we are relatively satisfied with the progress we are making so far. Now we will work hard to have another good race in Indianapolis next week.”

Mark Webber, WilliamsF1, fifth: “There's no doubt that finishing fifth having started from 14th position is a good result. My start was quite good and I was on the inside on the first corner, so I managed to get away all right. The first part of every stint was quite tricky because the tyre warm up was difficult, especially in the breaking area. This is why I slid wide twice with very poor grip. The car was better to drive as the fuel load lessened. But again, when the safety car came out it was difficult to keep the tyre temperatures up but I managed to get back into shape as soon as it went in. Then, it was just a matter of getting to the end of the race. We managed to get something good out of an average weekend and this is what counts, four points and a decent starting position for my qualifying in Indy next week.”

Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1: “It is good to pick up some points, but it is a shame because a lot more was possible with potentially at least one car on the podium. However, circumstances prevented us from achieving that. The brakes on the cars were fine, and the tyres were solid as well. This result moves us into equal third place in the Constructors' Championship and we are aiming to build on that in Indy.”

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