F1 - Canadian GP: Raikkonen & McLaren again

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F1 - Canadian GP: Raikkonen & McLaren again

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Jacques Villeneuve, Sauber, ninth place: "At the start the grip was poorer than expected and the car just didn’t want to get off the line so I lost ground immediately, and then in the second corner Sato came across me and damaged the front wing so I had to pit straight away for a replacement nose section. That was effectively it for me because I just lost too much time. That was a great pity because the car was fast today. At the end I could attack Klien, but he was exiting the corners well and I could never quite get close enough to challenge him."

Tiago Montiero, Jordan, tenth place: “It was a hard and long race today. I fought quite a lot with Narain, as I wanted to keep the pace up as much as I could. With the safety car on the track, I struggled to keep the tyres in temperature a little bit. I think I have beaten the record of finishing for a rookie and I am really happy with this. I also would like to thank the team for such a reliable car.”

Christijan Albers, Minardi Cosworth eleventh: “I’m happy with the result of today’s race. We had a good pace and good lap times, and it was a little bit of a shame that we had a pit stop followed by a blue-flag situation, as I think that’s where we lost position to Jordan. We had a better pace in the early stages of the race, so it was a bit frustrating to finish behind them. I was really fighting hard at the end, but it was just not possible to pass Monteiro. Even so, I think it was a good result for the team, and a good qualifying performance yesterday. Now it’s maximum attack for Indianapolis, where we’ll go for it again”.

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth: “Without doubt, today’s race was Minardi’s strongest so far this year, with a gutsy performance from Christijan to finish in P11. Sadly, Patrick retired on lap 39, with a power steering failure, which resulted in a loss of hydraulic pressure. There’s no question but that there is still performance to come from the PS05, and we now look forward to next weekend’s race, in Indianapolis”.

Narain Karthikeyan, Jordan, DNF: “I had a problem at the start and did not make a good get away. However, I managed to pass Friesacher. Then a few laps later, I ran wide in the first corner and the exit of the second corner and Monteiro overtook me. I pushed really hard to improve my position and I was in front of Tiago again after the first pit stop. Unfortunately, I went in the dirt a little bit and clipped the wall, which made me retire. It is really a pity to finish the race like this but I will do my best in Indianapolis next week.”

Fernando Alonso, Renault, DNF: “Not a good day for me. When the light went off, the electronic system of the car had a problem and I lost a bit of time. Then, during my pit-stop, the fuel rig also had a problem. In the end, I went too wide, I touched the wall and damaged the car. This is a very disappointing result, because the week-end had been almost perfect until then.”

Giancarlo Fisichella, Renault, DNF: “I am obviously very disappointed. I had a fantastic start, then I pushed reasonably hard in order to save my brakes and my tyres. When I pitted, we put a lot of fuel on board as this was the best strategy for us. Unfortunately, a few laps later, the gearbox started not working properly. It was a hydraulic failure and the only thing I could do was to go back to the pits to retire. This is particularly frustrating because I feel I could have won today. Moreover, I’ll be among the first drivers to take the track in qualifying at Indianapolis, and it will be tough”

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director, Renault F1: “This was a negative week-end for us but we have to consider that so far, we’ve had a strong season. In this sport, you can’t expect a great result at every race. The team did a great job all week-end and today both cars were extremely competitive. We have to keep this in mind and be confident that we will be back on top next week-end at Indy.”

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