French F1 GP: first French victory for a Renault car in 22 years.

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French F1 GP: first French victory for a Renault car in 22 years.

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Jarno Trulli , Panasonic Toyota Racing , fifth: "After the miracle in qualifying yesterday, today was much harder. I made a strong start and held everyone behind me, but then I couldn't keep up the pace because the car was sliding, especially at the rear end. I was struggling for stability and traction and there was very little I could do. I kept fighting all day to keep the other cars behind me, but it was hard work because basically they were quicker than us. After the first pit stop the problem became worse, but we balanced the car better at the second stop and it was slightly better. Still, four points is a good result both for me and the team so we can go home satisfied with that."

Tsutomu Tomita, Panasonic Toyota Racing, Team Principal: "We had high expectations for today's race, so I feel slightly frustrated with this result. Still, we managed to bring both cars home in the points and both drivers did well too so we can be happy with that. Both Jarno and Ralf made good starts, but our race pace wasn't as strong as we hoped because they were both struggling for rear grip, especially when the cars were heavy after the first pit stops. It was a tight call on strategy here, but we changed Ralf from three planned stops to two and he gained a place so that worked out. For him to take 7th place after going out first in qualifying was a good effort. It is a pity that we could not hold onto the podium with Jarno, but it is a sign of the progress we've made as a team that we can be slightly disappointed with both cars scoring a total of six world championship points. Still, we have a long way to go."

Giancarlo Fisichella, Renault F1, sixth position: “I actually think this was a good race for me – in spite of the finishing position. I had a problem with the fuel rig at my first stop, which cost me a lot of positions; then the support for the undertray of the car broke in the middle of the race, which cost me a lot of grip and downforce; and at the last stop, the engine cut out when I tried to pull away. So really, with all of these things, I think sixth is a good result. Of course, I am frustrated because today could have been a podium for me, but the main thing is that we scored more points than the other teams, and improved our situation in the championship.” Ralf Schumacher, Panasonic Toyota Racing, seventh: "This was a good result considering where we came from at the beginning of the weekend, going out first in qualifying. We got through the whole weekend without any incidents or reliability issues, and I'm happy to be going home with two points. My car was struggling for traction and sliding a bit during the race so it was a matter of pushing as hard as possible all afternoon. The team changed my strategy from three stops to two and I was also helped out by Jacques going off near the end. It was good that we got both cars home in the points and I'd like to thank the team for all their help. I wish it could have been more but we have to be happy with this today."

Jacques Villeneuve, Sauber, eighth: "That was not bad at all. The car was good from start to finish, quite driveable, and I was able to push hard all the way. My only concern was when it was running with the fuel load after my second stop as it began bottoming in Turn 1 and I ran out of road there. That corner was flat for me all weekend but from then on I was having to lift off a little after that. "It was good to score another point today, but what was even more enjoyable was the fact that we were more competitive than I expected we would be. That was very encouraging."

Peter Sauber, Team Principal, sauber: "This was a championship point that we were able to fight for, so congratulations to Jacques. It was an important point, because it was only the third time we have scored here at Magny-Cours. There are always two perspectives after a race: points and performance. Besides scoring again, we also demonstrated a step forward in performance. I hope that continues at Silverstone next week, where hopefully Felipe will enjoy better fortune after his strong race this afternoon."

Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari, ninth place: “It was a terrible race for me. After four or five laps, I began to have a problem with the brakes which meant the car was hard to drive. Then, in the first run of pit stops, I was unable to get ahead of Trulli and so I always found myself behind cars that were potentially slower than me. The brake problem got progressively worse and I kept slipping back so that I wasn’t even able to pick up a single point. I am very disappointed.”

David Coulthard, Red Bull Racing, tenth: “Bugger. I lost a lot of time in traffic during the race and could never make the time up. Let’s just look to Silverstone from here.”

Christian Horner, Sporting Director, Red Bull: “We’ll have to look into the failure on Christian’s car in a bit more detail, as we don’t have the feedback on that yet. David drove a very aggressive race, but got stuck behind traffic, which he eventually managed to clear. After that, his pace was competitive, especially during the second half of the race. He set some good lap times and repeated the performance he showed in the free practice. I think the thing that hurt us most here was starting so far back on the grid and that’s definitely something we need to work on. We’ve discovered a small brake problem yesterday, which was partly responsible for that, and it’s something we’ll need to sort out before Silverstone next weekend.”

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