German F1 GP: Alonso's sixth win, Renault's seventh
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Image Gallery ( 31 images )Jean Todt, Ferrari: “It was a very difficult race. Michael had to fight really hard for his fifth place, while Rubens finished outside the points. Up to the first pit stop Michael was comfortably able to maintain the third place he won at the start, but after the stop, he progressively and significantly began to lose grip. Losing third place, Michael then tried to fight off the attentions of his pursuers, but with two laps remaining, a sudden drop in fuel pressure saw him lose fourth place as well. Rubens, who had gone for a more conservative tyre choice than his team-mate, never had enough grip to attack and so he was unable to move on from the position he acquired during the hectic period after the start. This is a very tough year for us, the most difficult period we have experienced in a long time. We have to keep concentrating and try and extricate ourselves from this situation by working with our friends at Bridgestone.”
Ross Brawn, Ferrari: “It turned out to be a very frustrating race, after we had started well. But our performance faded as the race progressed. This got worse in the final stages and we were very vulnerable to attack from the cars behind us. Michael had a little problem with the car and had to let Fisichella pass, which is a shame.”
Ralf Schumacher, Team Toyota Panasonic,6th: "That was an exciting race for the public and a good one for me as well. I said yesterday that we could have a good race today and so it proved. I didn't make the best of starts and I found myself crowded out, but it is always like that in Hockenheim. From then on our strategy was excellent, including a long stint before the first pit stop. We could even have ended up one or two positions higher. Unfortunately when I came out of the pits after my first stop the tyres took a couple of laps to get my lap times back while I was struggling for grip. But three points is another good result. The team did a great job and we have to be happy with this result."
Tsutomu Tomita, Team Principal, Team Toyota Panasonic: "That was a good race from Ralf, and we have to be encouraged by today. But given the race pace we had today we really could have hoped for more. Ralf's long first stint paid off and got him into a very good position. Unfortunately he lost a couple of places after his first stop, which we were able to get back at the end. Jarno's race was ruined in the first couple of corners when he got pushed off by a Williams, picked up a puncture on his front left tyre and had to pit. He drove a strong race until he picked up a drive-through penalty. That was unfortunate because he was trying to overtake Heidfeld, which obviously distracted him. Then we had a pneumatic problem on his engine, and he came in to refill it before we finally had to stop the car. It was a shame not to be able to come away with even more but we have to be very encouraged by the pace we showed here today."
David Coulthard, Red Bull racing, seventh: “We felt that we were well set up to get points here this weekend. Qualifying was very close and we performed better than at recent races, which gave us a good foundation for a strong start. From there, we were able to deliver a good race. There are still some inconsistencies with the car that need attention, but we’ll continue to work hard and see what we can do in Hungary next weekend.”
Christian Horner, Sporting Director, Red Bull racing: “Both drivers put in solid performances today. David had an aggressive first lap and came home with two points as a result of a competitive afternoon’s work. Christian lost a few places at the start, which cost him some time, but he made two very good passing manoeuvres on Barrichello in the Ferrari. The result finishes off a very solid weekend for the team, which included yesterday’s qualifying, a good strong race and a two-points finish to maintain sixth place in the Constructors Championship.”
Gunther Steiner, Technical Director, Red Bull racing:“Generally, a good result. David’s car became in-balanced after each pit stop when it was carrying a high fuel load and Christian experienced a similar problem, so we need to sort that out before Hungary. But, a good weekend and we take two points away with us, which is positive.”
Simon Corbyn, Head of Cosworth F1 Race Engineering: "The Hockenheim GP was a good race for Cosworth with both TJ2005 Series 12 engines performing faultlessly to complete their second race events in the top 10. This maintains Cosworth's excellent 2005 reliability record. David's seventh place finish also represents the first two points scored since the introduction of the Series 12 upgrade with Red Bull Racing."
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