F1 Round 3: Renault F1 streets the field again in Melbourne

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F1 Round 3: Renault F1 streets the field again in Melbourne

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Ralf Schumacher, third place, Toyota Panasonic F1: "We are all very happy with what we achieved today. The drive through penalty was my fault because I accidentally hit the button twice but I was lucky and due to the safety car periods we achieved a lot more than we ever thought before this weekend. At the start we were sliding around and locking wheels. But while we've had problems with warming up our tyres in earlier races, others seemed to struggle with that today. Some of the safety car periods were a bit of a fight with all the backmarkers in there but after the third safety car period I gained a couple of places which was great. Grip was hard to come by so I really had to fight the whole race to keep the car there, but it worked out in the end and we achieved a great result. We are still a way from the top teams so we have to work, but I have no doubt that our crew is able to do that. We're strong people and pushing hard so I'm looking forward to the next few races."

John Howett , President, Toyota Motorsport: "That was an incredibly exciting and eventful race and it was a suberb job by Ralf and the whole team especially when you consider the difficult start to the year. It was unlucky for Jarno. He was passed by Coulthard at the first corner but then he made a clean pass back and Coulthard just turned in on him. So that was a shame, but with Ralf we could run reasonably competitively. The tyres were very good, too. Everyone struggled after the safety car periods here but Bridgestone have helped us to get on top of the problem of getting heat into the tyres and that paid off. When Ralf got the drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane, we thought we'd thrown away a podium chance. We were a bit lucky with the number of incidents but for all the safety cars we managed to get the strategy right, and it was excellent team work from the boys as always. Ralf drove aggressively on the restarts and we were able to pick up places, which was fantastic. This is a well deserved shot of adrenaline to the whole team who have worked so hard over the winter."

Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber F1, fourth place: “I am really happy about this result. We were already competitive in practice but we were even stronger in the race. I think it’s fantastic for a new team having both cars in the points, especially considering where Jacques started. My only problem was that I couldn’t get heat into the tyres immediately after each safety car period; it was particularly bad after the last one when Kimi was all over me, and we touched lightly in Turn 4. I then braked too late for Turn 6 because the front tyres were still not up to temperature, and as I ran wide he was able to pass me. So was Ralf, within metres of yellow flags. My compliments to the pit crew, who did a fabulous job.”

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director: “It was a turbulent race with many exciting moments. We are proud that we were able to bring both cars home in the points for the first time. Nick ran amongst the front-runners throughout the race, while our decision proved correct to start Jacques with a full tank from his 19th place on the grid. Congratulations to the entire team, not only here at the track but back in Munich and Hinwil too.”

Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber F1, Technical Director Chassis: “The race was extremely thrilling. We opted for two different strategies, with Nick on two stops and Jacques on one because of his starting position. Both strategies paid off. In Nick’s case we brought the second stop forward because of the safety car period and as he thus had a relatively high amount of fuel still aboard we were able to rejoin the race quicker and gain positions. Overall we are happy with the performance of our cars, as well as today’s results and the championship points we scored.”

Giancarlo Fisichella, 5th position, Renault F1: “After a race like that, I have really mixed feelings. You know, it’s great to go from the pit-lane and to finish fifth, especially in such an exciting way. But also, we saw today that I had the car to fight for the win with Fernando, so I am disappointed I couldn’t make use of it. At the start, the engine stalled and I had to start from the pit-lane, then during most of the first stint I had no telemetry – so I was giving the engineers updates on my fuel load all the time, and telling them about the car while overtaking the people in front of me. That problem fixed itself, but the second stint was really hard because the car was understeering so much during that part of the race. The team were calling me to push harder, but I was on the limit all the way. Then after the final stop, the clutch failed, and we only managed to fix it a few laps from the end. As soon as we did, I set my fastest lap, showed what I could do and started to put pressure on Jenson. I could see his engine was failing in the final corners, then I was blinded by the oil and smoke during the final corner with big oversteer, and I got him as he moved over the track. It was an exciting afternoon, and it’s good to still score points after starting so far back. I am second in the championship going to Imola, and that’s a great feeling because I should have a new specification engine there as well.”

Jacques Villeneuve, BMW Sauber F1, sixth place: “Starting from 19th place with a full tank and finishing sixth is obviously a lot better than I expected, so it was a very good race for me. The only problem I had was warming up the tyres after the numerous safety car phases. We have to have a look at this to improve the situation, but otherwise our pace was good.”

Rubens Barrichello, Honda F1, seventh place: “It was very frustrating that Jenson was unable to finish the race. Although we didn’t have the pace to fight very hard, it was disappointing to see him go out like that. I struggled the whole race with the brakes and it was impossible for me to overtake, although I was able to get past Speed and gain position. I have a couple of points at least, so in that respect at least my season is underway now. I think we all realise what a lot of work there is to do in the next couple of weeks in testing if we are to start the European season in a more competitive position.”

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