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2005 Bahrain GP
Team Quotes - Sunday 3 April
Jean Todt: The race was as tough as it was disappointing. Starting from the front row, Michael retired on lap 11, when he was fighting for the lead. Rubens staged a great climb up the order which took him from last to fifth place, but then he just lost out on a points finish in the very last moments of the race. It is disappointing, but we have also learnt that the F2005 is competitive. It is clear that we have a lot of work to do to improve its overall reliability, along with our partners, first and foremost Bridgestone. The net result of these first three races outside Europe is certainly a negative one and not up to our standard. However, I am convinced that we are totally capable of recovering in time for the race at Imola, where we will race in front of so many of our fans.
Ross Brawn: The result is obviously very disappointing, but there are a lot of positive indications to take away from this weekend. We knew that bringing the new car was going to be a tough challenge. Michael had a reliability problem in the race, while Rubens' reliability problems earlier in the weekend meant that he had no set-up time. He was not able to make the most of the car in the race for that reason. Michael on the other hand, was very confident going into the race and was very comfortable with the position he was in. Because he retired, we did not get to see it, but I think the strategy we had would have been competitive. Now we have to work with our partners to make sure we make a big step forward for Imola and get back to where we want to be.
The Lucky Strike BAR Honda team had a first points finish well within its sights in today's Bahrain Grand Prix, but their hopes were dashed by brake problems for Takuma Sato and a clutch issue late in the race for Jenson Button.
Both drivers made a solid start to the 57-lap race with Takuma making up two places off the grid and Jenson moving up from 11th to 10th. By the first round of pitstops Takuma had fought his way up to 6th place and was doing a good job of keeping Rubens Barrichello at bay. The pit crew put him back on track ahead of the Ferrari but soon after the stop, on lap 25, he suffered run-away brake disc wear and he was forced to retire in the garage.
Jenson experienced gear shift problems early in the race as well as signs of the same brake wear suffered by Takuma. A precautionary check at his second pitstop confirmed that he was managing the brake wear well but as he tried to select first gear to exit the pit box, a clutch problem intervened and it took several attempts to restart the car. When he finally got going, a knock-on issue caused him to stop at the pitlane exit.
Geoff Willis, Technical Director: "Obviously the team are frustrated to have retired both cars from the race after what was promising to be a good performance for the team. Despite the retirements by Takuma who had run-away brake wear and by Jenson, who in his last pit stop appears to have had a clutch failure, there are a number of good points to take out of the race. As shown by the late first pit stops, both drivers had qualified with high fuel loads and our strategy was working well; the team beat Ferrari in Takuma's first pit stop allowing him to pass Barrichello. Both drivers drove well, Jenson taking the fifth fastest lap despite having to look after his brakes and Takuma having a strong start and first few laps to move from 13th to 8th by lap three. Takuma was in 6th place when he retired and Jenson was up to 7th.
"We now have to investigate the cause of our brake and clutch failures. We have a lot of new parts to test in the next two weeks and with new engines for Imola we have to focus on improving our chassis performance for the next race."
Nick Fry, Chief Executive Officer: "It was encouraging that Jenson and Taku were able to run in point-scoring positions and for our pit crew to be able to beat Ferrari in a back to back pit stop race. Obviously it was very disappointing that both cars should stop with different problems, and for Jenson so late in the race when he was on target for a good points finish. We now need to regroup and implement both aerodynamic performance improvements and reliability measures before Imola, where we plan to kick off the European season with some points. The team remain focused on our goal of winning a race this season and with 16 rounds to go and knowing the depth of resource, skill and strength of character in our team, we can still meet our objective."
Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development: "It is obviously a frustrating day for the whole team but I thought that both of the drivers did a very good job today and got the best out of the car. We must make the most out of the three week break to improve our situation."
Fernando Alonso dominated this afternoon's Bahraini Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit. At the wheel of his R25, the Spaniard scored the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team's third victory of the season, and the third of his career, two weeks after winning in Malaysia. It was also an historic moment in Renault's sporting history: this success marked the hundredth win for a Renault engine in Formula 1, the twentieth for a Renault chassis, and this win is the first time in history that a Renault chassis has won three consecutive races.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: This was a fantastic result for the whole team. Fernando dominated from start to finish: he had a nice fight with Michael, but after the Ferrari retired he just had to manage his tyres, his engine and the gap to Jarno. We are all disappointed for Giancarlo, but I know he will fight back strongly at the next race. Well done to everybody at Enstone and Viry; we are all proud to bring Renault their hundredth Formula One victory.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: To see a driver control a race like Fernando did this afternoon is an impressive sight. His performance is even more remarkable when you consider he did not even use all the revs available on the engine in the opening laps. He seemed capable of increasing his pace when necessary, without putting undue stress on the car.
We are sorry for Giancarlo, whose engine started to fail on lap two. We knew there was nothing we could do, but given the way in which the race unfolded, he could have scored a very strong result.
We also need to thank Michelin: the tyres were really put to the test this weekend, with track temperatures over 50°C. Once again, the tyres were excellent in every area: they were quick over one lap, and consistent all the way through the race.
In the heat of the Bahrain desert, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team collected three points thanks to Mark Webber who finished in sixth position. Team mate Nick Heidfeld had to retire due to an engine failure around the mid-race distance.
Sam Michael (Technical Director WilliamsF1): This is obviously not the result we were aiming for after qualifying. In the ambient conditions we ran the engine at its thermal limits, which may have contributed to Nick's engine failure. In terms of lap times we had to manage the engine revs during the race which made it difficult for both drivers to defend. Either way we are confident that we will be able to race more strongly in Imola.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): After a strong qualifying we were hoping for more from this race. The intense heat compromised us in two ways. First of all Nick drove the only car with an engine that had already endured the Malaysian heat. The combined temperature effects of both those races was obviously too much. We will find out in Munich what was the exact reason for the failure. The other reason is that even with the car's maximum cooling configuration we were running at thermal-limits and we could not exploit our engines to their full revs and this contributed to Mark being unable to properly defend his good position.
West McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen finished today's 57 lap Bahrain Grand Prix in third place. Team mate Pedro de la Rosa came home in fifth. Both drivers were on two stop strategies with Kimi stopping on lap 24 (9.1 seconds) and lap 43 (7.8 seconds) and Pedro stopping on lap 23 (9.1 seconds) and lap 44 (6.9 seconds). Pedro also achieved the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:31.447 on lap 43. Kimi is eighth in the 2005 Drivers' World Championship with seven points, whilst Pedro is 11th with four points. Juan Pablo Montoya, who did not race today due to a fractured shoulder, is now seventh with eight points. West McLaren Mercedes is third in the Constructors' Championship with 19 points.
Ron Dennis: "A challenging weekend, which, in contrast to Malaysia, allowed us to demonstrate the true potential of our cars. We are fully aware of what we have to do to improve our qualifying positions and will try hard to accelerate elements of change that were originally targeted for the Spanish Grand Prix. A great result for both drivers with Kimi achieving a podium position and Pedro demonstrating the level of professionalism and speed that we have always observed in his testing role. Our goals for 2005 remain completely unchanged, there are still 16 races to go and everything is still possible."
Norbert Haug: "Congratulations to Kimi for third and Pedro for fifth place. The potential for top results is there, which can be seen from Kimi's podium finish and Pedro's fastest lap. With better grid positions more will be possible soon. We will continue to work hard to further improve our package and look forward to the start of the European season in Imola in three weeks time."
Team SAUBER PETRONAS driver Felipe Massa finished seventh to score two points in today's Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, the team's 200th Formula One race. Unfortunately, just as he was poised to score the final point Jacques Villeneuve was the innocent victim of a collision and was forced to retire three laps from home.
Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "This was a very tough race, and both drivers did a very good job. Jacques was unlucky to lose the final point when Coulthard ran into him in the closing stages, but Felipe's two points for seventh place were a great present, a thank you to the team as everyone here in Bahrain and back home in Hinwil celebrates our 200th race. It is a satisfying way to finish the opening stint of the season, and sets us up for our forthcoming test session in Barcelona later this week which will help us to prepare for the European races."
After a thoroughly reliable weekend, Christian Klien's race unfortunately ended before it had begun when his car stalled on the grid at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The car was quickly pushed back to the pits to allow him to make his start but despite the best efforts of the team he failed to get going, sidelined by a suspected electronics problem probably brought on by the intense heat on the grid. David Coulthard, however, salvaged a point with a dogged performance that allowed him to claim 8th place on the final lap having started from 14th on the grid.
Christian Horner, Sporting Director: It was a good end to a frustrating start. It was really disappointing for Christian to not make the start after such a strong weekend but at least with David we had a fairly lengthy strategy that panned out for us. He really stuck with it and we salvaged a point. It was a pretty exciting finish on the last lap and perseverance and persistence paid off. We were again reliable with David's car and another point and we're looking forward to getting back to Europe.
Günther Steiner, Technical Director: In the end it was a lucky race, we got a point which is great. But I feel very sorry for Christian. It seems like we had an electronic problem due to the heat but we have to do an investigation as the car did later fire upon a second try in the garage. So we have to go home, do an investigation and sort out the problem for the next race. David's car was reliable throughout the race but, as we experienced throughout this weekend, his balance was never really good and therefore he wasn't on the pace of the front-runners. But in the end we got away with a point and made the best out of the worst.
David Prigg, Cosworth: I'm delighted for David scoring a point in his third consecutive race, but disappointed that Christian was unable to start the race. We are currently investigating why his engine would not start on the grid but we suspect an electronics problem.
Panasonic Toyota Racing has added another trophy to its recently-opened cabinet after Jarno Trulli claimed the team's second podium of the season. Ralf Schumacher made it a double success in Bahrain by securing fourth position and bringing Toyota's tally of points for the Bahrain GP to thirteen.
Jarno Trulli proved that his renowned qualifying expertise are backed up by strong and committed race drives as he powered his way to a second successive podium finish in Sakhir today. Jarno has jumped to second in the drivers' championship with sixteen points.
alf Schumacher overcame his qualifying deficit from Saturday afternoon with a blinding second qualifying lap this morning to propel him to sixth on the grid. From there, his strategy panned out perfectly to enable him to bring his points total to nine and fourth spot in the drivers' championship.
With 25 points scored in two races, Panasonic Toyota Racing lies comfortably in second place in the constructors' championship, two points shy of its combined total since the debut race (and point) in Australia 2002.
Tsutomu Tomita – Team Principal: "It is still like a dream to find ourselves in such competitive shape after only three years in the sport. I think first and foremost it is great to confirm our ultimate competitiveness at the front of Formula 1. It is also an outstanding achievement to consolidate Toyota's second place in the world championship. It really is a fantastic result. Performance-wise excellent drivers from both Jarno and Ralf. Jarno drove another smooth and consistent race making it look easy. Ralf did a great job in qualifying this morning to take him five places up the grid after a difficult lap yesterday. We knew his strategy would be compromised by stopping early but he drove a challenging race to pick up 4th place and five points – a great effort. Congratulations must again go to everyone in the team, the sponsors and the Toyota family. Now we have to look to ensure we retain this second place in the championship once the European season gets underway in Imola in three weeks."
Following Sunday morning's final aggregated qualifying session for the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan qualified 17th and 18th respectively, it was a case of mixed fortunes for Jordan Grand Prix during the race. Monteiro brought the car to the chequered flag in 10th position while Karthikeyan's efforts came to a premature end when he had to retire on lap 3 when his car stopped on the track due to an electrical problem which the team is investigating.
Trevor Carlin: We are slightly disappointed that Narain had a problem on the third lap and could not finish the race as he made up some good positions and things were looking quite good. Tiago has done a fantastic job to bring the car home in very difficult conditions. We are very pleased with our first top ten finish and we are improving at every race a little bit at a time.
Minardi F1 Team drivers Patrick Friesacher and Christijan Albers certainly played their part in the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix, taking the chequered flag in today's gruelling race in 12th and 13th places respectively. Equally praiseworthy, however, was the performance of the Minardi PS04B chassis in what was almost certain to be their last Formula One event, each of the hard-working cars having completed in excess of 20,000 kms of running. Albers made a spectacular start to today's race, storming past a number of cars in the first few corners of the opening lap, but then lost the advantage gained when a minor collision under braking at turn 10 with David Coulthard's car forced him to dive for the pits at the end of the lap to have a new nose fitted. Once back in the race, Albers drove strongly, making two further scheduled stops for fuel on his way to the chequered flag. Also on a two-stop strategy, team mate, Friesacher, made a similarly good start, and then enjoyed a less eventful, but nonetheless productive Bahrain Grand Prix, to claim 12th place.
Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth: This was a fitting finish to the career of the PS04, with both Minardi entries taking the chequered flag in gruelling conditions. Patrick and Christijan found themselves struggling towards the end of the race, but persevered. We now move on to Imola with the introduction of the new car in sight and, hopefully, the start of improved Minardi performance in 2005.
Bridgestone Motorsport's engineers are taking encouragement from the progress that has clearly been made since Malaysia, but will be leaving Bahrain's Sakhir circuit with a clear picture of the work needed over the coming weeks. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's Michael Schumacher looked strong all weekend and having started from the front row of the grid it was a bitter blow to see the World Champion retire from the 57-lap race with a hydraulic problem. Teammate Rubens Barrichello's hopes of coming away from Bahrain with points were also dashed despite fighting from the back of the grid to fifth. The Brazilian had had a luckless weekend from start to finish with car reliability problems in the practice and qualifying sessions then followed by tyre wear issues in the race. No points for the Scuderia's new F2005 challenger on its debut but signs of huge potential for future races mean the team and Bridgestone will keep pushing hard over the next three weeks before the first of the European races in Imola.
Hisao Suganuma – Technical Manager – Bridgestone Motorsport: It looked like a potentially successful weekend but unfortunately it did not finish as we had hoped. We have clearly made steps forward in the past two weeks and with the support of our teams we shall no doubt make further steps forward. Ferrari worked hard to bring forward the introduction of their new car and together we set about improving the performance of the Bridgestone tyres for this weekend. In this respect we feel we have made progress. Rubens had a tough time here getting very little track time prior to the race but Michael was able to run strongly this weekend in the practice sessions and he went on to confirm his pace with two good qualifying sessions, setting the third and second fastest times respectively, giving him an aggregated front row position on the grid. Both he and Rubens were also fighting strongly at the beginning of the race: Michael maintained his second place until retiring and Rubens clawed his way up from last on the grid to fifth before he began to lose his tyre's competitiveness. This is obviously an area on which we need to work over the next three weeks and we shall do our best for the race in San Marino.
Ross Brawn – Technical Director – Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: A mixed weekend of highs and lows and although it is disappointing not to win with the F2005 on its debut and there are clearly areas in which the car package has to improve, there were also some positive aspects of our performance this weekend on which we can build. Our car-tyre performance has improved since Malaysia and now we need to concentrate on working together with our partners to improve the package further.
Fernando Alonso (Renault) swept to a stunning victory in the Bahraini Grand Prix at Sakhir to score Michelin’s fourth straight Formula One success and extend the company’s unbeaten start to 2005. The result increases the Spaniard’s world championship lead to 10 points.
After securing pole position on Sunday morning, Alonso made a terrific start to beat closest challenger Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) off the line. The Renault driver held the German driver comfortably at bay during the opening stages of the race – and his task was simplified from the 12th lap onwards, after a hydraulic problem forced Schumacher to retire. From then on, Alonso was able to run at a controlled pace as he swept to his second consecutive F1 victory. It was the third of his fledgling career and Michelin’s 78th. He said: "My car has been perfect all weekend and we have made no mistakes. If we can avoid mechanical problems, I think we will be hard to beat this year."
Pat Symonds, executive director of engineering, Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: "We need to thank Michelin : the tyres were really put to the test this weekend, with track temperatures over 50°C. Once again, the tyres were excellent in every area: they were quick over one lap, and consistent all the way through the race."
It was also a fantastic moment in Renault’s sporting history: this success marked the hundredth win for a Renault engine in Formula 1, the twentieth for a Renault chassis, and this win is the first time in history that a Renault chassis has won three consecutive races. Patrick Faure, Chairman and CEO, Mild Seven RenaultF1 Team, was at the track and wanted to congratulate his driver and the technical partners: "Fernando Alonso has driven exceptionally well in all three races this season, but I would also like to pay tribute to the excellent work done by our principal technical partners – Michelin with its tyres and Elf with its lubricants. Both companies have done a brilliant job and have played a major part in our recent success. This is a real team sport and we must never forget as much."
Williams drivers Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld ran fourth and fifth initially, ahead of Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) and Räikkönen, but Heidfeld retired with engine failure shortly after his first scheduled stop and Webber spun from third to fifth with about one third of the race remaining. By then, Räikkönen had already vaulted the younger Schumacher during the first round of stops and was perfectly poised to capitalise on Webber’s error.
Ralf eventually took fourth place, while McLaren stand-in Pedro de la Rosa –deputising for the injured Juan Pablo Montoya – had a spirited run to fifth. De a Rosa lost time battling with the B·A·R-Honda drivers during the first two thirds of the race – when he twice outbraked himself while trying to gain positions – but he recovered brilliantly and set the afternoon’s fastest lap during his vigorous pursuit of Webber, which reaped dividends on the 55th of 57 laps.
Jarno Trulli proved that his renowned qualifying expertise are backed up by strong and committed race drives as he powered his way to a second successive podium finish. Jarno has jumped to second in the driver’s championship. "I am so pleased with the result. The car performed amazingly well, it was quick and reliable with no issues whatsoever. The braking, cooling, Michelin tyres, engine, everything worked well." said the Italian.
Michelin drivers took all eight points-scoring positions. Felipe Massa finished seventh for Sauber – his and the team’s first points of the campaign – and David Coulthard (Red Bull) maintained his 100 per cent scoring record for the season after passing Rubens Barrichello’s ailing Ferrari in the final moments. A couple of laps earlier, the Scot survived a clash with Jacques Villeneuve – an incident that denied the former world champion his best result since he returned to the sport. Rear suspension damage forced the French- Canadian to pit, although he was still classified 11th.
BAR team-mates Takuma Sato and Jenson Button both retired with technical problems while challenging for points finishes. The unfortunate Christian Klien (Red Bull/Michelin) qualified seventh, but retired before the start because of an electrical failure.
Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director: "When we first saw the 2005 Formula One tyre rules, our engineers knew they were taking on a difficult challenge – and I’d like to compliment all of them on a job well done. Our unbeaten start to the season has been a source of great satisfaction. It reflects very well on our technical expertise."
"Today’s race was very demanding, because of the extreme temperatures, and we witnessed a number of fascinating battles involving all of our partner teams. It is clear that tyre-wear rates differed from car to car, but none of the Michelin runners had any problem racing hard all the way to the flag."
"This has not been an easy weekend – the increased pace of Michael Schumacher saw to that – but we produced a package that had a clear edge in an extremely competitive situation. We will spare no effort to maintain the upper hand when the world championship returns to Europe later this month."
Pat Symonds, executive director of engineering, Renault F1 Team: "The conditions this weekend have been a real test for tyres, with track temperatures consistently topping 50 degrees, but once again Michelin delivered. Its tyres were quick over one lap and consistent in the race. They gave everything we can ask of a racing tyre."
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