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2006 Australia GP
Team Quotes - Sunday 2 April
The Renault F1 Team scored its third consecutive win of the 2006 Formula 1 season this afternoon at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit.
Fernando Alonso took his tenth career victory after starting from third position on the grid in an action-packed race which featured no fewer than four safety car periods. The Spaniard took the lead on lap 4 at the end of the first safety car period, in a perfectly-judged manoeuvre on Jenson Button's Honda, and only relinquished it during the first round of pit-stops. Giancarlo Fisichella was forced to start from the pit-lane after his R26 stalled on the grid, but a determined, forceful drive saw him claim fifth position right on the line, overtaking Button's stricken Honda on the finishing straight. The result leaves the Renault F1 Team with a nineteen point championship lead over its nearest rival, and Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella lie first and second in the championship.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: This was a fantastic win for Fernando. He had a great car this afternoon, and he controlled the race from start to finish. There were a lot of complicated situations to deal with, and he did it brilliantly. I am sorry for Fisi, because he suffered with more problems. We only solved it right towards the end of the race, and then it was too late for him to get close to the podium. But he showed he had the performance at the end, and we still scored a lot more points than our rivals today. We are in a strong position, but we will keep on pushing.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: This was a really hard weekend. We had rain, unusually cold temperatures, and a punctuated race. But the car showed great performance, so we are very, very pleased with our result. Fernando put in a faultless drive, and he was able to run at whatever pace was needed with ease. The safety car periods denied him the luxury of a big lead ,but he was able to maximise his performance in the laps immediately afterwards, as his early overtaking manoeuvre on Jenson showed. He then built good leads after every other safety car period, and controlled the race. Giancarlo was unfortunate at the start, when his anti-stall system triggered several times. He was unable to catch the last one, and this meant the safety systems shut the engine down. After starting from the pit-lane, he benefited from the first safety car to catch the field, and then drove very well. He had a lot of understeer during the middle part of the race, when we were encouraging him to push hard over the radio, and then the clutch failed after the final stop. That gave us some worries for a few laps, but once the problem had been solved, he started pushing Jenson very hard. This paid off handsomely to give Fisi a well-deserved fifth place after a fantastic race. The team is in a very strong position now after three races, but there are still fifteen to go. We have some important test sessions coming up in the next fortnight, and we are still working hard to improve the performance of the car.
Team McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen finished today's Australian Grand Prix in second place, only 1.8 seconds behind race winner Fernando Alonso. Kimi also set the fastest lap of the race with 1:26.045 on the very last lap. Juan Pablo Montoya was forced to retire from fourth place on lap 46 when the Colombian hit the kerb so severely that the engine's safety system was activated. The 57-laps Grand Prix was incident filled and saw the Mercedes Benz Safety Car deployed four times on laps 1-3, 7-9, 34-38 and 38-40. Kimi had his pitstops on laps 21 (9.388 seconds) and 34 (16.306 seconds), whilst Juan Pablo came in on laps 18 (9.369 seconds) and 34 (11.303 seconds). In Kimi's second pitstop, which took place during the third Safety Car period, the team also changed his front wing. Kimi is now joint second in the Drivers' Championship with 14 points whilst Juan Pablo is sixth with nine points. Team McLaren Mercedes remains second in the Constructors' standings with 23 points. The next race will be the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in Italy on 23rd April but the Team McLaren Mercedes test team will be back in action at Paul Ricard in France next week and in Barcelona the following week.
Ron Dennis: "The early part of the race was exciting as once Kimi was past Button, he had the pace to catch Fernando. Juan Pablo's retirement was caused by the activation of the engine safety system following a severe impact on the kerb clearly costing him third place. Kimi's race was disrupted by a flatspotted tyre obtained whilst passing Button resulting in severe vibration that led to a failure of the right hand front wing endplate. Towards the end of the race we took advantage of one of the Safety Car deployments to change the nose which gave Kimi the ability to close the gap to Fernando. It was also disappointing that both Kimi and Juan Pablo were trapped behind slower cars in two of the re-starts but at the end of the day we have the pace to win and this time last year our points deficit was significantly greater. As a team we look forward to returning to Europe and continuing the battle."
Norbert Haug: "Kimi gave it his all. Unfortunately he was hampered by a flatspotted tyre and a damaged part of the front wing. Once the nose was changed he demonstrated good speed. Juan Pablo hit a kerb too hard which caused his retirement. Our technical package is on a good level both with regards to speed and reliability, and now we have to improve our performance further during the next few races."
Jean Todt: "It was a weekend to forget. Going home without points is a very bitter feeling, given that we had all we needed to succeed. Felipe paid a high price for yesterday's qualifying, getting caught up in the sort of situation that typically happens towards the back of the pack at the start. After a first part to the race which was difficult as it was hard to get the tyres up to temperature, Michael went on the attack to try and move up the order. Unfortunately, he lost control of the car after clipping a kerb which unbalanced the car and ended up in the wall. This big disappointment does not alter our targets, but it does make them harder to reach. Now we want to show with results that we have what it takes to get back on top, starting when we race at home in Imola."
Ross Brawn: "It was a bad day. In the first stint of the race, Michael could not push the way he wanted as he struggled to get the tyres up to temperature, which was also partly down to the many safety car periods. Then, in the second part, it was clear that he could maintain a good pace. A shame about the accident which meant a good result was not possible. Now we have work to do, with significant developments to be tried on the car in the coming weeks."
Panasonic Toyota Racing took a dream podium after a dramatic Australian Grand Prix. Both Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli qualified in the top ten but they endured mixed fortunes in an incident-strewn race. Ralf raced strongly near the front early on before losing time for a drive-through penalty. But he made the most of a series of safety car restarts on his way to an eventual six points for 3rd place. Jarno's afternoon was much shorter as he was taken out of the race on the very first lap. Trulli was overtaking David Coulthard when the pair clashed, breaking the Toyota's rear suspension. Ralf's podium means that Toyota will return to Europe with hopes of a continued challenge during the coming races. The team is scheduled to test at France's Paul Ricard circuit next week as it bids to make further steps forward.
Ralf Schumacher raced strongly throughout today's incident-packed race gaining several places before taking 3rd place.
Jarno Trulli's race ended early when he suffered a broken rear suspension after a clash with Coulthard on the first lap.
The Panasonic Toyota Racing team is delighted to have come away from Australia with its first podium finish of 2006.
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."
Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1: "Obviously this was a disappointing result for the team. Nico's race was over at the first corner when he was hit from behind. We were looking strong on Mark's car, as he was running very long and had a lot more fuel on board, but something failed inside the transmission - we won't know exactly what until we get the car back and have a look at it. Bridgestone brought a really good tyre to the race, it was a shame we could not make the most of it. The job for us now is obviously to work on our reliability."
Sean O'Mahony, Principal Engineer – F1 Race Engineering, Cosworth Ltd: "Obviously it wasn't the best day for the team, but we live to fight another day. We were concerned about engine temperatures after the aborted start, but both drivers managed their engine usage sensibly. It was good to see a Cosworth-powered car leading the race and when our luck changes we can hopefully convert the obvious potential of the package into results. So far we have not seen any issues with the engines despite the on-track incidents, but we will need to give them a thorough inspection."
A torrid race came to a disappointing conclusion for pole-sitter Jenson Button in Melbourne today. Three outings for the safety car in an action-packed Australian Grand Prix left Jenson struggling for grip as he was unable to get heat into his tyres and he lost three places as the field reacted to three major accidents. He was running 5th and looking good for 4 points when his engine blew as he passed through the final corner.
Despite brake problems throughout the race, Rubens Barrichello was able to translate a disappointing grid slot into a 7th place finish, which opens his 2006 points account.
With a three week break before the next race in Imola, the team has two weeks of testing ahead to analyse these problems, first in Vallelunga, Italy and then in Barcelona. As Jenson did not take the chequered flag in Melbourne today he escapes a 10-place grid penalty in the next race, which gives the team the opportunity to maximise the benefit of its testing developments.
Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "Jenson had a very difficult time to warm up the tyres at the start and every restart after that, which meant that he progressively lost places in those situations. The same issue troubled both drivers. Then we had an engine failure on the last turn. Rubens had a tough race through the field and did a good job to finish in the points. We were unlucky with him on the second outing for the safety car since we elected to keep him out to gain track position, but the plan didn't work when he encountered traffic. Overall we were certainly hoping for more but despite the disappointment we will continue to keep pushing. There are two tests prior to Imola where we will be able to look into some of the issues that afflicted us here."
Shuhei Nakamoto, Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering Director - Honda Racing Development: "We'll be studying the data to work out the cause of Jenson's engine problem. We're sorry his efforts did not bring him any points today. He drove a strong race but struggled for grip after the safety car periods. Rubens did well to score his first points of the season. We have lots to work on in testing to get where we need to be."
After a good start by David, Jarno Trulli made contact with the Scot's car on the first lap of the race. 'Silly arse' said David, or at least, something to that effect…. On lap seven, Christian went off the track and into the wall, and became one of nine retirements of the afternoon. Coulthard completed the race in ninth place.
Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "Unfortunately both cars were victims of other drivers exuberance on the first lap. David made a very good start overtaking both Schumacher and Trulli, but further round the lap Trulli made a very optimistic manoeuvre, which pushed David to the back of the field. Christian was involved with the incident between Massa and Rosberg and took a big knock on the rear of his car. A couple of laps later he had quite a large accident, which may have been a result of the earlier incident. Obviously, until we've seen all the data and examined all the components, we won't have the answer on that."
In a breathtaking Australian Grand Prix, the BMW Sauber F1 Team not only brought both of its BMW Sauber F1.06s home to the finish, but scored points with each as Nick Heidfeld finished fourth, and Jacques Villeneuve sixth.
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 (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.
In what proved to be the most unusual and incident-filled race of the year thus far, Christijan Albers drove a smooth and steady race to bring his M16 home in 11th place.
Tiago Monteiro's car suffered a disappointing mechanical failure, marking only the second occasion in 22 races the Portuguese driver has been forced to retire.
Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "This was a bittersweet result for us. I think Tiago drove well enough to potentially score a top ten finish had he not had a malfunction. Christijan also drove a strong race and made a very good move to get past Sato. We have to overcome some reliability issues, for sure, but we are improving all the time, so that's encouraging. We are still a young team, so we just have to keep working hard and building on what we've learned."
Adrian Burgess, Sporting Director: "Christijan finished 11th in a fairly action-packed afternoon. We had a mechanical problem with Tiago, which was unfortunate, as both drivers were having a good race. We made a couple of good calls and one not-so-good call with the safety car pit strategies, which kept us on our toes. Looking ahead, we need to work harder to improve the reliability so that we can come back fighting in Europe."
Gerhard Berger (Team Owner): "Lucky and unlucky on the same day as with Tonio we were in a very good position today and could have finished higher. I am very happy with the result and the point. We had a race speed that was good enough to fight with Michael Schumacher at a certain stage and the others too. I think the whole team performed well and is steadily getting better. Now it is important that our speed of development matches that of the other teams."
Following an action-packed Australian Grand Prix, Super Aguri drivers Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide both came home safely to finish the race in 12th and 13th positions respectively. The 57-lap spectacle featured numerous incidents and safety car outings right up to the very end, but the SAF1 Team drivers both drove a solid race despite experiencing a few minor problems of their own.
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: "It was such a dramatic race today. So many things happened, including with our cars, but I am glad to say that we have accomplished our very first team goal which was to have both cars finish the race. Although it is a small one, it is always a good feeling to accomplish your goal. I am sure that it was a difficult race for the drivers and the team, so I am grateful to all of them for their hard work."
Ralf Schumacher took the Australian Grand Prix chequered flag in third place this afternoon, claiming Toyota Racing's first podium since switching to Bridgestone tyres. Ralf Schumacher started the race from sixth place on the grid but it was by no means an easy grand prix after an aborted race start and four safety car periods resulted in an incident filled 57-lap race. Of the ten Bridgestone runners only four finished with MF1 Racing's Christijan Albers crossing the line in 11th place and the Super Aguri F1 team cars finishing in 12th and 13th place positions. For the remainder of the Bridgestone runners it was a frustrating day of unfulfilled potential. Local hero Mark Webber had qualified in 7th place and like Ralf Schumacher, was using the new Bridgestone compound developed in recent testing. His race was curtailed on lap 23 with a transmission problem after leading the race for the previous two laps. His teammate Nico Rosberg was caught up in an opening lap incident and retired. Toyota's Jarno Trulli also went out of the race on lap one, as did Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Michael Schumacher, who was working his way up through the field and was lying in sixth place on lap 32, crashed out after running wide and getting caught on the uneven grass verges. Ralf Schumacher, who takes six points from today's result, lies in seventh place in the drivers' standings. The Bridgestone teams now have three weeks before the first European event of the season, the San Marino Grand Prix.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Congratulations to Ralf and Toyota on their first podium finish this season. It was a fantastic result for both the team and Bridgestone's personnel and this will spur us on to aim for greater achievements. Unfortunately today was not a good day for the majority of the Bridgestone shod cars. Three of them retired without completing a lap. Webber stopped with a mechanical problem and Michael Schumacher crashed out, which was frustrating as they would both have been strong finishers and Webber's lap times were competitive. We had done a lot of testing prior to the event to improve our tyre performance and we have seen some good results this weekend. We are confident that we have gone in the right development direction with our new compound range and will keep working to improve it further."
Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director, Chassis – Panasonic Toyota Racing: "Obviously this was a fantastic result for us after a difficult start to the season. Thank you to Bridgestone for bringing the latest development compound. While all the teams seemed to struggle keeping the heat in their tyres in the restarts I think comparatively we suffered less. This was partially due to the new compound and partially down to the work we have been doing with Bridgestone."
Fernando Alonso extended his Formula One world championship lead with an inch-perfect drive in today's Australian Grand Prix. The Spaniard took the lead early on, after the first in a series of enforced restarts, and was never seriously threatened. It was the Spaniard's 10th F1 victory and Michelin's 96th. In partnership with Renault, the Clermont-Ferrand firm has won the first three races of the 2006 season and the last 13 in all.
Kimi Raikkonen completed a Michelin one-two and all six Michelin partners finished with cars in the top 10. Nick Heidfeld was fourth ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella, Jacques Villeneuve, Rubens Barrichello, Scott Speed, David Coulthard and Jenson Button, who slipped from fifth to 10th when his Honda's engine gave out at the final corner.
Nick Shorrock, Michelin F1 director: "This might have been an incident -packed race, but from Michelin's perspective there were no problems at all. Various incidents and safety car periods made this a very taxing afternoon, but our three different types of tyre responded superbly to the changing circumstances. Clearly, we got our sums right.
"I'd like to offer my congratulations to Fernando, on another win,and to Renault, for keeping up its unbeaten start to the season. I'd also like to compliment all six of our partners for getting cars home in the top 10. If it hadn't been for a number of race incidents, the result might have been even more emphatically in Michelin's favour."
Pat Symonds, executive engineering director, Renault F1 Team: "The whole weekend has been a really tough test for tyres, thanks to low temperatures, rain showers, the challenging nature of the circuit… and all today's safety car periods. Throughout the meeting, however, our Michelin tyres performed faultlessly and played a significant role in our success. My thanks go to all at Michelin."
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