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2006 Monaco GP
Team Quotes - Sunday 28 May
This afternoon at the Monaco Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso took his fourth win of the 2006 season with a measured, mistake-free drive from pole position.
His team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, having been forced to start from ninth on the grid following a penalty yesterday afternoon, drove a dynamic race to finish sixth. The combined result allowed the Renault F1 Team to consolidate its lead in the Constructors' Championship, with a total of 91 points from seven races, and a 28-point lead over its nearest challenger.
Fernando enjoyed a trouble-free afternoon after starting from pole position. He took the lead at the first corner, and then controlled his pace as he was chased throughout the first stint by Kimi Raikkonen. His longer first stint allowed him to emerge from the pits ahead of his rival, and also meant the team could cover the McLaren-Mercedes strategy by fuelling longer in the second stint. However, a safety car period on lap 49 rendered this academic, as all the leading runners pitted for their second and final stops. Following Raikkonen's retirement during the safety car period, Fernando was able to look after his tyres and engine during the remaining 30 laps, preserving the performance potential of the V8 for its next race, while controlling the gap to Montoya in second. He has extended his championship lead to 21 points over Michael Schumacher, and has a total of 64 points from a possible 70.
Giancarlo Fisichella began the day with a much harder task: starting from ninth position following a post-qualifying penalty, but on a strategy designed for a position at the front grid. This left him running a shorter first stint than his immediate competitors, and required an aggressive approach to convert his grid slot into points. Giancarlo delivered in style, with an aggressive start, dynamic driving and strong pace. He also disproved the myth that overtaking at Monaco is impossible, with impressive manoeuvres on three fellow competitors on the track (Rosberg, Villeneuve, Coulthard). The safety car period disadvantaged him relative to the cars around him who were running one stop strategies, but he nevertheless raced to a strong sixth position – and three valuable championship points. He now lies third in the drivers' championship.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: This was a great team performance from Renault today. We want to dedicate the win to Edouard Michelin. Michelin was a big part of our world title success last year, and they have played an important role in putting us in the lead of the championship in 2006. We are very happy to win here in Monaco, and to be able to pay tribute to his memory in the way he would have wanted.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: Congratulations to Fernando. He took a fantastic win on the ultimate driver's circuit. There is not much to say about his race, apart from the fact that he had it perfectly under control. He was very deliberately taking it easy after each pit-stop because this circuit is so demanding for the rear tyres, owing to the heavy traction demands. Throughout the race, though, Fernando had the ability to increase his pace when he needed to. As for Giancarlo, it was a true pleasure to watch him race today. His overtaking manoeuvres were daring and well-judged, and I cannot remember a driver working so aggressively in many years to move through the field here at Monaco. In spite of this, his race was effectively controlled by traffic, and the Safety Car prevented his strategy from playing out fully, but we could not have asked much more of him today. Our thoughts are also with Michelin today. They brought tyres that struck the perfect balance between first-lap performance and long run consistency, and we are proud to have taken their fifth consecutive Monaco victory, all the more so in such poignant circumstances.
Team McLaren Mercedes driver Juan Pablo Montoya finished today's Monaco Grand Prix in second position. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen retired from second place on lap 51 having never been more than a second behind eventual race winner Fernando Alonso. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies. Juan Pablo came in for the first time on lap 21 (9.9 seconds) whilst Kimi pitted one lap later (10.3 seconds). Both drivers used the Safety Car period starting on lap 49 for their second stops which lasted 6.3 seconds (Kimi) and 7.4 seconds (Juan Pablo). Kimi is fourth in the Drivers' ranking with 27 points and Juan Pablo is now fifth with 23 points. Team McLaren Mercedes holds third place in the Constructors' Championship with 50 points. In preparation for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone the team will be testing at Barcelona this coming week.
Ron Dennis: "A good result for Juan Pablo whose challenge for the lead was hampered by the traffic between him and Fernando following his last stop which took place during the Safety Car period. After the first round of pitstops it was clear to us that Kimi had seven laps more fuel than Fernando. Kimi was just saving his tyres and engine but then the deployment of the Safety Car following Webber's on-track retirement caused us to lose this advantage. During Kimi's stop the exhaust temperature rose significantly and failed to cool sufficiently following his return to the track behind the Safety Car. The excessive heat burnt a wiring loom which finished his race. At least we were very competitive, and our target is to maintain the momentum into Silverstone."
Norbert Haug: "We showed good speed during the whole weekend and the right strategy to be in with the best chance of winning. I am sorry for Kimi who had to retire due to a heat shield fire. Well done to Juan Pablo who drove a solid race to finish second. This weekend has seen us taking a step forward, and we want to continue this trend. We are now looking forward to the next race at Silverstone."
Jean Todt: "Obviously we are very disappointed. Fifth place for Michael and ninth for Felipe are definitely not up to the ability level of our package: a very competitive car, running on really strong Bridgestone tyres. However, the four points Michael has brought home are important. He fought from start to finish, putting on a good performance. Felipe was always in traffic, held up by slower cars and he just missed out on points. Even though today we have lost precious ground in the fight for both championships, our motivation is still very high and we will give our all to tackle the remaining eleven rounds as well as possible."
Ross Brawn: The cars went very well for the whole race, as could be seen from the fact we set the fastest race lap with Michael. The Bridgestones were excellent, both in terms of performance and consistency. At half distance we changed strategy, stopping early to get out of traffic and that meant we managed to pass a few cars. Then we were very unlucky with the safety car that came out at the wrong time for us and we actually lost a lap to the cars in front. Michael did a good job to unlap himself and to chase those ahead of him in the final stages, but by then it was too late. Clearly, it's frustrating not to have got the result we could have done. But this disappointment only makes us more determined for the rest of the season. We have the team, the drivers, the cars and the tyres. We will do our utmost to close the gap on our rivals over the next eleven races."
Panasonic Toyota Racing will come away from today's Monaco Grand Prix with a solitary point after a battling drive to 8th place from Ralf Schumacher on a one-stop strategy. But it was a day of heartbreak for Jarno Trulli, who came within five laps of making the podium after an inspired day's work around the streets of the principality. The Italian made the most of a similar strategy to power his way up to 3rd place before he succumbed to a hydraulic failure, coasting to a halt on the way up the hill from Ste Devote. Toyota is scheduled to continue testing its new TF106B package at Barcelona this week in preparation for next month's British Grand Prix.
Tsutomu Tomita – Team Principal: "We have to be pleased about getting a point from Ralf, who battled hard throughout the race. But to say we are disappointed about what happened to Jarno is an understatement. He had raced hard from the start in heavy traffic and for him to suffer a hydraulic problem so close to the flag was a cruel blow. So it was a bitter finish, but at least we can say that the team performed better over the course of the weekend. It was a correct decision to go for a one-stop strategy and it worked well. We will have to investigate our poor starts but at least our pace was good on the heavy tanks. We brought Ralf in earlier than we had to because he was stuck behind Heidfeld, who we expected so stay out longer. Unfortunately they both came in at the same time but it was the only thing we could try. Jarno similarly spent most of his race behind Barrichello so we can only congratulate the drivers on doing such a good job today. It was a bad day for us in terms of the race results but the gap to the top teams is closing and we will continue developing and fighting in order to achieve a podium as soon as possible."
Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1: "It was a shame that both drivers had to stop the race due to exhaust failures that then allowed hot exhaust gas to burn through wiring looms. Up until then Mark was doing really well and he was in line for a strong second place. The car was really competitive and had a lot of fuel on board. The qualifying pace of the car was clearly good as well if you look at the lengths of the first stints compared to the other front running cars, so it's a shame we didn't come away with more points from this circuit. Nico's race suffered from the result of poor qualifying which left him stuck in traffic right from the beginning. We now must get to the bottom of the exhaust problems that have affected us today and ensure they are fixed."
Chris Jilbert, Principal Engineer - Cosworth, F1 Race Engineering: "A thoroughly disappointing end to what was shaping up to be a promising event for Cosworth following Mark's exceptional qualifying position. Unfortunately both cars retired due to exhaust failures. We need to give both engines a thorough inspection back in Northampton to assess the extent of the fire damage."
Rubens Barrichello brought home five championship points today at the end of a tough Monaco Grand Prix for the Honda Racing F1 Team. He got a good start on heavy fuel, holding 5th position off the grid, and maintained a solid performance throughout the 78-lap race. Rubens enjoyed a thrilling battle with Jarno Trulli for much of the race and a superbly executed pit stop on lap 46 meant the Brazilian rejoined the action ahead of Trulli. Rubens battled with oversteer but pushed hard and was challenging for a podium position until he was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He closed in on David Coulthard, finishing only a second behind despite losing 13 seconds as he took the penalty.
On the other side of the garage it was a long hard afternoon for Jenson Button. He never really recovered from his 13th position on the grid and came home in 11th place.
Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "An extremely tough afternoon full of highs and lows. Both drivers were struggling with the balance of the car throughout the race, nevertheless due to Rubens' good grid position, he eventually found himself in a podium position. Of course we were devastated with Rubens' drive-through penalty, although 4th place is his best result with our team so far. Jenson was unable to recover from the low grid position, especially given the handling difficulties we were having."
Shuhei Nakamoto, Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering Director - Honda Racing Development: "Rubens battled hard today and nearly achieved a podium finish for us. Monaco has always proved to be a tough race on the cars and engines and I am pleased we got both engines to the end of their second races."
Christian Horner: "It's a fantastic result for the whole team. David's driven well all weekend and was desperately unlucky in qualifying, but now he's got the result he deserved. It was a great strategy from the team, when we decided to change from a two-stop to a one-stop race and David did really well. But, let's not forget Christian in all this. He was looking really strong here and was very unfortunate to suffer a loss of drive in his car. We're sure that, without that problem, he would have been right up there too today."
Despite a disappointing qualifying, the BMW Sauber F1 Team still managed to collect two more championship points at the Monaco Grand Prix when Nick Heidfeld finished seventh. Jacques Villeneuve finished the race but was out of the points.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): If you start on the streets of Monaco 14th and 15th on the grid and still collect two points you can't complain. Of course we benefited from retirements in front of us, but Nick deserved his two points. His start was excellent and his race performance good. Jacques didn't get the chance to be so far up the field and then was delayed by a drive through penalty.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis): For us it was a very difficult race. We started with very heavy cars and soon noticed the lap times dropping. Because of this we decided to call our cars in early and change the original strategy. Thanks to Nick's consistent performance after his stop we have two points. Considering our grid positions, our race result is good.
Midland F1 Racing overcame a calamitous start to the Monaco Grand Prix to claim its third two-car finish of the season.
An unfortunate start line incident saw Christijan Albers lightly collide with teammate Tiago Monteiro and push him into the barriers, damaging Monteiro's front wing and forcing him into an early, unscheduled pit stop. Albers was assessed a drive-through penalty for his part in the incident and also lost valuable track positions.
Despite these handicaps, both drivers drove aggressive races and displayed impressive pace, making the most of their opponents' retirements and penalties. Albers claimed an impressive 12th-place finish, while Monteiro brought home his M16 in 15th position, despite being held up by slower cars for much of the race.
The team now returns home to prepare for the British Grand Prix, across the road from the factory at Silverstone Circuit, in two weeks' time.
James Key, Technical Director: "A busy and eventful afternoon, to say the least. Both drivers had extremely good pace during the race. Obviously, the situation at the beginning really messed up the afternoon because it resulted in Tiago losing a lot of time with a nose change and Christijan got a drive-through penalty. That was really unfortunate because they were both on the pace. In fact, they were quicker than the cars ahead of them and caught them up very quickly afterward. So that was a real shame because everything else today was quite positive. The cars were reliable, the Bridgestone tyres were very good and the performance was encouraging. It's just a shame that wasn't reflected in the final result."
Franz Tost: "It was a disappointing race for us, because for example, if you look where the two Ferraris ended the race, having started behind us, then you can see that we put in a weak performance today. We now have to work on all the areas where we are losing out."
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: "All in all it was a very tough race for us. Takuma was doing well until he suffered with an electrical problem and Franck did a great job to finish his first race for the team. It is a difficult track and he said that the car was very hard to handle. We have not achieved our goal of another two-car finish once again, but I would like to thank the team for all their hard work this weekend."
High hopes and huge potential were dashed one by one this weekend for Bridgestone as each of its Monaco Grand Prix podium contenders had their race weekends ruined. Bridgestone had brought new soft compound tyres to the Principality this week and they were working well. However, the first sign of trouble came when Saturday's provisional pole man, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's Michael Schumacher, was sent to the back of the grid for a driving infringement. This was followed today by a cruel blow to WilliamsF1's Mark Webber's hopes when his car suffered an exhaust failure while the Australian was running in a strong third place. His teammate, Nico Rosberg, crashed out shortly after the safety car period and Panasonic Toyota Racing's Jarno Trulli, who had climbed to third place by the closing stages of the race, was also robbed of a podium due to a mechanical failure. His teammate, Ralf Schumacher, did however salvage a point for the team. Michael Schumacher, meanwhile, had an impressive race, finishing fifth and setting the fastest lap of the race. However, although he and Ferrari retain their second places in the drivers' and constructors' championships, he has a lot of work to do in the coming races. MF1 Racing's Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro both finished today's race, as did Super Aguri F1's Franck Montagny.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Despite not having a Bridgestone runner finish on the podium today I am very proud of the performance of our tyres this weekend. The new soft compounds brought for the Monaco Grand Prix were clearly working very well. Mark Webber was undoubtedly set for a podium before having to pull over and Michael Schumacher climbed from the back of the field to fifth place. He also set the fastest lap towards the end of the race which really showed the consistency of the tyres as he was on a long second stint. It was then very frustrating to see Jarno Trulli, who was running in third place in the closing stages of the race, retire with a mechanical problem. So, although our teams will leave Monaco with just a handful of points, we feel satisfied that Bridgestone had the better tyre, capable of winning the race."
Ross Brawn, Technical Director – Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: "The car was very good during the race with good balance and performance. The Bridgestone tyres were excellent, both in terms of performance and consistency. It was just a question of trying to find ways through the traffic. We changed the strategy about half way through the race which gave us a break and enabled us to jump a few cars. I think we were very unlucky with the safety car which came out at just the wrong time. Obviously it's frustrating not to have had the results we could have had with the car this weekend but it will make us even more determined now for the rest of the season. We've got the car, the team, the drivers and the tyres and we'll be doing our utmost to close the gap on our rivals over the next eleven races."
Pascal Vasselon, Senior General Manager Chassis – Panasonic Toyota Racing: "The Bridgestone tyres have worked well today. We had no issues with wear or graining and the consistency was fine. We showed good pace and we're pleased with that Ralf scored a point but of course we are all desperately disappointed to have missed out on a podium with Jarno."
Fernando Alonso dominated today's Monaco Grand Prix – and immediately dedicated his success to the memory of Edouard Michelin, who died on Friday. Alonso headed a clean sweep of the top four positions by different Michelin teams, beating Juan Pablo Montoya, David Coulthard (who recorded Red Bull Racing's first podium finish) and Rubens Barrichello. After the race, the top three declined to spray champagne on the podium as a mark of respect to Edouard Michelin.
Nick Shorrock, Michelin Formula One director: "This has been a very emotional event for everyone at Michelin. We have been very touched by the Formula One community's thoughtfulness throughout the weekend and we appreciated the top three drivers' comments and gestures immediately after the race.
"In technical and sporting terms, this has been a fantastic result. Fernando Alonso drove with great control and our tyres performed exactly as we expected them to, despite a wide range of strategies – David Coulthard ran his second set for 49 laps, for instance.
"The result strengthens Renault's position at the head of both world championships and takes us another step closer to completing our grand prix century, which is now just two victories away."
Flavio Briatore, managing director, Renault F1 Team: "As Fernando said, we really want to dedicate this victory to t he memory of Edouard Michelin. It was a terrible shock when we heard the news on Friday. Winning the championship last year was a very large part down to Michelin and this year they have again provided great tyres. This is one of the reasons we won here and are leading the championship."
Pat Symonds, executive engineering director, Renault F1 Team: "After a lot of testing for Monaco, we still felt there was more to come from the tyres before we arrived here this weekend. Michelin reacted superbly before the event to make a new compound especially for Monaco, which as we can see now, suited the circuit perfectly. Michelin found the perfect balance between first lap performance and consistency during the race and the performance of our cars this afternoon was once again testament to the quality of their tyres. Of course, it was also special for us to win on a very sad weekend for Michelin."
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