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2007 Canada GP
Team Quotes - Sunday 10 June
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal and took his maiden Formula 1 victory. After 70 laps with four Safety Car periods, Lewis won 4.3 seconds ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Alexander Wurz. Fernando Alonso ended up seventh following a 10 second stop-and-go penalty. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies. Lewis came in on laps 22 (9 seconds) and 48 (6 seconds) whilst Fernando made his stops on laps 23 (7.8 seconds) and 53 (5.7 seconds). Fernando set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1m16.367 on lap 46. In the Drivers' World Championship, Lewis took the lead with 48 points ahead of Fernando with 40 points. After six of the season's 17 races, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes heads the Constructors' table with 88 points ahead of Ferrari on 60.
Ron Dennis: The whole team worked so hard to achieve the optimum result today. The frustration and disappointment of receiving a stop-and-go penalty having been forced to stop in the pitlane when the pitlane was closed in the first safety car period was obviously immense. However this in no way should detract from a mature and disciplined drive by Lewis to claim his first Grand Prix win. His family should be justifiably proud of his achievement and whatever McLaren and Mercedes-Benz have contributed only compliments his talent and commitment. Fernando was truly unlucky today but there is still a long way to go in the World Championship and we appear to be extremely competitive. The entire team is obviously delighted that Robert Kubica is OK.
Norbert Haug: Lewis took his first Grand Prix victory in his sixth Formula 1 race. He did the best job of all and kept cool throughout. Congratulations and compliments to him. Fernando fell to the new Safety Car rules and received a stop-and-go penalty because he had to refuel as the pits were still closed during the first safety car phase, but when the tank is empty you have no other choice than to come in. He posted the fastest lap of race and was a contender for the podium, but at least he achieved a couple of points under difficult circumstances. We have won three out of the six races and finished all the race laps with both cars so far this year and are the only team to have finished every race in the points. Thank you to everybody in the team for their great efforts to make this possible. We now look forward to the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis in one weeks time. The most important news today is that Robert Kubica is OK after his horrifying accident.
A dramatic and chaotic Canadian Grand Prix once again saw a day of mixed fortunes for the ING Renault F1 Team. After starting dead last, Heikki Kovalainen took an impressive fourth-place finish in this afternoon's race. Good fortune certainly played a part but it is often said that you make your own luck in Formula 1, and the Finnish rookie drove an assured, mistake-free race as he picked off his competitors, resisting pressure from Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso in the final ten laps as he attempted to find a way past Alexander Wurz – and onto the podium. Giancarlo Fisichella ran strongly in the opening part of the race, overtaking rivals at the start and keeping in touch with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen ahead of him. Although he never had clean air to show the improved performance of the R27, his competitiveness was such that a podium finish would have been within his grasp. However, a mistake after his pit-stop under the first safety car period saw him leave the pit-lane while the light was still red, which resulted in his disqualification on lap 53.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: I think the only person who had a trouble-free race this afternoon was Lewis Hamilton. For everybody else, it was a case of trying to make as few mistakes as possible. We have some important positive points to take from the race. Giancarlo was fast all weekend, and his pace was competitive with Ferrari in the race. As for Heikki, he showed why we still believe in him. He held off Raikkonen and Alonso at the end, kept a cool head all the way through, and did a fantastic job. Congratulations to him on a great race. Now, the challenge will be to take the maximum from the improved performance of the car next weekend in Indy.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: It was a very mixed day for the team, after one of the most exciting races for many years. On the one hand, we are extremely disappointed that Giancarlo lost a likely third place through a simple mistake that, to be honest, anybody can make in the heat of the moment. Giancarlo's first instinct is to race, and his concentration at the pit exit was on racing Kubica; under those circumstances, it is easy to miss the light. In contrast, Heikki scored a fantastic result. He went from last place to fourth through a combination of luck, strategy and excellent driving on his part. It just goes to show that the race is never over until the chequered flag falls. We also saw a terrifying accident this afternoon, and we were all relieved to learn that Kubica was not severely injured. That he should survive an accident of that magnitude is an eloquent tribute to the continuous hard work that the teams and the FIA put into constantly improving the safety standards in our sport.
Jean Todt: We expected a tough race, but given the outcome, that was just a euphemism. The only really positive news of the day is that Kubica, who had a really serious looking accident, is reasonably alright, given the impact he sustained. In a race that was confusing and chaotic thanks to the numerous safety cars periods, we come away with just four points for Kimi, whose car was damaged in a collision at the first corner after the start and then after Kubica's accident. As for Felipe, he was disqualified for driving out of pit lane when the light was still red. Of course this is not a happy moment for us. Now we have to study everything about this weekend, to understand how to move on. It is not the first time we have been in a situation like this and we have always shown that we can extricate ourselves from these difficulties.
Luca Baldisserri: You could say this was a pretty chaotic race, featuring lots of safety car periods. Kimi damaged his front wing right at the start and the car lost its aerodynamic balance when some debris off Kubica's car got stuck in the wing, making the car especially difficult to drive. Felipe was going very well and could have secured a good result. The roulette of the safety car certainly didn't help and we committed an unfortunate mistake which led to the Brazilian being disqualified. From what we could see, our race pace was competitive.
The Honda Racing F1 Team endured a frustrating race in Montreal today, where Rubens Barrichello finished in 12th position and Jenson Button was left on the grid with a gear selection problem.
The Canadian Grand Prix proved to be one of the most dramatic races in recent years, with no fewer than four safety car periods and only 12 out of 22 cars taking the chequered flag. It proved one safety car too many for the Honda team, compromising a strategy which would have brought Rubens home well into the points.
Jacky Eeckelaert, Engineering Director: "It goes without saying that this has been a very disappointing race for us. First, Jenson had a gear selection problem off the line and was unable to start the race. Rubens drove well in very dramatic circumstances and did well to fight his way up to third place. We had planned our second pitstop for quite late in the race in order to minimise the number of laps we completed on the option tyre. Unfortunately the safety car came out again just before that stop, which bunched the field back up. Without that safety car, Rubens would have dropped from third to fifth place but the final safety car consigned him to 12th position. On a positive note we were all pleased to hear that Robert Kubica escaped serious injury after what was a very nasty accident."
Shock, relief and happiness – the BMW Sauber F1 Team experienced it all during the Canadian Grand Prix. The shock was the horrendous accident that happened to Robert Kubica on lap 27. The relief came halfway through the race when the team got the news from initial medical reports that he had not suffered any serious injuries. By the time the race was over, the crew was able to be happy with the fantastic result of Nick Heidfeld finishing second. This is the team's first podium of 2007 and its highest finish. The team received even more good news that Robert Kubica is in a Montreal hospital undergoing thorough medical checks and, according to doctors reports, should be released on Monday.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): This was the most emotional race weekend we have experienced with our new team. After this race which was full of incidents we have two reasons to be very happy today: Firstly, according to the first medical reports, Robert has escaped this very heavy accident relatively unscathed. Then Nick laid the foundation stone for our first podium of the season yesterday with his third in qualifying. Today he put in a very strong performance and drove to second on his own merit. Congratulations to him and the entire BMW Sauber F1 Team. I believe Robert would have also come close to the podium today.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): Most important is the news Robert isn't badly injured. This is thanks to the high safety standards the FIA have instigated over the past years. Before the accident Robert was in a promising position and on course to get valuable points. We hope he recovers quickly, but we are still waiting for news. For Nick our race strategy payed of. After the start he took advantage of Alonso's mistake and then drove a strong race. He was constantly in second position without losing contact to the front and this was not only due to the safety car periods. All in all it was a very difficult race, and second place is fantastic for us.
Panasonic Toyota Racing will leave Montreal with a single point courtesy of Ralf Schumacher following a dramatic Canadian Grand Prix that featured a total of four safety car periods. Ralf started in 18th place with a heavy fuel load. Following the first two interruptions for the safety car he was the last driver to pit on lap 39 by which time he was running as high as 3rd. By the time the race order settled down he took the flag in 8th. Jarno Trulli lined up 10th on the grid and kept that position for much of the first stint. Then he was hit from behind by Robert Kubica's BMW, an incident that led to a severe impact and led to one of the safety car periods. Jarno suffered some damage to his right rear tyre and he was forced to pit. He came in again after just one lap on the option tyre. During the rest of the interrupted race he ran as high as 6th but he spun out on lap 58, just after his last scheduled pit stop. The Toyota team will now travel to Indianapolis for next week's US Grand Prix. The team also bids farewell to Tsutomu Tomita who attended his last race as Team Principal today before he takes over as Chairman of the Fuji Speedway.
Tsutomu Tomita – Team Principal: That was easily the wildest grand prix of the year and crashes and safety cars dominated the racing action. We used our safety car strategies but we ended up with very different stories for our two cars. Considering he started from 18th on the grid Ralf did a very good job. He was fuelled very heavy but he saved the tyres for the first part of the race. He was able to make up a lot of ground with the safety cars, although the last one cost us some places. Like others, he was on the option tyre at the end of the race and struggled for pace. Jarno had some difficulties with grip during his first stint and then he had a flat tyre after the incident with Kubica. In the end things didn't work out for him. Clearly we have not had the best performance this weekend and we have work to do. But we managed the suspension problem we had on Friday and I'm happy that we had no mechanical issues today. The point is a good leaving present for me and I wish the team all the best and good luck for the future. See you at the Fuji Speedway.
Christian Horner: Today was the first day that we saw the effects of the new pace car regulations. Mark benefited during the first safety car stint, but we lost out massively when the pace car came out again later in the race. Mark had been running in second and third, but dropped from second to ninth, so ultimately it was a very frustrating race for him. David had no choice but to pit under the safety car as he was right in his fuel window when it came out, and unfortunately we later had to retire the car with a gear box issue.
Fabrice Lom, Renault Principal Engineer, Track Support: Needless to say we are really disappointed today. One of our cars retired and we need to understand what happened. With Mark, we missed the chance to score a strong result today. Once again it's a shame we were not able to make the most of our package because it has shown real potential. We have to hope for a better result in Indy next week and we will of course do our best to achieve it!
Podium! In a gripping performance, Alex Wurz drove the AT&T Williams team to its first podium in two seasons, through the debris of multiple accidents, safety car deployments and altering race strategies up and down the pitlane. His team-mate, Nico Rosberg, was unlucky not to be able to join Alex on the podium after an unavoidable stop-go penalty compromised his front running position from which he was unable to recover, especially with the loss of a large number of racing laps. After sustaining a heavy accident, everyone at AT&T Williams wishes BMW Sauber driver, Robert Kubica, well.
Sam Michael, Technical Director: A fantastic day for Alex and the team, he ran a one stop strategy and was carrying a lot of fuel for much of the race as well as coping with the super soft tyre for forty laps and the loss of downforce due to damage to his rear wing sustained when Speed ran into him, so he did a really good job, kept his head down and never gave up despite all the problems. Nico was very unlucky, his pace was really good and he had everyone around him covered and he would have been on for a podium, but he missed the safety car pit window by 13 seconds. We had no option, we had to bring him in and take the penalty, otherwise he would have run out of fuel. He suffered because of the new safety car regulation but we have secured six points today which is great for the team and it has been a great effort from everyone at the factories in Grove and Cologne.
Franz Tost: I must congratulate the team on doing an excellent job in terms of strategy, but it did not pay off today. They reacted under very complex situations in a perfect way, especially when carrying out the two tyre stops which meant we not only got our stint on the less good tyre out of the way, but we were also able to check the car in terms of safety as far as debris was concerned. They refuelled at the right time too and that put us back in the race.
The Etihad Aldar Spyker Formula One Team had its most competitive outing of the season at today's dramatic Canadian Grand Prix, but it was a case of what might have been as both cars retired before the close of the race.
Christijan Albers started from the pit lane but kept in touch with the group in front with a string of competitive lap times. The Dutchman was well-placed to take advantage of the numerous safety car periods throughout the race and, with some good strategy calls from the team, found himself as high as ninth by lap 40. Lapping a second a lap quicker than the pursuing Alex Wurz, who later finished on the podium, Christijan was able to move up the order following accidents, disqualifications and mechanical problems for other cars. The dream result did not materialise, however, as he ran wide into the wall on lap 48. When he returned to the garage for a nosecone change, technicians found the brake line had been damaged in the impact and the Dutchman was unable to continue.
Adrian Sutil was similarly putting in very competitive lap times in the first part of the race, but ran wide at turn eight on lap 22, impacting with the wall.
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: 'First of all we have to be grateful that Kubica is safe after the terrible accident. It was an action-packed race, and a big disappointment as we could have easily picked up some points. Adrian once again went off on his own accord - he really has to stop making this kind of mistake now if he wants to compete at this level. Christijan was running very well, but his wing came off through turn eight, which was more than likely due to damage sustained when he clipped the wall earlier on. The wing coming off then damaged the brake line, which meant he couldn't continue. Again another mistake has meant we missed out on an opportunity of a points finish, but you have to move forward and make sure that we're ready for Indy.'
Colin Kolles, team principal and managing director: 'First and foremost, we all have to hope that Robert Kubica is safe and well following his crash. For us, we really missed an opportunity here. We had a reasonable pace and could actually race other cars. We also got all our strategy calls right, but again small mistakes meant we could not capitalise on our position. Both Adrian and Christijan really need to focus on this now, learn from it and move on. We cannot let this situation happen again.'
Super Aguri drivers Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson achieved a fantastic result. In a race that saw half of the field retire from running, both Taku and Ant drove an extremely demanding Canadian Grand Prix. Whilst running in and maintaining third position, an unfortunate member of the local wildlife crossed Anthony's path and damaged his front wing causing him to make an otherwise unnecessary stop. He continued to drive a superb race and achieved 11th position across the finish line. Taku had the drive of his career. During the nail-biting last laps of the race he overtook the two Toyota cars and defending World Champion Fernando Alonso. Coming home once again in the points to take the chequered flag in 6th position Taku is now equal 11th in the Drivers' Championship, taking Super Aguri to joint 7th place in the Constructors' Championship.
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: It has been a perfect day. Our team, and Taku, achieved another three points - it's incredible what they have done today. Anthony also did a very, very good job, but it's unlucky that during the race he hit an animal and this damaged his car. The whole team did great job today and I am very proud of them.
Bridgestone Motorsport celebrated the 110th Formula One Grand Prix victory on Bridgestone Potenza tyres after McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took the chequered flag for his first Formula One victory at the Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton delivered a faultless performance in an incident filled race with no fewer than four safety car periods. The momentous win took place just hours after Casey Stoner scored the fifth victory on Bridgestone tyres at the Circuit de Catalunya in the MotoGP category this season.
Both Bridgestone Potenza compounds withstood the high track temperatures and fluctuations in tyre pressure brought about by the numerous safety car periods, allowing a variety of strategies. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) converted his third place on the grid to second in the race whilst Alex Wurz (Williams Toyota) drove through the field from 19th at the start to the final podium spot by employing a single stop strategy, completing 40 laps on the super soft compound in his final stint.
Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) finished in fourth after a strong drive through the field whilst Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) was fifth. Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato overtook Fernando Alonso (McLaren Mercedes) in the late stages of the race to finish in sixth position. Alonso was seventh whilst Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) took the final point. The Bridgestone Potenzas employed on the safety car performed faultlessly too in the four stints they ran at the head of the field.
Hamilton now leads the drivers' championship with 48 points to Alonso's 40 whilst McLaren Mercedes lead the constructors' championship with 88 points to Ferrari's 60. Bridgestone Motorsport heads now to the tough test of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the soft and medium specification Potenzas will be put through their paces on the punishing Indy banking.
Kees van de Grint, Bridgestone Motorsport Head of Track Engineering Operations: It was an excellent victory by Lewis Hamilton who did everything perfectly. He looked after his Potenzas very well and this is shown by his dominant performance. Nick Heidfeld drove a fine race too and after their difficulties early in the weekend the drives of Alex Wurz and Heikki Kovalainen were particularly noteworthy. Due to the number of safety car periods it is difficult to judge the performance of the two compounds of Potenza. My impression is that the soft was more consistent whilst the super soft presented more of a challenge with graining, which some managed better than others. In terms of heat resistance and wear rates there were no issues and this was illustrated in particular by Wurz running for 40 laps on the super soft. As happy as I am with the results we've seen today my thoughts are with Robert Kubica after his incident. There was enough drama in today's race to fill a book.
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