11/07/2004
NEWS STORY
A tough British Grand Prix for Jordan Ford afforded Nick Heidfeld 15th place in the Silverstone-based team's home race. Both drivers got good starts with Pantano reaching his highest position (13th) on the first lap. His fortune diminished from there and his second spin off the track (corner 8, lap 48) left the car stranded in the gravel, causing his retirement.
Nick Heidfeld: I nearly got by Klien at the start but he touched me at the first corner and I had a little winglet broken on the left hand side of the car - it didn't actually seem to have a big influence on the aerodynamics. The beginning was not easy as I had quite a lot of fuel on board which I think was evident as I was one of the last cars to stop. Overall it paid off in terms of our race time but our problem is that we are just too slow.
Giorgio Pantano: I had a very good start and my first stint wasn't too bad. The second or third lap after my first stop I had a spin, I'm not sure if that was my mistake or the rear of the car just locking. I flat-spotted the rear tyres and started to experience some vibration on the car and it was very slippery until my second stop. The last stint was not too bad and the balance started to come back but then I spun off again, the same thing as before, under hard braking. I don't know if I went too far onto the grass or whether rear locking caused me to get onto the grass.
James Robinson: Both drivers got good starts, although Nick got squeezed out at the first corner and then it was just a hard race from there. We were on a two-stop strategy based on the strength of the Bridgestone tyre and unfortunately for us the safety car helped the cars on three stops towards the end of the race. It's a shame that Giorgio's mistake in locking up the brakes and losing the car at Abbey ended his race. On the positive side it was it good to see Trulli walk away from such a horrific accident and that is a tribute to the safety of F1. From our point of view, at the end of the day the car's not quick enough to compete for point-scoring places and we need to work on that.