25/07/2004
NEWS STORY
Eleventh win of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, all with Michael Schumacher. This equals his record of wins in a season, previously set in 2002. Today’s was win number 81 of Michael's career, the third at this track. The Scuderia has reached the 178 wins mark from 698 races, 18 of those wins coming in the German Grand Prix.
Jean Todt: Eleven wins from twelve races: another record for Michael and for Ferrari. This victory is all the nicer for having been obtained in front of so many fans of the Scuderia and our driver, in Germany, a very important market for us. It was a shame for Rubens, who finished outside the points for the first time this season. His race was compromised by his first lap collision with Coulthard which knocked off his front wing, forcing him to make an unscheduled pit stop. A great driver, a competitive car, a reliable engine, quick and consistent tyres and a first class team: these are the ingredients that go to make a win. Thanks to the help of our technical partners, first and foremost Bridgestone and Shell and our fantastic commercial partners, we have once again put all these elements together to record a win that has an even greater value when considered in the light of the opposition we are up against.
Michael Schumacher: What a weekend this has been after pole yesterday and victory today! I am extremely happy and there are not words to describe this. I could feel the emotion from the fans and I could hear their noise even above the engine as I crossed the line. To do this at home where I have not been so successful in past years is just fabulous. It was a tough race and I was under pressure first from Kimi and then from Jenson and Fernando. I was able to keep the gap but not really extend it. The team's pit work was superb. I did feel under pressure because Jenson was very quick and at one stage I was not sure if he was only planning to stop twice or what pace he would be able to run once he got past Fernando. So I had to push flat out. How do I feel about 50 straight races without a mechanical failure? It is self-explanatory, it is wonderful and a result not just of the reliability but the fact that everything in the team is spot on.
Rubens Barrichello: It's been a tough day. I had to protect my line at the start as Montoya was very close. I tried to get inside Coulthard but unfortunately I locked the rear wheels and I guess it was all my fault. I hit him hard enough to brake my front wing. My race was therefore spoilt from start to finish. We changed strategy but we always knew that two stops was going to be very hard and that is how things turned out. Sometimes things don't go to plan and today was one of those days.
Ross Brawn: It was really only in the opening stages that Michael came a bit under pressure from Raikkonen, even though he had pulled out a bit of a gap over him. When Kimi went out, Michael was able to control the race to the chequered flag, although Jenson and Fernando were never that far behind. After the incident with Coulthard and the pit stop to change the front wing, we changed Rubens' strategy to make up for lost ground, but it did not go the way we had hoped. Then, on the last lap he had what seems to have been a puncture on the left rear tyre, but we still have to look into this with Bridgestone.