French GP: Williams race notes


Racing series F1
Date 2004-07-04


The BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Marc Gené finished eighth and tenth respectively in today's French Grand Prix.


Juan Pablo Montoya:


"It has been a very difficult race for me, especially because of an intense pain in my neck, which nearly prevented me from being able to keep my head up. I hurt my neck on Friday, when I crashed, but I didn't expect the pain to become so sharp in the race. With regards to the race, I maintained my grid position at the start but after 20 laps or so hit a kerb too hard and spun, losing three places."


"After that I tried to close the gap with Kimi Raikkonen in front, but I wasn't able to get close enough to pass him because I just wasn't quick enough. Also the balance of my car wasn't ideal, especially in the first part of the race, which caused me to make a few mistakes. I really hoped I could get much more than one single point today."


Marc Gené :


"Tenth place is not what I had hoped for. I had a problem with the clutch on the grid but since I didn't want to jump the start I released it very slowly and lost three positions. This is when I lost 50% of my chances to get good finish. Then Mark Webber and I touched on turn 3 and I nearly spun. Two of my sets of tyres were very good and allowed me to catch up with the drivers in front, like Mark Webber or Juan Pablo, but even though I tried my best, those in front were too fast. Both my car and I just needed more speed, today!"


Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1):


"Our pace in the race was disappointing today. We would have finished a little bit further up if Juan had not spun. It did cost us one or maybe two places, but even without this the result would not have been what we are aiming for. Since our race strategy, tyres and pit stops were fine, we obviously need to keep pushing to improve the pace of the car."


Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):


"Juan lost some positions due to his spin and Marc lost three places in the heat of the start but drove a proper race afterward. A fifth and a seventh place would have been possible today and would have mirrored our performance over the rest of the weekend. Both drivers were not happy with the handling of the car."


"There wasn't a chance to do any proper testing of the new parts prior to this race weekend and it did not help either that set-up work on Friday was hampered by Juan's crash and bad weather. We need to exploit the full potential of this further developed package in the next races. Enginewise we didn't experience any problems during the weekend."


Juan Pablo Montoya: 8th
Chassis: FW26 06
Best time: 1:16.140 min (lap 48, 8th overall)


Marc Gené : 10th
Chassis: FW26 05
Best time: 1:16.070 min (lap 56, 7th overall)

French GP: McLaren race notes


Racing series F1
Date 2004-07-04


David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen finished the 70-lap Mobil 1 French Grand Prix in fifth and sixth place respectively scoring a total of five points for Team McLaren Mercedes. Kimi also set the third fastest lap of the race with 1:15.791.


Both drivers were on a three-stop-strategy with David stopping on laps 12 (7.78 seconds), 29 (8.8 seconds) and 48 (8.4 seconds) whilst Kimi came in on lap 11 (6.87 seconds), 28 (8.5 seconds) and 47 (9.3 seconds). David is now eighth in the Drivers' Championship with 12 points and Kimi 10th with 10 points. Team McLaren Mercedes holds fifth position in the Constructors' rankings.


David Coulthard:


"At the start I lost two positions to be fifth after the first corner. This was a shame as the race showed that both Kimi and I were able to have the same speed as the three cars ahead of me who were fighting for third. I lost some grip during the middle of the race and had a few problems with traffic. However an encouraging and reliable race debut for the 19B and I'm looking forward to my home grand prix at Silverstone next weekend and the rest of the season."


Kimi Raikkonen:


"It's always difficult starting from ninth, and I think if I had not messed up in qualifying yesterday we would have done much better. I made a good start and gained two places but it was not enough. The speed of the 19B is good, and I'm confident for the rest of the season particularly as we have further developments coming."


Ron Dennis:


"It might not be apparent from our finishing positions but the MP4-19B is definitely a significant step in the right direction. We don't know why David lost two positions at the start, but that definitely penalised his race and allowed the leaders to get away. There will be continuous development on the 19B for the rest of the season, and we should be able to improve further for McLaren's home race next weekend."


Norbert Haug:


"We had the speed for third place today but David lost two positions at the start whilst Kimi gained two. The competition between the Michelin teams has increased which can be seen from today's laptimes. The race's laptimes also showed that we have improved our performance, and we are pleased that both MP4-19Bs ran reliably during their race debut. We will now continue to further improve our package. "


-mclaren-

French GP: Renault race notes


Racing series F1
Date 2004-07-04


Fernando Alonso second and Jarno Trulli fourth to score Renault's best result of the season at its home race!


The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team scored its best result of the year this afternoon at the French Grand Prix. In front of an enthusiastic home crowd, Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli finished second and fourth respectively, thus scoring thirteen points to strengthen the team's second place in the constructors' championship. Alonso scored Renault's fourth podium finish of the season. However, the result is also tinged with slight disappointment, after Jarno Trulli came within a few metres of a podium finish. However, the Italian lost third position to Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari following a long battle during the final twenty laps.


Fernando Alonso, 2nd position


"I have been waiting for this podium for a long time: I could have had it at each of the last two races were it not for mechanical problems, so I am really happy to be here! I had a good race, and fought as hard as possible, but I think Michael was just stronger today. To score my best result of the year at Renault's home Grand Prix is a great feeling; the only disappointment I feel is for Jarno, because it would have been great to be on the podium together."


Jarno Trulli 4th position


"I am gutted for myself and the team to have lost third place at the very end of the race. I made a fantastic start to get in front of Button and Coulthard, and the car seemed pretty competitive; even so, I couldn't keep up with Fernando because the car was quite nervous to drive. The race was going to plan until the last stint, when the car had less traction and was oversteering a lot. I defended against Rubens as much as possible, but on the last lap, he was quicker on the exit of turn 13 and passed me under braking for the next corner - I tried to close the door, but couldn't. At the moment, all I feel is disappointment, but I will have to get over it and come back stronger at the next races."


Flavio Briatore, Managing Director


"Before the race, we thought that Ferrari were quicker than us and they demonstrated it today. Even so, it is a great accomplishment to score our best result of the year here in France. Fernando was excellent throughout the race and deserves his second place. It was, though, very disappointing to see Jarno miss out on a podium by just several tenths of a second."


Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering:


"Although this is our best team result of the year, it is hard not to feel frustrated because we could so easily have had two drivers on the podium today. We had suspected the race pace of Ferrari would be strong after practice, and we therefore tried to counter their strategy by adjusting ours, with Fernando running a shorter third stint than originally intended. But, quite simply, they were faster today. Fernando understood the race well and reacted as he needed to at every key moment. Jarno was under severe pressure for a long part of the race, but unfortunately succumbed at the last."


-renault-

French GP: BAR race notes


Racing series F1
Date 2004-07-04


Today's French Grand Prix ended with disappointment for Lucky Strike B*A*R Honda in one of the closest races of the season. Jenson Button lost out on a possible podium finish to finish fifth, whilst Takuma's hopes of a points finish were dashed when he suffered another engine failure just 15 laps into the 70-lap race.


Off the start, Jenson maintained his fourth-place grid position whilst Takuma dropped a place to eighth. Takuma struggled with the balance of the car in the first stint and this was addressed during the first pitstop. Shortly after rejoining the track, he felt the engine lose power suddenly and he came to a stop.


The team and Jenson worked hard at taking advantage of the close field in the closing stages, in pursuit of third place, but a problem at the last pitstop dropped him behind Barrichello and Trulli.


Jenson Button:


"I'm very disappointed because we expected to do a lot better here and fifth is not good enough. The strategy was working well for us but at the last pit stop the car went into anti-stall mode and cost me the time advantage that could have put us on the podium. We lost a possible third place today and, with Taku's problem, two much-needed points finishes, having worked so hard to close the gap to Renault. They had a good result today so we really have to have solved these problems going into our home race."


Takuma Sato:


"It is a shame that I could not finish the race after our performance in Indy. The lap times were very close and everybody was competitive, so it was a tough race. I immediately felt a loss of power after the pitstop and we knew there was a problem down the main straight but there was nothing we could do. It was a different problem than before - not sudden but gradual. We have only a week to look into the problem before the team's home race at Silverstone, which is one of the most important races on the calendar."


David Richards, Team Principal:


"Consolidating our third place in the Constructors' Championship and Jenson retaining third place in the Drivers' standings would, on the face of it, appear to be a solid weekend's work. However one can't help but feel disappointed that we didn't make the most of our potential here in Magny-Cours. As for Taku, even I don't believe that bad luck stretches this far and the most rigorous of investigations now has to take place in order to find a solution in time for our home race in just seven days' time."


Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director:


"A disappointing result at a circuit where we should have been quicker. Jenson raced strongly and the team responded well to the high-pressure pitstops, but in the end the car wasn't quite quick enough. We worked hard with our strategy throughout the race and we had a good chance of recovering third place at the last stop. However as Jenson pulled away, the anti-stall cut in, delaying him by less than a second, but enough to let Jarno and Rubens through turn two. It is also extremely frustrating to have another engine failure on Taku's car shortly after his first stop and this level of unreliability is unacceptable. We have to ensure that our investigations into the problem are conclusive in order to find a proper solution."


Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development:


"It was a good battle between Jenson, Jarno and Rubens, but I am of course disappointed we missed out on the podium place. It is a shame that Taku's engine failed again so we will work very hard this week to find the cause and put a counter measure in place for the next race at Silverstone."


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