2006 European Grand Prix - Race 5/18

[fuz]

Well done to Rosberg

Pretty damn average race though

 

[Flibster]

Tactics played a part?

Riiight....


Driver of the day then?

Rosberg for me. Showed he can do the job when the car isn't failing around him. 22nd to 7th - and thats on merit not from the failures.

 

[fuz]

Massa gets his first podium too

 

[rpstewart]

Interesting stat here - which of the current F1 drivers have lead the most consecutive laps?

So who has then??

 

[Flibster]

So who has then??

Out of the top 10 there are 2 current drivers.

The run down...

10 - Juan-manuel Fangio with 138 consecutive laps leading a GP (1955)
9 - Michael Schumacher with 140 consecutive laps leading a GP (1994)
8 - Niki Lauda with 148 consecutive laps leading a GP (1976)
7 - Jackie Stewart with 150 consecutive laps leading a GP (1971)
6 - Alain Prost with 156 consecutive laps leading a GP (1988)
5 - Kimi Raikkonen with 162 consecutive laps leading a GP (2005)
4 - Jim Clark with 186 consecutive laps leading a GP (1963-64)
3 - Nigel Mansell with 235 consecutive laps leading a GP (1992)
2 - Ayrton Senna with 264 consecutive laps leading a GP (1988)
1 - Alberto Ascari with 305 consecutive laps leading a GP (1952)

Yup - Raikkonen currently has the most consecutively lead laps out fo the current F1 grid.

 

[rpstewart]

Ahh ambiguous question! Most consecutive laps lead in a season? I was thinking over a career.

You can see from the list how the advent of pit stops has made it difficult to run more than 2-2.5 races solidly at the front compared to Senna' 3.5 -4

EDIT: forget the first paragraph, now that I remember what consecutive means it all makes sense....

 

[Stellios]

FFS, cut off the rest of the interview why dont you

 

[Dutch Guy]

Havent read the thread yet.

What a crap race, I'm seriously losing my interest in F1 if this keeps going on, total excitement was the three laps the German git could run longer before his 2nd pitstop.

The Imola GP2 race and the Lausitz DTM replays they showed here before GP was more interesting

[edit]Button and Montoya doing what they are good in lately, why do they even bother with paying them as they will NEVER EVER win a race anymore[/edit]

/rant over

 

[flat-6]

Yeah after Japan last year it regained my interest but the last two races have just been dire. Ooh the excitement - he gained a place in pit stops

 

[Richard T]

Ooh the excitement - he gained a place in pit stops

yep! that aint F1 racing

 

[speeduk]

Almost fell asleep watching that.

 

[Burbleflop]

Almost fell asleep watching that.

I did. Does anyone remember when cars used to overtake each other in F1 rather than parade around for 90 minutes?

 

[6thElement]

Boring.

 

[Zip]

I only saw the last 20 minutes and it almost knocked me out like a sleeping pill.
How has this all become so stale and boring these days

I hope that the brake away happens very very soon

 

[Flibster]

As we didn't get the press conference.....

Post-race press conference - Europe

TV Unilaterals

Q. Michael, congratulations. Just talk us through those early stages when you were trailing Fernando as you were.

Michael Schumacher: It was no surprise that it was difficult because we were driving pretty competitively and as quick as we could. It's a bit more difficult behind when you're driving in the slipstream and the wind conditions today made it a bit tricky in certain areas. But at the end of the day, on the tyre side, the car side, the engine side and fuel and everything was just superb.

Q. You did two superb in-laps, the fastest lap of the race and a great out-lap as well.

MS: Yeah, well the out-lap was not that important - it was just getting out of the pit-lane in front. I always thought we could do it at the first pit-stop, but then I pushed a bit too high at turn six and almost lost it and that was probably the reason that I had to spend more time behind until the last pit-stop, which was interesting because it was varying quite a bit in certain parts of the race where Fernando sometimes seemed a bit slower and then sometimes I seemed to be a bit slower and then I was picking it up again and he had a pit-stop where he was pushing very hard, but we could match his sort of pace.

Q. And perfect strategy. You didn't seem too happy after qualifying yesterday, but it's all panned out perfectly as it's turned out.

MS: We obviously chose to stay out extra lap, which honestly doesn't give you two tenths. The reason Fernando gained the two tenths was because I didn't get a perfect lap and he obviously did and that's where it went. Because I felt we had a good strategy and I felt good about it, and I knew we had a good race pace because on new tyres I knew we could push and it all worked out.

Q. Fernando, a great second place and eight valuable points. Talk us through the race from your point of view.

Fernando Alonso: It was a quite interesting race. I started from pole position and I was controlling the race with the pace. I knew there was an area for Michael, so we had new tyres at the first pit-stop. It was okay and I came in-front of Michael at the end. In the second pit-stop it was not so good because we stopped maybe three of four laps too early and that was too much. I think sometimes in a race you have traffic, but sometimes nothing helps when you are leading the race and second place is a fantastic result considering we were a little bit down from Ferrari's performance this weekend. Also, I think the tyres were not perfectly okay for this weekend, so even with everything, to get the eight points means that we have everything okay and we should win again.

Q. Third stint for you, once Michael had got the lead, how hard was that and how hard did you try to push it for a couple of laps?

FA: I tried for two or three laps and we had similar lap times, but from then we just turned the revs down and this engine has to race next week in Barcelona and we need to always get on the podium.

Q. So you had Felipe under control?

FA: More or less yes. Maybe it was a bit close at the end, but clearly it was controlled.

Q. Felipe, a great drive from you. A lot of pressure on Fernando in the closing stages and equally on you from Kimi Räikkönen.

Felipe Massa: I'm really happy – it was a great result for us and especially with my first podium. The whole car was quite strong, especially at the beginning when I and Michael were both pushing Fernando and then suddenly they got the pace. My car was quite consistent all race and the tyres were working well. Only in the last stint – where I had scrubbed tyres – it was not working so well. It was a great result, it helps the team out for the championship and especially me and Michael for the fight. In the first three races we were not on the pace, so hopefully now there is a chance for us to fight with Renault for the races.

Q. You made a great start too from P3 on the grid. Michael was alongside you in the first corner.

FM: Sure, I had a very good start and I could manage to put my car side-by-side with Michael but he was on the inside so he was able to go ahead. Really, it was a great start and I think the whole thing was perfect with the strategy too. The management of the race was very good.

Q. Michael, a great result, two wins in a row. Next race next week is the Spanish Grand Prix. Fernando usually goes pretty well there.

MS: Yeah. It's no surprise to expect Renault up at the front, and also they shouldn't be surprised to see us at the front either. We will battle to win.


Press Conference

Q. Michael, that seemed a pretty perfect race.

MS: Yeah. If you finish first, what can you say? That's the way it makes everybody happy who wants to see us winning, obviously. It was a great race, great strategy, great performance all the way through.

Q. Did the strategy basically come from Ross?

MS: Obviously Ross is the man who finally decides, but we're a team and there are several people involved in working out our strategies and preparing everything so it's a team effort.

Q. It was quite close between yourself and Felipe at the start of the race.

MS: I was just saying to Felipe that I started off and tried to see where he was, somewhere on my left but I couldn't see him in the mirrors, neither could I see him looking over (the side of the car), so I was trying to get into Fernando's slipstream thinking that there wasn't anybody nearby but then suddenly he pulled alongside, so I was a little bit surprised for a moment, but I hope... I guess I didn't cause any fuss for Felipe.

Q. There was one point, lap 24, when you suddenly lost a couple of seconds. You were saying that the gap between yourself and Fernando seemed to go up and down a fair amount, but you seemed to lose a couple of seconds on one lap.

MS: I had two occasions, honestly. One was when Fernando went into the pits and I pushed, naturally, pretty hard and I got a bad tail wind in one corner which almost took me off the circuit and then during the race, probably lap 24, I went wide in turn 11, I think, which was quite tricky, and I lost quite a bit of ground. But then, at that stage, Fernando was strong in the middle sector of the second stint, I was pretty strong and then we were pretty equal before the pit stops.

Q. And that was the only problem during the race?

MS: Yeah. When you're up here, you can't have had too many problems!

Q. Fernando, how much pressure was Michael giving you in the early stages and at the end of the second stint?

FA: It was not too much to be honest. It's difficult to follow people here and also the gap was 0.6s, 0.8s and it's difficult to get much closer than that. It was not really an opportunity to overtake, so I was quite relaxed, controlling the engine a little bit and I pushed when I thought it was time to push right before the second stop and on the first pit-stop. I kept the lead in the first one, but in the second one, it was, of course, not possible any more.

Q. So are you disappointed with second?

FA: No, not at all. I think we came here with some questions as to how Ferrari will perform here, McLaren, us, and I think Honda was not too competitive this weekend, to be honest. With their grip problems - they were dealing with that so it was difficult to understand how. I think today we saw the normal picture again that we now need something more to win. At Imola we were ready to fight – I think we were quicker than Ferrari during the race but I think here it was a question of time: when do they overtake us? At the first stop, second stop but it was nearly impossible to keep them behind for sixty laps.

Q. Looking back, would you have changed your tyre choice if you had the opportunity?

FA: No, I think we did the right thing. I think we need to improve a little bit in all areas in the car and I think Barcelona will be a good point, because we have always been quick there in testing. Michelin has been in a dominant position in Barcelona over the last two years, so I'm really looking forward to winning that one.

Q. Felipe, you were very close at the end to Fernando, but you also had Kimi right up behind you as well.

FM: Yeah, the last five laps were not so easy because I was getting closer and closer to Fernando and Kimi was getting closer and closer to me, because I was getting very close to Fernando and I lost performance, for sure. But anyway, I think it was a great result, I'm really happy, first podium and everything worked fantastically for us this weekend. We brought the right tyres, for sure. The car was working perfectly and the race was very good.

Q. And a demon start as well.

FM: Yeah, I had a very good start. I was side by side with Michael into the braking area but he was inside and so he stayed in front but I think my car was very competitive and it was very consistent during the whole race. Sometimes the wind was changing, the situation was a little bit tricky over a couple of corners, and then the wind changed a little bit and it was a little bit tricky in other corners, but anyway, I could handle it to do a good race without mistakes and that's very important for me and the team.

Q. It's been a good weekend for Todts!

FM: Definitely. They won both races in GP2 and finishing third for Nicolas is really good and for Jean, it's definitely a fantastic job. We're now getting closer to Renault in every race and fighting every race is very important for us. Hopefully now we will get the right direction to fight every race.


Questions From The Floor

Q. (Sal Zanca – AP) Michael, after three races, it didn't look so good for Ferrari. What has made the difference in the last two races? The car? The driver? The team? The strategy? One thing please!

MS: I thought we looked good already at the first race honestly, so it's not a surprise. We are good now because with the exception of Malaysia where we probably weren't that competitive, in the rest of the races we had the package available. We didn't make use of it all the time like in Australia and now it's just normal development, where you go through the bits and pieces that are coming, aerodynamic, engine and so on where you make little steps. As I said at the beginning, the important thing from now on is who has the quicker rate of development. We have been good, traditionally, in the past, not very good last year but sometimes everybody needs a break.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Michael, at the beginning of the second stint, you lost a little bit of performance in comparison to Alonso, more than two seconds. Did you think that your chances could be over at that time?

MS: Naturally when you have a period where it's a bit more difficult you start to think but then we always have something in hand to react and it worked out pretty well. I think he was going quickly and I was just struggling a little bit more and made this mistake in turn 11 which almost caused me to go off and I had to be quiet for two or three laps and then I could go again.

Q. (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Germany) Michael, are these two consecutive victories the final confirmation that you will be able to fight for the championship this year, or did you have that feeling already?

MS: I had no doubt, honestly, that we would be in that position.

Q. (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Germany) Fernando, how do you see the development pace of Ferrari now? Are you getting worried about the championship?

FA: No, not at all. I think it's not a surprise that Ferrari is fighting. I expect McLaren will arrive also. Honda are really strong in some races, so nothing changes from the beginning of the championship. There are four teams, sometimes one is quicker, sometimes another one is slower, but all four teams are strong and ready to fight. We also had to be careful about tyres. I think in the next two races Michelin may be stronger than Bridgestone, we will probably see different races, so it's difficult to say which one will be quicker.

Q. (Fulvio Solms – Corriere dello Sport) Question for Michael and Fernando: do you like this points system which doesn't help the show, with only two points difference between victory and second position?

MS: I think you will get pretty logical answers: no for me and probably yes from him!

FA: The same thing happened last year as well. I was winning seven races and the gap was always not enough.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Fernando, are you satisfied with the development programme of your team?

FA: I'm not an engineer, so I don't know what we can do. I think it's all about money, about lots of things, how you develop the car more. We're happy, we were World Champions last year, we are leading both World Championships this year, so the team should be quite good, I think.

Q. (Anthony Rowlinson – Autosport) Fernando, are you worried that having a second race on the engine next week might affect your chances of winning your home race?

FA: No, not really. I think the difference we saw between the first race and the second race of the engine is less than one tenth, probably. We're talking half a tenth. So I hope that if I have the chance to win in Barcelona, this half a tenth won't be necessary.

 

[Flibster]

Ecclestone: Alonso must do more for F1

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone says Renault's Fernando Alonso needs to put more back into the sport as World Champion.

Ecclestone also had a dig at McLaren's Ron Dennis, the 24-year-old Spaniard's team boss next season, and suggested he should practise what he preaches after talking recently about the need to put more fun into Formula One.

"I'm concerned with Ron and his statements because he's the last person to do any of those things," Ecclestone told Britain's ITV television in an interview before Sunday's European Grand Prix.

"You can't get his drivers to talk to anybody and they never participate in anything.

"It would be great if he started doing what he's saying we should be doing. I think what he's saying (is what) everybody else should be doing except McLaren. Hopefully the teams and drivers will realise they have to give a little bit more back to the sport," he added.

"We have a World Champion now, Fernando, who doesn't do too much."

Dennis told reporters at last month's San Marino Grand Prix that the sport needed to lighten up its image to attract a broader and younger audience.

"It's important that we think about humanising F1 and encouraging fun back into the sport," said Dennis. "We have to keep Formula One's mystique of course, but the drivers need to be more known."

Ecclestone, 75, has been deep in negotiations about the sport's commercial future after 2007 with carmakers threatening their own series unless their demands, including a far greater share of revenues, are met. One of those carmakers is DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes, owners of 40 percent of McLaren.

"I'm a little bit guilty of things because I've been firefighting for two and a half years," said Ecclestone when asked about ways of improving Grand Prix weekends.

"We've had arguments with teams and manufacturers, we've had shareholders coming and going so I haven't really been able to do all the things I'd have liked to have done and should have done inside the sport.

"When we get all this out of the way, wait and see. There's all sorts of things we can come up with."

 

[Flibster]

Race Results.

[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Laps	Time		Grid	Points[/b]
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			60	1:35:58.765	2	10
2	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			60	+3.7 secs	1	8
3	6	Felipe Massa		Ferrari			60	+4.4 secs	3	6
4	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	60	+4.8 secs	5	5
5	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			60	+72.5 secs	4	4
6	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			60	+74.1 secs	11	3
7	10	Nico Rosberg		Williams-Cosworth	60	+74.5 secs	22	2
8	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		60	+89.3 secs	9	1
9	8	Jarno Trulli		Toyota			59	+1 Lap		7
10	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		59	+1 Lap		13
11	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		59	+1 Lap		17
12	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		59	+1 Lap		18
13	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		59	+1 Lap		16
Ret	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			52	Engine		10
Ret	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	52	Engine		8
Ret	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	45	Hydraulics	20
Ret	23	Franck Montagny		Super Aguri-Honda	29	Hydraulics	21
Ret	12	Jenson Button		Honda			28	Engine		6
Ret	15	Christian Klien		RBR-Ferrari		28	Gearbox		15
Ret	9	Mark Webber		Williams-Cosworth	12	Hydraulics	19
Ret	14	David Coulthard		RBR-Ferrari		2	Accident damage	12
Ret	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		0	Accident damage	14

Fastest Laps.

[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Lap	Time		Speed		Laptime[/b]
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			39	15:06:17	201.226		1:32.099	
2	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	43	15:12:45	200.415		1:32.472	
3	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			37	15:03:11	200.285		1:32.532	
4	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			46	15:18:44	199.354		1:32.964	
5	6	Felipe Massa		Ferrari			19	14:35:10	199.065		1:33.099	
6	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	47	15:20:00	198.061		1:33.571	
7	10	Nico Rosberg		Williams-Cosworth	48	15:21:36	198.044		1:33.579	
8	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			27	14:48:00	197.985		1:33.607	
9	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			59	15:39:15	197.258		1:33.952	
10	8	Jarno Trulli		Toyota			58	15:38:02	197.256		1:33.953	
11	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		47	15:20:40	197.084		1:34.035	
12	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		38	15:05:48	197.079		1:34.037	
13	12	Jenson Button		Honda			9	14:19:16	197.069		1:34.042	
14	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		57	15:36:39	196.966		1:34.091	
15	15	Christian Klien		Red Bull Racing		16	14:30:37	196.004		1:34.553	
16	9	Mark Webber		Williams-Cosworth	11	14:22:41	194.233		1:35.415	
17	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		35	15:02:05	194.207		1:35.428	
18	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		41	15:11:37	194.052		1:35.504	
19	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	26	14:47:57	191.640		1:36.706	
20	23	Franck Montagny		Super Aguri-Honda	21	14:39:31	190.639		1:37.214	
21	14	David Coulthard		Red Bull Racing	2		14:08:00	128.254		2:24.500

Pit Stops

[b]Stop	No	Driver			Time			Lap	Time of day	Time	Total time[/b]
1	14	David Coulthard		Red Bull Racing		1	14:05:33	39.531	39.531	
2	14	David Coulthard		Red Bull Racing		2	14:07:58	39.601	1:19.132	
1	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			17	14:31:35	24.330	24.330	
1	6	Felipe Massa		Ferrari			17	14:31:39	25.076	25.076	
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			18	14:33:09	24.781	24.781	
1	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			20	14:36:51	25.431	25.431	
1	12	Jenson Button		Honda			21	14:38:12	25.270	25.270	
1	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		21	14:38:27	25.070	25.070	
1	15	Christian Klien		Red Bull Racing		21	14:38:34	24.301	24.301	
1	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		22	14:40:06	24.623	24.623	
1	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		22	14:40:45	25.996	25.996	
1	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	23	14:41:07	24.882	24.882	
1	23	Franck Montagny		Super Aguri-Honda	22	14:41:11	25.514	25.514	
1	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		23	14:41:49	25.866	25.866	
1	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		24	14:43:54	24.615	24.615	
1	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	24	14:44:21	24.213	24.213	
1	8	Jarno Trulli		Toyota			25	14:44:51	23.624	23.624	
1	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			26	14:46:26	24.415	24.415	
1	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	27	14:47:58	25.691	25.691	
1	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			28	14:49:35	23.261	23.261	
1	10	Nico Rosberg		Williams-Cosworth	33	14:57:40	23.501	23.501	
2	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			38	15:04:44	25.225	49.555	
2	6	Felipe Massa		Ferrari			40	15:07:59	24.185	49.261	
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			41	15:09:22	23.754	48.535	
2	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		41	15:11:40	24.766	50.762	
2	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	41	15:12:33	25.605	49.818	
2	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		42	15:13:14	25.123	49.738	
2	8	Jarno Trulli		Toyota			43	15:13:54	23.755	47.379	
2	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		43	15:13:59	25.255	51.121	
2	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	44	15:14:19	23.542	48.424	
2	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			44	15:15:11	23.129	48.560	
2	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			44	15:15:12	22.771	46.032	
2	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		44	15:15:17	24.100	49.170	
2	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			44	15:15:17	23.098	47.513	
2	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		45	15:17:10	23.546	48.169	
2	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	48	15:21:35	24.857	50.548	
2	10	Nico Rosberg		Williams-Cosworth	49	15:23:10	23.175	46.676

 

[Flibster]

European GP: race notes - Toro Rosso

Scott Speed: I think our pace was even better today than at Imola. I think I was quicker than Heidfeld and the Toyotas. I think we need to sharpen up our pit stops – me and the team - as that's where we lost time today. But the race pace is great, the car was awesome and I had a good little battle with Heidfeld for a while.

Tonio Liuzzi: A really good start and I got off the grid well, passing some cars, then I got hit from behind by Ralf in the Toyota. I don't think he could stop and he hit me in the right rear tyre and then David could not avoid hitting me. A shame as the car felt good and I was hoping for a strong race.

Gerhard Berger: Scott drove a good race. We never really got a chance to get past Heidfeld as he had no problems in his pit stop, but to finish a second behind him and a couple of seconds behind the quick guys is not bad at all.

 

[Flibster]

European GP: race notes - WilliamsF1

Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1: "It was good for Nico to get a couple of points by finishing 7th after starting 22nd due to the engine penalties. He drove solidly all day, putting in the lap times when it mattered and might have done even better if he hadn't encountered traffic. On Mark's car, we had a loss of hydraulic fluid although the exact cause is unknown at this time. Up until then, he'd done a fantastic job as well, with a really good first lap. As he was on the same pit strategy as Nico, so there is no doubt he would have finished in the top four or five."

Nico Rosberg: "Ultimately I've got to be pleased with today. Two points starting from dead last and we were pretty quick in the race. Our strategy was just perfect. In the first stint I didn't feel as comfortable in the car but after the first pit-stop, we made some changes and all of a sudden it was working perfectly! I could attack and I was battling with Renault and McLaren. I even thought about passing Fisichella in the closing laps, but I didn't want to jeopardise my position. So over all, I am happy but in the future we of course would be better off starting races a bit further up!"

Mark Webber: "It was going fantastically until what we think was a hydraulics problem meant that I lost all the controls. I'd made up seven places and I was still carrying lots of fuel, enough to get me a long way into the race, so I'm sure it would have been easy to score some points today. From here, if we fix the hydraulic problem, I am sure we will run near the front."

Simon Corbyn, Head of F1 Race Engineering, Cosworth Ltd: "Cosworth had no concerns with either of the CA2006 Series 4 engines in today's European Grand Prix. Nico drove a strong race to collect two points and Mark was unfortunate not to be able to capitalise on his great start to the race."

 

[Flibster]

European GP: race notes - Red Bull

David Coulthard: At the first corner, Ralf moved across and touched Tonio, who got knocked into the air and onto me. It was just one of those racing incidents. We were able to replace the car's nose, but then we had another issue, which was probably caused when I had contact with Tonio on the first lap.

Christian Klien: It's a shame. The car's pace had been strong this weekend and my lap times had been pretty quick. I retired from the race with a transmission problem.

Christian Horner: David's race came to an early finish, when a first corner incident caused damage that we were unable to repair. Christian showed genuine pace and was easily running in the group that included Fisichella and Webber. After his first pit stop when he was trying to pass Heidfeld, a suspected gear-box problem led to his retirement. It's disappointing that we haven't been able to take anything out of the weekend other than the fact we can see a step forward in the pace of the car.