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| British
GP 8th-11th July 2004 - Ferrari Sunday Press Release |
Length:
5.303km
Number of Laps: 58
(307.574 Km)
Best Lap: K. Raikkonen
- 1'27"724 (2003, Mclaren)
Record Pole: R. Barrichello
- 1'25"843 (2003, Ferrari)
2003 Pole: M. Schumacher
(1'27."173)
2003 Podium: R. Barrichello
- JP. Montoya - K. Raikkonen
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Jean
Todt:
'I think that the fact Trulli emerged unscathed from such
a terrible accident is due primarily to the quality of work carried
out by the FIA under the presidency of Max Mosley and that of the
teams in terms of safety. The arrival of the Safety Car after this
accident practically cancelled out all the advantage that Michael’s
different strategy had produced. This was because all those behind
were able to make their third and final pit stop without losing time
to him. From lap 45 onwards therefore we witnessed something of a
sprint race, which went in Michael’s favour. It was a very exciting
afternoon and the result comes from all the hard work of the team,
from the car, the drivers and the Bridgestone tyres. Michael’s
tenth win from eleven races is a unique achievement in the history
of Formula 1. Rubens continued his run of being the only driver to
have finished all races in the points, having now done so eleven times
in a row, nine of them on the podium. Michael has hit the 100 point
mark, 9 more than in the whole of last season. The team now has a
95 point lead over its nearest rival and these figures mean we can
approach the remaining seven races of the season with optimism. We
are also happy with the performance of the Sauber drivers in this
race as it is particularly nice to see four Ferrari engines in the
top nine.'
Michael
Schumacher:
'I am amazed at how the race went. I thought we had a good
strategy, where to a certain extent, we sacrificed qualifying for
the race, but I never expected it to pay out so early. I was not
worried by Kimi’s pace at the start because I knew my strategy
and even if he had been ahead after my second stop I would not have
worried as he had to come in again. I did not want to overdo it
and just let the potential of the car do the work. The car was going
so well when I had an open track. I lost a comfortable lead with
the Safety Car and so I was lucky to have two cars between me and
Kimi. The Safety Car was going very slowly and that meant after
it went in, I had to fight hard for a couple of laps until my tyres
came good and then I was able to pull out a lead again.'
Rubens
Barrichello:
'I had a good race but a tough one although I feel I had
made the right choice of strategy at the time. After the start it
was clear that Kimi’s tyres had warmed up quicker and I found
it really difficult to match his pace, then I caught him up and
was able to pull away from Button. But after the first pit stop
the car felt heavy and I struggled again. I also got stuck behind
four or five cars fighting for position and that probably lost me
second place and maybe the win. I have to say Michael did a superb
job to win on two stops. When the Safety Car came out, the race
was alive again, but again immediately after my last pit stop I
could not push as hard as I wanted and I could not pass Kimi as
although I was quicker in the first sector, he was faster in the
third.'
Ross
Brawn:
'Michael was not entirely happy with the car going into
qualifying, so we chose a more conservative strategy for him. Rubens
was put on a different, more aggressive strategy as he was happy
with the handling of his car. That was our interpretation of the
race but it turned out to be the other way round, as Michael’s
car went very well and Rubens’ a bit less so. Probably it
was the weather that played in Michael’s favour and he was
able to put in outstanding laps from lap ten to his pit stop. I
was shocked when Michael came out ahead of Kimi. We were a bit worried
when the Safety Car came out, as although we have fantastic Bridgestone
tyres, they do not get up to temperature quite as quickly as those
of our rivals and the re-start was a bit of a tricky moment for
us. At the time, the race was in our hands and Rubens could have
attacked Raikkonen more strongly than he was able in the last few
laps. First and third at Silverstone is another great result for
us!'
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