"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."