Jean Todt:
“With Michael, we got the best result we could, after he drove a great race. In the early stages, Michael pushed with a frenetic pace, confirming the performance level he showed yesterday, especially as he was not giving away much to the other drivers in terms of fuel load. It’s a shame that our pace over the longer distance is still not good enough to fight for the win right to the end. From around halfway, Michael had to deal with the same problem – a gradual loss of grip – that he experienced in Hockenheim. Rubens’ race was compromised after the start when he collided with Trulli and had to pit to change the damaged nose on his F2005. Now we have to work out, along with our technical partners, first and foremost Bridgestone and Shell, how we can maintain the pace we have in the early stages throughout the entire race, while keeping the level of qualifying performance which we showed on Saturday.”
Michael Schumacher:
“I am happy with this result, which is a good reward for all the work the team has put in over the last few months. I was pretty happy with my pace in the early stages and there was not much between mine and Kimi’s, especially when you consider he was running lighter. But then the pace from the tyres got slower, even though they were still consistent. After that, it was really the pit stops that decided it. If I could have come in at the same time or later than Kimi, then maybe, given how hard it is to overtake here, I might have been able to win. In the closing stages, Ralf got closer, but by then, I was just looking after my tyres and I only went as quick as I needed to keep him behind me. We have made a step in the right direction. It is clear where we have to improve and we will keep on working, but we now seem to have improved our qualifying and early pace.”
Rubens Barrichello:
“I was a bit unlucky to get caught up in a big fight at the end of the straight. All of a sudden, the pack almost stopped and as I tried to slow down, I locked a wheel and went straight into the back of Trulli. I am really sorry for the team, because today we had a better car and a much better tyre, even though there is still room to improve. Without the incident, I think we could have got both cars on the podium, because I had a good strategy.”
Ross Brawn:
“With Michael, we had a pretty good race and I don’t think there is much more we could have done. In the first part of the race, we pushed as hard as we could, but once we knew it would not be enough, from then on we changed our approach and simply managed the situation to ensure we did not become vulnerable later in the race. The tyres held up quite well. We had a good strategy today and I don’t know how we could have beaten Kimi because he was so quick. But we have made progress and if we can continue to do so then maybe we can have a strong end to the season. Of course, it was disappointing that Rubens got caught out at the beginning. On a track like this, pitting for a front wing and compromising the strategy makes life very difficult.”
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