An extraordinary race at the
A1 Ring in Austria this afternoon saw Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello claim first and
third places whilst fellow Bridgestone runner Jenson Button of Lucky
Strike B.A.R Honda claimed five points for fourth. Schumacher is
now just two points behind Raikkonen whilst Barrichello has gained
one place to lie third overall in the Drivers' Championship. The
Scuderia have now also leapt to the head of the constructors' table.
Button meanwhile has climbed three places to tenth overall.
However, this afternoon's race, which started
at the third time of trying, saw both Ferrari drivers experiencing
fuel rig problems. Having found themselves delayed in their pitstops,
this consequently put the pressure on tyre performance and neither
Schumacher nor Barrichello was let down. The pair were able to push
hard taking advantage of Bridgestone's tyre performance on this
traditionally low grip circuit.
Hisao Suganuma - Technical Manager - Bridgestone
Motorsport:
"We're absolutely delighted to see Michael
win and Rubens finish in third despite both having fuel rig problems.
Rubens was really pushing Raikkonen towards the end which was great
to see and without their earlier problems it could well have been
a 1-2 for them. On top of that, both Jenson Button and Jacques Villeneuve
had extremely strong races. Athough only Jenson was able to capitalise
on it, this really demonstrated the strength of our tyre performance
this weekend. Firman and Wilson also finished which was good experience
for them. All in all, a productive weekend."
Ross Brawn - Technical Director - Scuderia
Ferrari Marlboro:
"We were heavily compromised because
of what happened at the pitstops but the Bridgestones were excellent
today. Michael and Rubens ran different specifications but they
were both consistent, they were there at the end of the stint and
we were very happy with the tyres."
Geoff Willis - Technical Director - Lucky
Strike B.A.R Honda:
"I have to say Bridgestone's tyre recommendation
served us very well. That was an extremely competitive race for
us and as far as the tyres are concerned we didn't have any problems.
Jenson got his just reward with fourth and Jacques was unfortunately
denied an equally high finish. But the car and tyre partnership
proved very competitive today." |