WilliamsF1 Team Comments: British GP

By Andrew Hooper
July 20 2003

 
 
British GP Race - Team Comments
 
The BMW WilliamsF1 Team continued a consistent run of five podium results with Juan Pablo Montoya claiming second place in a eventful race that included two safety car periods. Despite showing strongly, Ralf's performance was compromised by an additional unscheduled pit stop to clear debris from his car's cooling system. Ralf ultimately finished in 9th place, and the team retains its second position in the Constructor's Championship.
 
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya"This was the most exciting race of the year, and I really enjoyed it. I was pleased with the pace we showed today as we were able to keep up with the Ferraris. The main difficulty I had during the race was when the safety car came out for the second time, and after pitting I found myself back in p13. But I was able to catch up quickly, and the fact that I was just behind Rubens made it even easier as he was helping to clear traffic for me. My car was strong and I cannot be anything but happy as I managed to move up from thirteenth to second at the finish. These points will certainly help for both Championships."
 
Ralf Schumacher
 Ralf Schumacher"This was obviously not what I expected from this race, and the result was obviously disappointing. The extra stop cost me a decent finish, and after it had happened, the race was more or less over for me. It was just bad luck. So what is important is to forget this race as quickly as possible to concentrate on my home race in Hockenheim."
 
Dr Mario Theissen BMW Motorsports Director
 Mario Theissen"We witnessed a very dangerous situation today when a person ran onto the track during the race, but fortunately no-one was hurt. Juan Pablo had a very god performance today, driving from 7th to 2nd and making the most of the circumstances. Ralf race was good until a guidevane was torn off and blocked the airflow. This caused the water temperature to rise and Ralf had to undertake an additional stop to remove the debris. Without this incident, Ralf would have also been at the front."
 
Sam Michael Chief Operations Engineer WilliamsF1
 Sam Michael"Juan did a very good job today and Ralf would have been further up, but he sustained some damage to the bodywork which required an extra stop to rectify. In summary we have had a good strategy which we adapted around the events of the race. The first time the safety car came out was to our advantage, but the second safety car came out too early for us and as a consequence we had to change our pit stop strategy. But the pit stops worked well and the team did a good job. We are now looking forward to Hockenheim and we believe we can be strong there as well."
 
 
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