2004 British GP Race: Team Comments

By BMW WilliamsF1
July 11 2004

British GP Race - Team Comments
The BMW WilliamsF1 Team had a trouble-free British Grand Prix, with
Montoya claiming four World Championship points thanks to a responsive race strategy and efficient pit stops. Marc Gené finished 12th.
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya5th Chassis: FW26 06
Best time: 1:1.19.968 min (lap 26, 6th overall)
"I am satisfied with today’s outcome. Although the car is not quick enough, it worked pretty well and I believe we got the best out of it today. At the start I made a mistake, releasing the clutch too quickly and it cost me a position to Sato. Then I tried to keep pushing but it was not possible to catch those in front. When the safety car came out, the team did a great job by calling me in and I had a perfect pit-stop. However, back on the track the backmarkers were frustrating and I lost a lot of time."
Marc Gene
 Marc Gene12th Chassis: FW26 07
Best time: 1:20.434 min (lap 58, 7th overall)
"I had an average start, and Da Matta passed me, but I overtook him again in turn two. I tried to be aggressive from the start and in the first part of the race I fought with Alonso, but we were running at the same pace and it was impossible to get ahead. Alonso just passed me in the first pit-stop and from then on it was just a matter of fighting with Sato
and Da Matta with our pit strategy as | simply didn’t have the pace to improve my track position. However, the backmarkers hampered me a lot. Depending on the set of tyres, the car’s balance varied but overall it wasn’t too bad."
Dr Mario Theissen BMW Motorsports Director
 Mario Theissen"This was quite an exciting race for the spectators, thanks to Kimi Raikkonen’s great performance. It’s also positive that Jarno Trulli could walk away uninjured his huge crash. For our drivers it was thankfully an uneventful race which we haven’t had for a while.
Juan Pablo made the best of his 7th grid position and climbed to 5th thanks to a good strategy and three brilliant pit-stops. Marc fought for a long time with Alonso and Sato and delivered a consistent performance. Now that the new package has two races under its belt, we will be able to increase its performance at next week’s Jerez test."
Sam Michael Technical Director WilliamsF1
 Sam Michael"It was an encouraging race in terms of getting some points on the board, but obviously we have a lot of work ahead of us to improve  the car. Our strategy helped Juan to move up the field and the pit crew did a good job. From where Marc was in the field it was difficult
to make progress and although his ultimate lap time wasn’t bad, it was not quick enough to make it into the points. I hope Jarno Trulli is okay after his accident."
 
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