Selected Quotes - Monaco GP

Thursday May 13th, 1999

Ferrari

Michael Schumacher: "Ferrari coming first and second in Monaco which is such a unique race on the calendar, is the best thing you can do in Formula 1. Making the best start allowed us to adopt our planned strategy. I had to push hard before my pit stop to build up a big enough gap. After that I was able to take it easy and just bring the car home. My compliments go to all the other drivers who played it fair and square when I came up to pass them. Being a Ferrari driver is special. Winning with Ferrari is extra special and being the most successful Ferrari driver is something I will probably only appreciate when I retire and look back on my career. This circuit might have suited us better than Barcelona, but we have an intensive development programme to work on before the Spanish GP. It is a nice feeling to go to the next race with this cushion in the points table."

Joyful Schumi, Irvine and TodtEddie Irvine: "Qualifying well here is important but having a good car for the race is just as vital and my car was good today. I had to get past Coulthard at the start, otherwise he would have slowed me down. We were so close in qualifying and after the morning warm-up I had an idea I would be able to narrow the gap in the race. For the first 20 laps, my car was doing strange things and wobbling, as if the tyre pressures were wrong. But then, as the fuel load went down, the car got better and better and I was able to attack Mika and pass him in the pit stops. My one mistake came at the chicane and that is the only part of this track where you can make a mistake and get away with it. As for the strategy, we looked at various situations. The two stops went well and I was able to close the gap when we ran into traffic. Now we need to work on the aerodynamics to be more competitive in Barcelona."

Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari president: "Yesterday I said it did not matter that we were not on pole. Today we saw a demonstration of superiority from two magnificent drivers as well as from the cars and the team. We were dominant from start to finish. All our staff, technical partners, sponsors and fans deserve this great victory."

Jean Todt: "This is fantastic. Everything went well for us all weekend. The drivers and all the team, both here at the track and back in Maranello did a great job. Monaco is a very hard track on the cars, but everything went well. We can enjoy this result until tomorrow morning, because we must already think about the next race, which will be very tough. We have now completed the first quarter of the season. The road ahead will still be long and hard. Bridgestone did a great job and we are working together better and better with each passing race. The team is determined and united and we know that not all races will be as good as this one, but for the moment, let's celebrate this marvellous result."

McLaren

Mika on trackMika Hakkinen: "Pole position here in Monaco is a real advantage that I worked hard for but unfortunately I was not able to enjoy it. I made a really bad start with too much wheel spin. During the race I suffered with inconsistant handling couple with a very heavy steering load which probably means I had some sort of front end failure. However, I still tried to push hard which saw me have a couple of big moments and in the end I settled for third place points."

David Coulthard: "Not my best start as I didn't get as much traction off the line as the Ferraris. I tried to get a feel for the car with the fuel level and as I got more comfortable with the car I was able to put in what I thought were competitive times. Then I started to have a gear selection problem and the team advised me that the gear box had lost oil pressure and told me pit which of course was the right thing to do because a terminal failure was inevitable."

Rod Dennis: "Not a particularly satisfying end to a difficult weekend. David suffered an oil leak on the gear box which led to his retirement. Mika had a front suspension problem from early on in the race causing inconsistency in the cars handling which made it impossible to exploit the true potential of the car . Despite this he did a very good job but the result and performance of the car bore no relationship to our real competitiveness."

Norbert Haug: "Third place was the best we could do considering Mika's suspension problem and the twenty seconds he lost at Mirabeau when he encountered oil on the track . We will work very hard to achieve a better result in Barcelona where we will be testing next week prior to the Spanish Grand Prix. Both drivers did a very good job taking into acount the handicaps they experienced with their cars."

Jordan

Frenzten rides to fourthHeinz Harald Frentzen: "I am very happy with the team and myself. This is another good result. My race was against Rubens and we won that comfortably. The plan had been to keep up with him. I did not expect to be able to overtake him at the start so we just decided that I should stay close and make up time when he made his pit stop. As soon as he pitted I was able to pull away, and the late pit stop allowed me to jump in front of him. I closed the gap to Hakkinen a little, but catching him and overtaking him would have been quite different. The car and engine showed that we are competitive, and reliable."

Damon Hill: "The accident [with Ralf Schumacher] was my fault. I was simply being too ambitious. Starting 17th I had to be very aggressive with my strategy and I decided that after two laps that I just had to try and overtake. Ralf was defending his line so I do not blame him at all. My weekend did not go well - it was not to be!"

Eddie Jordan: "Heinz-Harald once again did a fantastic job. He was determined to do well and he looked very impressive, especially in the second half of the race when he posted some excellent lap times. The strategy we chose worked just as we had planned and Heinz made up enough time against Barrichello to overtake him in the pits. This result consolidates our third place in the World Championship, which is where we aim to be."

Benetton

Giancarlo Fisichella: "On this circuit I had hoped to finish higher than 5th place, but after such a hard race on such a difficult circuit, I am pretty happy with this result. In the first races of this season I have been in the points three times out of four and this really underlines the reliability of our team. We know where we need to focus to maximise performance, so I am optimistic for the rest of the championship."

Giancarlo FisichellaAlexander Wurz: "I didn't have a great start as I lost a position to Zanardi. He was really slow and held me up for quite a few laps, but then he made a mistake and I was able to overtake him. I am happy with sixth place and overall it is a great result for the team as both Giancarlo and I finished in the points."

Rocco Benetton, Chief Executive: "An excellent job by the team once again. We had difficulties in Qualifying and so this result is even more satisfying considering we started from the fifth row of the grid. We knew Monte Carlo was a difficult Grand Prix and that historically few cars finished the race, so we looked at reliability as our main concern. Both Giancarlo and Alexander drove a great race and it is fantastic to see Alexander earn his first point after an unlucky start to the season."

Williams

Alex Zanardi: "The car definitely needs to be improved and we cannot be satisfied with our performance. Furthermore I had another black day, even if it was almost funny. In fact, my seat broke in the very first part of the race and I felt like I was floating in the cockpit! I made several mistakes due to this big problem and I often overshot the corners, because I didn't have any more feel on the brake pedal! Sometimes I couldn't even reach the pedals!"

Ralf Schumacher: "I had quite an indifferent start. Unfortunately I had an accident with Damon Hill, after the exit of the tunnel, at the braking zone of the chicane he wanted to overtake me on the inside but this wasn't possible. We touched each other and this dropped me back several places. I must say that in general the car was ok and that we didn't have any problem. But right after my pit stop I was driving down to the Loews turn, I lost my car, hit the back against the barriers and my race was over."

Patrick Head, Technical Director: "Obviously we cannot be satisfied with our result. We struggled with every kind of problem during today's race. Now we have to go back to the factory and start working hard in order to improve our cars and take them back to the performance we are always expected to achieve. We hope we will reach this target by the Barcelona Grand Prix."

Stewart

Rubens Barrichello: "It's a pity my race ended like it did because Monaco is notoriously difficult for overtaking and I'm sure I would have been able to hold my fifth position until the finish. The car ran reasonably well though I wasn't able to find consistency after my pit stop. I got so close, just five laps from the end, which was a shame."

Zanardi leads from WurzJohnny Herbert: "It would have been nice to finish my first race of the season but unfortunately it wasn't to be. I made a pretty good start, got by Mika Salo and with a bit more drag could have gained two places. As for the accident there was no warning at all. I was coming out of Casino Square and something gave up on the right rear suspension. I just need to get some more mileage under my belt in the test next week and hope for a better race in Barcelona."

Paul Stewart, Deputy Chairman: "It's disappointing to be denied another two championship points. The car and engine ran reliably all weekend until the suspension problems in the race. In the past Monaco has been good to us but it wasn't to be this time. Both drivers drove solid races and the pit stops went well so to leave empty handed is a bit tough on the whole Stewart-Ford team. It was a shame that we didn't finish today but heartening that the Ford Cosworth CR-1 engine performed faultlessly throughout the weekend."

BAR

Jacques Villeneuve: "We decided to start with soft tyres, which proved to be a good choice as the car was running really well. Lap after lap it was getting better and faster. But when I came out of the tunnel and braked, I could feel that something was wrong at the rear and that was the end. It was a leak but I don't know if it was a hydraulic or oil leak. It's tough because you're there fighting ready to attack but you don't reach the end. And it's also the fourth race where I have to go home before the finish."

Mika Salo: "The car felt very good before the start. The start itself was just a normal one, nothing in particular happened, but I started to have brake trouble three laps into the race. I had to back off a little, I couldn't push really hard. I was still fighting with Jean Alesi as I was coming up to the Loews hairpin, and I felt that the pedal had gone completely soft. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do except drive straight into the wall."

Craig Pollock, Managing Director: "I think after having such as good weekend all the way through until the warm-up this morning, I feel very disappointed for the team and everybody back at the factory because our expectations were so high as we knew we had a good race car for Monaco. This was proven during the race while Jacques was still on the track, and reflected in the fact that he was putting in laps equivalent to the top three cars. It is a great frustration when you do not finish the race with either car because of reliability or an accident. Both drivers put in a great deal of effort. Unfortunately, from the pit wall it looked as if Mika lost control as did many other drivers. But that's motor racing and we have to focus on the next race."

Minardi

Marc Gene: "Unfortunately my lack of experience has been fatal for me this weekend. The car was very good even though I hardly managed to keep the rythm due to the continuous overlappings. When I arrived at the Ste Devote I braked and I felt my car going against the barrier."

Luca Badoer: "Notwithstanding the hard work done in these days, today I experienced again a gearbox concern. I am very disappointed because I was doing a good race. Hopefully this problem will be sorted out before the next Spanish Grand Prix."

Giancarlo Minardi: "I feel sorry for Luca because he was doing a pretty good race on a fine time, and suddenly he was forced to retirement. As for Marc, unfortunately he made the same mistake at the Ste Devote corner as he did a few days ago, nullifying the work done during the weekend."

Roger Griffiths, Ford Motorsport Project Leader: "It's very disappointing that both cars didn't finish the race. From our point of view, we didn't have any engine problems today. We just feel sorry for the Team as they worked really hard last night to rebuild the two cars after the accident in the qualifying session. We now look forward in a better weekend in Barcelona."


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