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1. Juan Pablo MONTOYA
(McLAREN), 1h24m29.588s
2. Fernando ALONSO (RENAULT), 1h24m32.327s
3. Kimi RAIKKONEN (McLAREN), 1h24m44.024)
TV UNILATERALS
Q: Juan Pablo, a great qualifying lap first of all to get you right up there
and then an amazing first corner for you, round the outside of Fernando.
Juan Pablo MONTOYA: Yesterday in qualifying, being in one of the first cars
to run is very hard and even like that, I think we had the potential to do a
good lap and we did. And I think that’s where the race was won. I had a good
start. I knew Fernando couldn’t risk too much and I was willing to risk a
bit more and it really paid off. I think that’s where the race was won. In
the first part of the race the car was really understeering so I couldn’t
push it too much. So I decided to look after the tyres more and I would wait
for the start, because if you kill the tyres the race would over. The team
did a great strategy, they called me (in) a lap early and Fernando had some
traffic as expected and it was just, but it was enough.
Q: It was very close between you two guys, a lot of pressure, no mistakes,
you seemed to have the edge in sectors two and three, Fernando always
matching you in sector one.
JPM: The car, the first sector, turn one was quite oversteery and I had big
moments at the beginning of the race going into Becketts and I know that
when you lose it there you have a big shunt. For half a tenth it wasn’t
worth it. And I think that when I had to push to open the gap it paid off,
you know. I think Fernando had a bit of traffic.
Q: Just after that first pit stop, side by side with Fernando into Becketts
again.
JPM: It was good, you know, I think it is great racing and I want to thank
everyone at McLaren and Mercedes. I went to Mercedes Performance Engines on
Thursday and they said ‘ah, we have got this engine for you and hopefully
you will win the race with this engine’ and to do that is amazing.
Q: Fernando, it was very, very close, what was the deciding factor? Traffic?
Perhaps that fuel load on the second stint?
Fernando ALONSO: Well, it was very close between Juan Pablo and me. The
first pit stop we put a lot of fuel on board, obviously, to go very long in
the second stint and even with that I almost overtook Juan Pablo in the
first stop, so with a normal strategy it should come. But I think the
strategy, as I said, was good, I kept a two second gap with Juan Pablo in
the second stint and this four or five laps longer I had in the second stint
should have helped me to win the race but unfortunately I had some traffic
there and the blue flags didn’t work at all this race, so I think I lost
three seconds with Jarno (Trulli) but it was not his fault because there
were no blue flags at all so he didn’t know that I was fighting for the
victory at that time.
Q: And it looked pretty close there going into the last stint, as well, you
were within one second of Juan Pablo and then the closing laps of the race
he managed to pull away.
FA: Yeah, I tried after the second stop to push him a bit but it was really
difficult to overtake. I knew the pace of Juan Pablo and me was very similar
because all the first stint I was with him, so the last three or four laps
Kimi was quite far away so I just relaxed to get the second place. But for
us it is a dream come true.
Q: Kimi, a fantastic drive from you up from the midfield, setting fastest
lap on your last lap of the race, trying all the way, but you lost a lot of
time behind Michael and Jarno.
Kimi RAIKKONEN: Yes, I think this year the cars are difficult to follow in
fast corners. I was quite a bit quicker than they were but I got close at
the end of the back straight but I was never able to follow close enough to
the fast corners, so I knew it was difficult to get anywhere after that. But
at least we have got a podium, it is good result for the team, it could have
been better but that is what we got this time.
Q: I suppose you would have liked a few more blue flags for the traffic,
what was the traffic like in front of you?
KR: Sometimes, but I guess there were more important things to do at that
time. It’s fantastic to go to the marshals or to race control to see
everybody.
Q: Just to re-iterate, very bad luck for you having to take that grid
penalty because of the engine change, but no doubt about the speed of the
McLaren-Mercedes today.
KR: Yeah. In normal circumstances I think it would have been a bit different
results, but, like I said, there is nothing more I can do, I can just try my
best and hopefully the team will sort out the rest and move on.
Q: Juan, a final word to you. Your first win for McLaren in the British
Grand Prix, it is a momentous occasion for you and the team.
JPM: I think it is a great race, you know, it is the home race for the team,
actually both parts are in England, and it is just amazing. It is great, all
the guys, for me to do this, and I am just so pleased.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Juan Pablo, it has been a difficult season for you, is there a sense of
relief in this win?
JPM: I know I can win races and everything, but it has been such a
frustrating season and when I crossed the line I was excited but it was more
of an ‘aaaaahh’ more than anything. But it was good. It was a lot of work
for the team and we have been changing the car a lot, you know, my driving
style is so different from Kimi’s so that anything you put on the car, I
can’t drive it. I could just drive it, but if the conditions changed a bit
it was a big problem for me, so we have been trying a lot of different
things and, you know, the last few races we have made a lot of progress.
Q: How confident were you from your grid position, third on the grid?
JPM: I knew I needed to get Fernando before Becketts and I did. From there
it was a matter of the strategies and see how hard you could push.
Q: How was the car?
JPM: Oversteery, really oversteery at the beginning. I took a bit of wind on
the first lap and then balanced it a little bit and then I needed to push
and open the gap on Fernando in the second stint.
Q: And after that?
JPM: It was fine, the last two corners a little bit of oversteer but it was
more just make sure to get a decent lap one after another and we will be
fine.
Q: Fernando, your feelings early on in the race, when you were behind Juan
Pablo?
FA: I was a little bit frustrated with the start, obviously, because with
the place on the circuit it should be quite easy to be there from pole
position because there is no heavy braking into turn one, so it was a bit
frustrating to lose that position. But anyway, I think we did a good job in
the first stint, tried to keep close to Juan Pablo and hopefully to have
more laps of fuel than him, and we had just one and that was not enough.
Very close, but not enough.
Q: In the second stint, he seemed to pull away from you, was that mainly
traffic?
FA: No, no. It was I think fuel. Obviously they had six or seven laps lower
fuel in the second stint so I was losing three or four tenths of a second
every lap. I think the biggest problem was the traffic after Juan Pablo
stopped. Those six or seven laps I had to really push and I lost two or
three seconds with two guys and even with that we were so close at the pit
exit, so I think we felt that the strategy should work well.
Q: Were you pretty encouraged after what you said in Magny-Cours?
FA: It was okay for us, and it gives us confidence for the rest of the
season because this was the worst circuit in the calendar for us, for the
Renault team, at the beginning of the year, and after the testing as well,
so we managed to get pole position here with a good amount of fuel I think
we found potential in the car and we are extremely happy for this result.
Q: Kimi, in the early stages you were right behind Michael Schumacher and
closing up with him at Stowe every lap, but each time he seemed to pull away
again on the exit.
KR: Yeah, I couldn’t get any grip when I got close to him, so when I did get
very close, the car got very loose and I couldn’t follow him so that was the
main problem really. It’s so hard to follow the cars in high speed corners,
so I just couldn’t get close enough.
Q: And the car just washed out on one lap – you went wide…
KR: Yes, quite a few times. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I
tried a few times, but then when I did get very close to him it was still
very difficult. With these new regulations it’s slightly more difficult than
it was last year.
Q: Two races running you’ve got on the podium having taken a ten place hit
because of an engine problem. Do you still feel you have a chance in the
championship?
KR: It’s getting more difficult race by race, especially with all the
problems that I have. Without the problems surely we should have had a
better result in the last few races but I don’t know, we need to go race by
race and do the best that we can, and then we will see at the end of the
season what happens. But it’s definitely not going in the right direction at
the moment.
Q: And that fastest lap on the last lap, was that just sending a message?
KR: I had nothing else to do, so I pushed a lot. (Laughter)
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Panos Diamantis – Car and Driver, Greece) My question is for Juan Pablo.
You won the race in spite of the fact that you went out early in qualifying
yesterday. Do you believe that there’s too much hype about the qualifying
starting order, or do you believe you will have a huge advantage for
Hockenheim?
JPM: I think against these guys there is no advantage or disadvantage, but I
think against the guys who run in the first five, especially the first two,
and in the first group, there’s always three or four tenths advantage. I
think from the pace that I did in practice on Friday, Saturday and in
qualifying my pace was good enough to be at least P3. I got out to qualify
and I was P4, three tenths behind what I did with the same fuel load before
in practice, so it was a bit frustrating, but that’s what it is and
hopefully now at Hockenheim I should be at the front of the group and it
should be a little bit better.
Q: (Andrew Benson) Juan, I wanted to ask you, you’ve obviously had a slower
start to the season than you would have expected at McLaren. Was that just
down to the shoulder injury or was it a bit more complicated than that?
JPM: Well we were expecting the new suspension after the first two races
which arrived for Imola but by the time the suspension arrived, I was out of
the car, so that wasn’t great. So then I got back in the car, with no
testing or anything and in the first few races I could hardly really drive
the car. I used to have injections to try and go through the pain, but
you’re not really driving one hundred percent. But even if you try the pain
is always there. It’s not fantastic. Everything that could go wrong was
going wrong and I think that when we went to Nurburgring for example, it was
good. I was P3 going through turn one, but I got taken off which ripped half
of the floor off. Then we went to Canada and the team called me into the
pits too late. That’s racing, but things like that just kept happening. Look
at Magny Cours, I had to qualify too early and I was screwed. But even with
that, I think I should have been on the podium there. It’s racing, I guess.
The team is doing a fantastic job and they’re working really hard with me.
And we’re definitely making progress. I’m happy. I think it’s great to show
to everybody that I can still win races, I can win races as I did for
Williams.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, how conservative were
you in the first two turns with Juan Pablo?
FA: A little bit, obviously it was not worth taking a risk in the first two
corners in a 60 lap race, especially with Michael and Kimi further back, so
I knew that Juan Pablo was not going to lift off in turn three, so it was
better to lift off than crash.
Q: (Marco Evangelisti – Corriere dello Sport) Juan Pablo, could you please
tell us what were the biggest difficulties you found when changing teams, if
you found any?
JPM: I don’t think changing teams was a big deal, driving a different car…
If you look at Kimi’s and DC’s driving style, you look at the inboard camera
and they just drive a lot smoother than what I do. I could get to the limit
of the car and do a good lap, but if I wanted to get anything more out of
the car it was very difficult. That’s been changing and it’s been getting
better.
Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) To Juan Pablo and Fernando, you talked about
the problems of blue flags and traffic. Is it quantifiably worse here than
any race this season, and if so why would that be bearing in mind it is a
centralised system that they have?
JPM: You know, I have been in this situation for a while but it was
terrible. You know every time I got to traffic I would lose about two and a
half seconds. I was just hoping that Fernando would do the same thing. But I
guess we both got it. I was shouting in the radio to the team and they were
saying ‘we’re telling Charlie, we’re telling Charlie’ and I think the
message was going through but there were no flags.
Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Do you feel this is the start of bigger
and better things for you at McLaren? If so, given the car next year, you
should have a better chance next season in the championship.
JPM: Well, I will tell you, this year is not over completely yet. You know
the fight between Kimi and Fernando – they could take each other off in two
races and I’ve closed the gap. Things can change so much. Things played out
really well for me here but we might go to the next race and struggle. I
don’t know. We need to make sure we don’t struggle and make sure we score
maximum points for the team and we’ll see how things go from there.
Q: (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Kimi, how are you feeling
towards the team after being penalised in two races?
KR: It hasn’t changed anything. It’s not the first time I have been
penalised. It’s hard sometimes but we win as a team and we lose as a team
but of course, everyone needs to do more hard work to make sure that these
things don’t happen again.
Q: (Bob Bull – BBC Three Counties Radio) The recent FIA survey said that 94
or 96 per cent of the viewers who watch races would like to see more
overtaking. But the technical directors said on Friday that to do that they
would have to make cars slower. As drivers, would you prefer to have the
fastest possible cars, or more opportunity to overtake a rival?
JPM: In my opinion, I think they could compromise. We could still have the
same speed and I think one of the problems is that they are reducing
downforce in the car and one of the ways to find more grip is increasing the
tyres, so that the hole when you follow someone is bigger so the turbulence
is bigger and the grip level is smaller so it makes it harder to pass. Even
if you go slower you don’t have the grip so it makes it harder to pass.
FA: Same opinion. We should find a good compromise for the drivers’ point of
view. Of course we would like to drive the fastest car possible. We are in
Formula One and we are already racing in many other categories and when you
arrive here you want maximum technology and maximum car performance. But for
sure you can have something in the middle.
KR: When you compare to the last year, it is developing more difficult to
follow people around here than it was last year. So even when they have
tried to change the rules they have not exactly worked out because trying to
follow someone in the high speed corners is much more difficult.
Q: (Dom Taylor – F1 Racing) Kimi, Ron Dennis said yesterday that he thinks
you keep getting better and better, from week to week you are a better
racing driver. Do you feel like you’re getting better and in what areas
particularly do you feel that you’re improving the most?
KR: I would not say you get any better. I have been driving the same way all
season and last season, but when you have a good car it is sometimes easier
to go quicker. Of course, you get the experience but it doesn’t make you any
quicker in the car.
Q: ( Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Kimi, did the team tell you
that Fisichella had a problem in his pit stop?
KR: Actually I saw it on one of the big screens so I knew something was
happening, because he didn’t pull away when the guys stopped refuelling. I
just was expecting that I was going to be close to him, but then I went
through the first corner and I noticed he was just behind me and then the
team told me he was just behind me because he had some problems.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, you finished second
but it is like a victory considering the points. And Kimi says that it’s
getting more and more difficult to try to win this championship. Is it
getting easier for you?
FA: No, I think it is getting quite similar still. Too many races to go and
I think anything can happen with two or three races where you don’t finish.
Kimi has a quick enough car to win all those races so we have to concentrate
now on finishing the races, to have as competitive a car as we have now and
try to finish on the podium. If we can do it it will be easier and easier
when the races come.
Q: (Bob McKenzie – Daily Express) The start is always crucial but did you
have it in your mind that this was a particularly crucial start, that you
had to get in front of him, and did you think he would actually back off?
JPM: Yeah. Was he going to back off? We were going to go side by side into
Becketts. Either one of us was going to back off or we were going to go off
and the chances were that he was going to back off before me. He’s got a
fight for the championship and I haven’t. I just wanted to win the race. We
knew we were going to get Jenson off the line, what do you think is going to
happen. I told the guys I can either get a run into turn one or if I don’t
then hopefully I can get a better run into turn two or three or whatever. It
was just enough. It was pretty cool, it got to a point where we were quite
close, I thought we were going to touch but he bailed out. It was good. My
car was too oversteery in the first stint and it wasn’t quick enough.
Q: (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Fernando, what do you feel
more, anger about losing the battle for victory, or joy about the two points
you gained in the championship?
FA: Well, I think this weekend is a mix of feelings. I am disappointed a bit
because at the beginning of the race, especially in all the traffic, as I
said, because we had a little bit better strategy than Juan Pablo today in
the second stint, especially, but I’m extremely happy, not for the points
that I took from Kimi and Michael, because I’m happy we took second place
here at Silverstone, because this was impossible to think two weeks ago, so
I think this is the best news I have this weekend, and if in Silverstone we
can do better, then at Hockenheim or Hungary, in the next two Grands Prix we
can fight for the victory with them. |
