Comments from BMW WilliamsF1 Team members

By Andrew Hooper
April 28 2002


	Spanish GP Race - Team Comments

	It was a hectic Spanish Grand Prix for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team. After several incidents for both drivers, Juan Pablo took second place, achieving six more championship points. Ralf was second in the first part of the race, then slid down to position 11 due to a mistake and didn’t finish due to an engine failure. Both mechanics who were hurt in an incident during Juan Pablo’s second pit stop are now all right and are back at work. Valencia Test: 30 April – 3 May (Antonio Pizzonia, 30/1, Juan Pablo Montoya 2/3)

	Juan Pablo Montoya "I am very pleased with my second place, mostly because we struggled the whole weekend here. Even if we are a bit behind Ferrari this was the best we could do today. In my second pit stop I hit our chief mechanic who was trying to stop me after he started t o lift the lollipop as the refuelling wasn’t finished yet. I know he is all right now but this accident could have had a much worse outcome if I hadn’t managed to stop the car fairly quickly."

	Ralf Schumacher "It definitely wasn’t my day today. First I made a silly mistake, which I do very seldom and that’s why am so angry about it and in the end we also had a technical problem. In the turn before the pit lane entry I went off and damaged some parts of my car, s o I had to pit and that effectively ended my race. We now go back home with some work to do for everybody: Myself as well as BMW, WilliamsF1 and Michelin."

	Gerhard Berger BMW Motorsports Director "We can be happy with the outcome of this hectic race. We couldn’t get more. Ralf unfortunately made a small mistake, which had big consequences. He had to change his nose due to an off and there he lost the race. Therefore it is not so painful that his en gine failed on the last lap. Thanks to Juan Pablo’s second place we are now just seven points behind Ferrari, which gives us confidence to continue the fight. But the gap we have to Ferrari on this track alarms us."

	Sam Michael Chief Operations EngineerWilliamsF1 "It is good to come away with second place after such an eventful race on the track and in the pit lane. Juan drove a good race under these conditions and Ralf was very well placed until his extra pit stop as well. After four races of excellent pit stops we had some problems today, which we will review before the next GP."