NewsOnF1 - 7 July News

7-July: At the post Race press conference for the British Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher was delighted with his 60th win and said "It is a very special race today for the circumstances, the conditions and so on. Number 60, and Silverstone hasn't seen so many victories for me and in terms of the championship, it's obviously ideal to finish again like that."
Michael put the win down to tyres and strategy and said "We know we have a very good car, we know we have very good tyres, especially for the race, and we have worked for that very hard together with Bridgestone and the team. But I think today it was purely down to when to put on what tyres. I have to say thanks to Ross, he did a great job today because I wasn't sure. We had this drizzling rain and sure, on the lap that we came in there was a lot of water but it could well have stopped immediately and then we should have stayed out on slicks. I wasn't sure what sort of decision I should take and I was glad Ross took the decision for me and he took the right one."
Michael is looking forward to Magny-Cours and said "Naturally with the car we have, the package that we have we are feeling comfortable but then Magny-Cours is a very particular circuit where tyres, as we have seen, can play the opposite effect and what we have seen so far is more like a Canadian Grand Prix. Things will be a bit more tight, especially if we have very hot conditions, which we should expect there. So I'm looking forward to a very tight race where still we have the opportunity and chance to win it, but wait and see. First we have to do it."

Ruben Barrichello who stalled at the start of the formation lap and had to start from the back of the gird was happy to finish second and said "It's been a fantastic race in terms of a result because I couldn't wish for more. I selected first gear on the formation lap and the engine turned itself off. It was a shame because I thought of Barcelona again, not having the ability to start. But when the car got going, as Michael said, we have a package and the tyres and everything so it seemed quite good. So I was coming quite quickly. On the intermediates, I think I pushed a little bit too hard on them and they were completely gone and I had a spin but I kept the engine running so I had quite a busy afternoon."
As for his fight with Montoya, Rubens said "It seems that they had a little bit more speed than us when the track was not wet but when there were some wet patches and they were on slicks, so I came out of Club, I had already lost a lot of time to him, but I wasn't expecting him to really go for it because Bridge was still damp. But when I saw him, I was more surprised than anything. I tried to get a run on him at the exit but I couldn't. Then, when everything settled down after three or four laps and the track was a little more dry, then the performance was there and I just had to go for it."

Juan Pablo Montoya was happy to be on the podium given the changing conditions and said "Being realistic, look at the warm-up, look at the race times, they are nearly two seconds quicker than me. I don't know. I haven't even looked, but it is probably around two seconds, their fastest lap compared with mine. So not a great deal you can do, you have got to try to defend yourself as hard as you can and in the dry we were doing quite well at the beginning but as soon as it rained we changed tyres and they just went. The tyre wear seemed to hold on really well in the dry, but we still had a second, one or two seconds on Rubens right before the pit stop. So we tried to get ahead of him and I did push as hard as I could, got ahead of him, but then I came out of the pits and the first few laps it was good, then their tyres seemed to hold on a lot more than ours and, better traction, he just drove by."
Montoya indicated that the Michelin tyres have improved but there is a long way to go to be able to match the Bridgestones and said "I think Michelin have done a lot of development and at least they are a bit more competitive. I think it's a lot better than before, it's a big step forward but I think we still have to do quite a lot of work."

7-July: What the teams and drivers said following the Race at Silverstone ... Report

7-July: British GP – Race: Michael Schumacher wins ahead of Rubens Barrichello and Juan Pablo Montoya. Jacques Villeneuve, Olivier Panis and Nick Heidfeld make the top 6. ... Timed Results ... Report ... Notes

7-July: British GP – Warm-up Session: Rubens Barrichello sets the fastest time of the session ahead of Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. Takuma Sato, Juan Pablo Montoya and Nick Heidfeld make the top 6 ... Timed Results ... Report ... Notes

British Formula 1 Grand Prix Schedule:

Session	Time (Local / GMT) - Current local time
Friday Practice Session 1 Friday Practice Session 2 Saturday Practice Session 1 Saturday Practice Session 2 Qualifying Session Warm-up Session Race	11 AM Silverstone Time / 10 AM GMT 1 PM Silverstone Time / 12 PM GMT 9:00 AM Silverstone Time / 8:00 AM GMT 10:15 AM Silverstone Time / 9:15 AM GMT 1:00 PM Silverstone Time / 12:00 PM GMT 8:30 AM Silverstone Time / 7:30 AM GMT 1:00 PM Silverstone Time / 12 PM GMT
Go to the British GP Page