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2002 British Grand Prix 
What the teams and drivers said - Sunday 

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What the teams and drivers said - Sunday

Ferrari ( Michael Schumacher - 1st, Rubens Barrichello - 2nd ) 

Jean Todt: "It has been an exceptional day, with a fantastic one-two scored on our rivals’ home turf. Our entire package was excellent: the drivers, the team, the cars and the Bridgestone tyres. The result consolidates our position in both Championships. A technical problem at the start of the formation lap meant Rubens was unable to make the most of his grid position as he had to start from the back. Rubens managed to catch the front runners and then moved up to second place after 19 laps. The six points he picked up have moved him up to second place in the Drivers’ championship. Michael drove fantastically in all conditions, whether dry or wet. This one-two finish allows us to tackle the remaining races in the championship with optimism, but this does not mean we will lower our guard. We must not relax as we want to continue the Championship in the same way in which we have completed the first half."

Michael Schumacher: "This is a very special win for me, as I have not finished first so often here and it is also my 60th win. It is also an ideal situation for the championship. We were not expecting rain. The car handled really well although we never had consistent conditions and I struggled a little bit in the wet. But I have to say the intermediates were good in both the almost dry and the wet. We have worked very hard on that with Bridgestone and the whole car tyre packaged worked well. The real question was when to use what tyre. I have to say I was not really sure, so I must thank Ross for making the decisions for me and making the right one. The conditions were really very tricky, especially as the intermediate tyres started to wear out in the dry."

Rubens Barrichello: "This is a fantastic result for the team and the best I could hope for. I don’t yet know what was my problem at the start of the formation lap. When I lined up at the back of the grid, I concentrated on staying very calm, because I knew I had the car to get past people and I was just hoping to get points. I kept my attitude together and started to pass people and there were times when I was lucky not to crash because of the big speed differential between our cars and some of the opposition. Everything worked fine and the Bridgestone tyres were fantastic. I spun, when I touched a kerb after pushing a bit too hard on the intermediates which were quite worn at the rear. I enjoyed my fight with Juan Pablo. It was a fair one. I lost some speed going into Club corner, but I did not expect him to move on me there. I tried to make a move on him at the exit to the corner, which did not work, but after a few more laps I managed to overtake him again."

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Williams ( Juan Pablo Montoya - 3rd, Ralf Schumacher - 8th )

Sam Michael: "A good conclusion for Juan to what was a really difficult race. Juan did well to claim a podium position and the points to go with it in all of the changeable racing conditions. It was unfortunate that Ralf’s race was compromised by a refuelling rig problem. I also made a mistake by calling the wrong type of tyre for his pitstop because of a lot of radio traffic."

Dr. Mario Theissen: "Third place was the maximum we could achieve today. It was not the first time that there have been have problems with the fuel rig, unfortunately this time it was us. In nearly every race, one team or another has problems with refuelling, so improvements are really required. Ralf lost fourth place because of this today. We had no problems with the engine but it could be seen that in the wet conditions that we are behind our competitors with our tyres. The race was a great show for the spectators and both our drivers showed a solid performance and made no mistakes in the tricky conditions."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "It was a crazy race because of the changing weather conditions. My start wasn’t too bad and I could keep Michael Schumacher behind me for a while, but then he passed me and started to get away. Then the rain came and decided the race as we could not keep pace on our tyres. We have massively improved in the wet, but there is still work to do. I managed to catch up again when it dried, and it was very good to finish and collect some points for the team."

Ralf Schumacher: "At the beginning in the rain, everything went quite well. We were clearly the best placed Michelin team, and I had a good chance to get some points. But then unfortunately we had a problem with my fuel rig again, like one month ago in Canada – that was it for today,I am very disappointed."

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BAR ( Jacques Villeneuve - 4th, Olivier Panis - 5th )

David Richards: "It just goes to prove that perseverance really pays off and at the end of the day it’s all about teamwork. The drivers drove a faultless race but behind this performance are a lot of unsung heroes back at the factory who played such an important part in today’s result. The strategy for the race was absolutely perfect and it’s so pleasing for everybody to do so well in front of our home crowd. We have to acknowledge Bridgestone who provided us with the perfect tyre for the conditions today but one individual who really stands out within a great team is Alastair Gibson, our Chief Mechanic. He left his wife in labour to be with us today and now returns to the hospital for the birth of his first child. This is a day I’m sure he’ll never forget."

Jacques Villeneuve: "It has been a long time coming but today’s result is fantastic for the team. It was a very tricky race and to get both cars home in the points in those conditions is great for everybody. I’ve had a very good three days here; we just kept improving the car throughout every session. For the first time this season, we were confident that for once we didn’t have to rely on luck to be in with a chance of a points finish. We were actually competitive enough and the car and circuit really suited each other. We had two great pitstops and made the right tyre choices in very tough conditions. Everybody worked incredibly well in the race so this result is a credit to the team."

Olivier Panis: "I’m very, very happy. This is a fantastic day for me and for the team, especially as this was our home Grand Prix. I’m really pleased that we were able to put on a good show for all the staff in the grandstands. I could feel them willing us on and this result is exactly what they needed. From 13th position it was a hell of a fight because of the weather conditions, but I had a lot of fun along the way. After all the problems I had on Friday and Saturday, the team reacted with great professionalism and determination. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Honda for all their hard work because we have great respect for what they are trying to do. Sometimes these things take time but it’s like good food - you need to wait. Last but not least, a special "thankyou" to Bridgestone, whose continued efforts paid off especially well in today’s conditions. I consider this a good step forward for the team but let’s keep focus and remember that we have a lot of work ahead of us."

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Sauber ( Nick Heidfeld - 6th, Felipe Massa - 9th )

Peter Sauber: "Considering what happened in the early laps, with Nick struggling for grip and Felipe spinning, we did well to salvage sixth place this afternoon. Congratulations to the team for great pitwork, and to the drivers for fighting performances."

Nick Heidfeld: "For some reason my first set of grooved tyres didn't come up to full temperature in the early laps. As a result I had understeer and the car was weak under braking, so I lost a lot of places. It was better on intermediates when the track was at its wettest, and in my second stop I got another set of the them. By the end they were almost finished, but the car was good and I was able to push hard virtually until the last lap. I'm happy with a point for sixth place."

Felipe Massa: "At the start Villeneuve was really slow away and I had to go round him. Unfortunately I had to go on the grass and spun, but luckily I didn't hit anyone. The track was very slippery in the early laps, but I made up a lot of lost time by stopping sooner than most for intermediates, on lap 12. I stayed with intermediates after my second stop on lap 30, but they lost their edge so I had to come in for grooved tyres 10 laps later. I was quicker than several people ahead of me after that, but I´d lost too much time to score a point."

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Jordan ( Giancarlo Fisichella - 7th, Takuma Sato - Retired  )

Eddie Jordan: "We had a chance for points and Giancarlo and Takuma both drove really well. It was a great shame about Takuma’s engine and I’m sorry we didn’t score a better result for all our staff who are here today. I am certain that better races are in store for us."

Giancarlo Fisichella: "Seventh place is alright. It would have been fantastic to score points today. I drove well, however with hard dry tyres I had low grip levels, it was slippery and the car was nervous. It was not easy but I did my best and the team did very well too. Starting from 17th today was our problem."

Takuma Sato: "Today’s result is a big shame, particularly because we were looking promising in warmup. When it began to rain quite hard, I really wanted to come back to the pits to change tyres, but unfortunately Giancarlo was already there and the team told me to stay out. Those were critical laps and I lost a lot of time. After we changed to intermediates, the handling was very good and I continued to get a good run on dry tyres. But then sadly the engine just blew up. That was frustrating, but there you go. Next race."

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McLaren ( David Coulthard - 10th, Kimi Raikkonen - Reitred )

Ron Dennis: "Our dry weather performance supported the view that a podium place today was possible. Kimi and David drove extremely well in the early stages. Our weather forecasting was not as accurate as we would have liked but in fairness it’s always a problem for the meteorologists here in Britain. Unexpected pitstops coupled with significant interference on our pitwall communications systems did not place us in a position for even a top six result. As always we will learn from our mistakes and try hard to ensure that they are not repeated in future races. At the end of the day it was the same for everybody and other teams did a better job."

Norbert Haug: "Kimi was very fast and could keep in touch with the two leaders until his first pitstop when rain set in. Things were going wrong during our pitstops. Kimi’s engine failure when he was in tenth position with 15 laps to go will be investigated tonight. What happened to David today was not any better. We want to learn from this race and focus on the next Grand Prix at Magny Cours."

David Coulthard: "It has been a terrible afternoon for the entire team. At the first stop I went on the radio to say that I was coming in and whilst the mechanics could hear me, the pitwall was had some interference on their radios from the digital TV commentators and was unable to hear me. When the team then told me to come in, I was already past the pitlane entry. Then the information we had available told us that it might stop raining so I stayed out for another lap, but then it started to rain heavily. We just seemed to be on the wrong tyres at the wrong time. In addition I had experienced some problems with the brakes before the race which we tried to fix on the grid but when it started to rain I found it really hard to brake at Club Corner and I think I went off four times. To be honest this is a British Grand Prix I would prefer to forget."

Kimi Raikkonen: "My start was good and I was as quick as the leaders. On lap three I overtook Ralf Schumacher and everything was fine but then the rain started. Immediately I went into the pits but unfortunately I hadn’t informed my crew early enough and they were not quite ready and I think this just upset our usual rhythm. Eventually an engine problem finished my race on lap 45."

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Jaguar ( Pedro de la Rosa - 11th, Eddie Irvine - Retired )

Niki Lauda: "It’s been a long and difficult weekend for us. We have learned a great deal about our new package and quite simply, we still have a fair way to go before we are satisfied. As I said yesterday, we came here with a very limited understanding of how this new aero package would work because of the fact that we only tested it for the first time last Thursday. There are some positive steps relative to the previous car, but we also have some issues to address. We will examine carefully the data from today’s race and combined with next week’s Monza test, we will aim to understand how best to correct the issues at hand. Today’s race presented everyone with challenging conditions and Pedro did very well indeed to cross the finishing line in 11th place."

Pedro de la Rosa: "Given that we started the race from the back of the grid, we had no option but to take a gamble on the strategy. We could either have gone for the dry tyre or the full wet and once the rain came down, we took the full wet option. Two laps after my pitstop, however, I started losing grip and with hindsight, maybe we should have gone for the intermediate tyre. Nonetheless, we did our best and given the very unpredictable conditions out there, everyone took a gamble of sorts today. Ours didn’t pay dividends in terms of points, but after having done a full race distance with the new package, we have a good data bank of information to take away and analyse before the French Grand Prix."

Eddie Irvine: "I am disappointed to have retired from our home race, but the conditions were very tricky out there today. I made a good start and it was actually great fun until I retired. The British fans were not exactly short of overtaking manoeuvres today and having passed five cars by lap one, I was caught in the middle of a procession of cars and it was quite good to be jostling around with everyone being so bunched up. The rain, however, got worse and after about fourteen laps we had no choice but to pit and take the full wet tyre option. The grip level on the track was far from ideal and on lap 23 I lost grip coming out of Stowe. The car spun completely off the track and buried itself in the gravel trap. Not the way to leave your mark on your home race, but with only eleven cars finishing the race today, it isn’t hard to appreciate the challenges that everyone was faced with today. Some got lucky, some didn’t."

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Renault ( Jenson Button - Retired - Classified 12th, Jarno Trulli - Retired )

Mike Gascoyne: "Obviously a very difficult race for us. In the dry, the car was competitive and we made the right decision on strategy - the fact that Jarno was running third after his first stop shows as much. As soon as the track started drying out, we were losing so much performance that we had to switch to dry tyres. The gamble didn't pay off, which meant we had to make two more stops in line with the changing weather. As for the retirements, Jarno suffered electronic problems, and after Jenson stopped with the problem on the left front wheel, we decided to retire him as there was little point continuing given his position."

Jenson Button: "I was pretty happy at the end of the first lap, making up four places at the start! Everything was working well at that point, even though I was struggling a little with understeer in the dry - we didn't quite get on top of the problem all weekend. At the first stop, I had to wait for Jarno to finish, which obviously cost me time. Afterwards, the car wasn't too bad in the wet, but the Bridgestones were simply flying. It then got harder and harder as the track began to dry. At the end, I noticed that the front left wheel was starting to move about. I must thank the team for their reactiveness at the stops - they had to work hard today! It's obviously not the result I had hoped for at Silverstone, but at least it was exciting for the crowd."

Jarno Trulli: "It was a tough race! As the lights went out, I made a good start, but was blocked by the McLarens and couldn't make up any positions. I then changed to wets but from then on, the electronic problems started: the car lacked traction, and the gearbox started downshifting on its own. I was losing so much time that all I could do was retire. It's a shame, because I was third after my first stop, even if we were less competitive in the changing conditions."

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Arrows ( Enrique Bernoldi - Retired, Heinz Harald Frentzen - Retired )

Graham Taylor: “Heinz was the first of all the runners to react to the rain today which gained us a huge advantage. It was a quick call and I must pay tribute to the pit crew who did a fantastic job throughout. Enrique also benefited from a quick switch to intermediates and we were able to take full effect of the advantage that Bridgestone tyres gave us in the wet. It was certainly good to see our cars swarming all over some of the more significant Michelin runners. Heinz was comfortably faster that Villeneuve who finished fourth so I think we could have had a healthy crop of points today. In retrospect we made the wrong call with Enrique's second stop as the rain got heavier just as he entered the Pitlane. To have neither car finish is a huge shame for the team that has worked hard all season and especially during this very difficult weekend."

Enrique Bernoldi: "I had a great start again today and was up to 12th by the end of the first lap. I was able to push hard and was thoroughly enjoying the race. I started from pretty much the back so to be in a position to score points by the halfway point was great. We made the right choice on tyres for the first stop (intermediates) but not the second time because as soon as we put on the dry weather tyres it began to rain more heavily so I had to pit again. In the end it didn't matter as I stopped for good soon after that. It is a shame to lose such a good opportunity as they don't come along very often.”

Heinz Harald Frentzen: “That was a real disappointment as it was the most fun we have had this weekend! We were definitely in for a lot of points today so to have something break at such a key moment is a huge shame for us. I didn't have a very good start but we made up for that by making the right choice on tyres, choosing the intermediates, and I have to say that the cars in front were easy meat and I was able to easily overtake. The car was perfect and, after a weekend like the one we've just had, a points finish would have been fantastic reward for the OrangeArrows team.”

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Toyota ( Mika Salo - Retired, Allan McNish - Retired )

Ove Andersson: "A weekend to forget for us, but again there is plenty to learn from. I was particularly encouraged by yesterday’s qualifying, but unfortunately events in the race were not so positive. Our car is clearly not as good in the wet as in the dry and we have to work on this."

Mika Salo: "I didn’t get such a good start and lost a position by the first corner, but things seemed okay. Then the rain started and our lack of downforce really showed and we struggled with little grip. I had a small spin and at the end there was a problem with the transmission, something broke in the drive train, and I stopped. Very disappointing after such a good qualifying yesterday."

Allan McNish: "Basically the lights went green and there was a problem with the clutch and the engine stalled. It was not the same problem we had in Imola. We tried to get the car going back in the garage but we couldn’t and by that time we were outside of the 90% time you need to be classified, so the race was over. Needless to say I am extremely disappointed, not only for myself and the team but for the fans supporting me here at my home race."

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Minardi ( Mark Webber - Retired, Alex Yoong - Did Not Qualify )

Alex Yoong: Did Not Qualify

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