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2002 Canadian 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 - 3rd ) 

Jean Todt: "This was a great result today. The team did a fantastic job and the cars were at the best on a track which is very tough in reliability terms. Both the Bridgestone tyres and the Brembo brakes performed very well. We dedicate this win to all those back in Maranello, who work day and night to make this result possible. A special thought goes to Gianni Agnelli. Knowing the affection and passion he has for Ferrari, I am sure he will have watched the race attentively and enjoyed the result. We hope to see him back with us at a race track soon, to encourage us as he has always done, through the good times and especially the bad. As for the race, we had adopted a more aggressive strategy with Rubens, who was on a two-stop. It’s a shame that the arrival of the Safety Car on lap 14 prevented him from getting the most out of it. With two laps remaining, we asked Rubens to slow the pace to avoid any possible brake problems. It was better to consolidate third place than to come away empty handed."

Michael Schumacher: "I am very happy with this result and the package we had today. Ferrari’s 150th win is very special and I take this opportunity to thank our test team. They are always in the background and I am very happy to have these guys behind me. All of them, Luca Badoer, Luciano Burti and all the engineers and mechanics do a fantastic job. I did not expect Rubens to come past me so quickly at the start but he was on the clean side of the track and had a better end to his acceleration. I knew he was on a two stop so I did not make life difficult. The Safety Car worked in my favour, even if I don’t understand why they had to use it. I kept a good pace as we knew Montoya was on a two stop, but I could not ease up until I knew I would be in front of him after his second stop. The engine was very strong and gave us good straight line speed. In the final laps I slowed down to save the car and brakes."

Rubens Barrichello: "For the start, I was on the clean side of the track and my reaction time was good and so I had a fantastic start. Seeing Montoya’s pace I thought he was on a two stop like me. Then, I had an opportunity when he ran wide. I was already alongside, when he moved over on me and I got a wheel on the grass, but I had to take the chance to pass him. Then the Safety Car ruined my race and I don’t see why it was used as it would be impossible to hit the BAR where it was parked. I lost a bit of time with my pit stop when they cleaned the side pods, but not much. As for the incident at the chicane with Coulthard, at that point I could have braked and taken the corner, but when you see someone go outside you going quickly you can’t let it happen so I got off the brakes. If there had been a wall there we would have both made the corner. I knew that two stops might be risky with a possible Safety Car, but I was comfortable with my two stop strategy as I was prepared to push and try and win the race."

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McLaren ( David Coulthard - 2nd, Kimi Raikkonen - 4th )

Ron Dennis: "Not surprisingly a day of mixed emotions. As a team we are delighted with David's excellent and well deserved second place but disappointed by the problems that took away the opportunity for Kimi to finish on the podium. His last lap time clearly demonstrated his potential. That said, nothing should take anything away from David's exceptional drive."

Norbert Haug: "A good achievement by the team and excellent drives by David and Kimi with both cars running reliably. This result is a reward for the team's hard work. It's a pity that Kimi had to slow down a bit to save fuel after the problem in his pitstop as he would had a chance to finish on the podium."

David Coulthard: "We were confident that we could get a points finish but didn't anticipate how competitive we would be so therefore I'm pleased for the whole team. As in Monaco our launch control system worked well and I gained two places at the start. In the early stages I was struggling with oversteer and had to be careful allowing me to save the brakes which benefited me later. Following my pitstop I was able to get out in front of Kimi and then had a good battle with Barrichello. We had a bit of a moment when we came to lap Sato. I thought Sato would move over at the Hairpin but instead he held me up and I lost momentum, which allowed Rubens to get alongside me going into the chicane. I braked as late as possible and missed the chicane and was prepared to move over if Rubens had made it, but Rubens made the same mistake and therefore I didn't gain any advantage."

Kimi Raikkonen: "First of all I'm pleased to finish the race ? it's been some time. I made a good start and had an enjoyable battle with Ralf Schumacher in the opening stages and managed to keep him behind me. However we had a problem with the fuel rig during my pit stop and subsequently didn't take enough fuel on board. The team told me to conserve fuel, which slowed me down considerably and cost me a podium position. However to finish in the points was a nice way to end the weekend."

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Jordan ( Giancarlo Fisichella - 5th, Takuma Sato - 10th )

Eddie Jordan: "A fantastic result, we did a great job all weekend, and Giancarlo was super today. He had a small problem with the clutch at the beginning but then he drove really hard. It’s good to see Takuma finish in the top ten and encouraging to have our third points finish in three races. The team has worked so hard and this result was earned. It shows we are going in the right direction and that we are closing the gap on Sauber and Renault in the Championship."

Giancarlo Fisichella: "Scoring two more points has made this another good day for us. The car was quite competitive, especially just before my pit stop. We had good balance overall and I was even quicker than Raikkonen at the end, but I preferred keeping fifth position to the risk of trying to catch and pass him. I have always been very confident at this circuit and today our hard work of finding the right balance and downforce level has paid off."

Takuma Sato: "I’m pleased to bring the car home and I would like to congratulate Giancarlo on scoring two points. I had a difficult start, losing a position at the first corner but later I really enjoyed overtaking the BAR and the Jaguar. We took the opportunity to pit when the safety car came out, but my second set of tyres didn’t behave quite the same as the first set and I lost almost a second a lap, struggling with oversteer. The last stint was okay and I was in good shape to push very hard. It’s reassuring to know that we have consistent reliability and now I’m looking forward because although tenth isn’t bad, I hope to score points soon."

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Renault ( Jarno Trulli - 5th, Jenson Button - Retired - Classified 15th )

Flavio Briatore: "A very difficult weekend for the whole team. Jarno drove a good race to finish in the points, while Jenson ran competitively before he started having problems. I'm pleased for the whole team to have scored a point here in Canada."

Pat Symonds: "A very hard race which ended with Jarno and the team scoring a well-earned point. He had to cope with braking difficulties and the management of his tyres, and did well to put in a competitive showing. Jenson lost tactical advantage when he had to stop early in order for the radiators to be cleared. Unfortunately, this failed to lower the high gearbox temperatures that subsequently gave him problems. In summary, this is a reasonably satisfying end to a very hard weekend."

Jarno Trulli: "It was a tough race! I'm pleased to score a point for the team after a hard weekend. The car was well balanced, and we decided to take off a little downforce for the race, which gave us good straight-line speed. During the race itself, I had some problems with the braking during the second half, and had to fight hard to keep my position under pressure from Ralf at the end."

Jenson Button: "I made a decent start, and was tenth at the end of the first lap after a good battle with Villeneuve. Salo got past me during the first part of the race, but the temperatures started going up at half-distance. I stopped early to try and fix it, but unfortunately it didn't work. I retired when the engine simply cut out - I don't know what happened.”

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Williams ( Ralf Schumacher - 7th, Juan Pablo Montoya - Retired )

Sam Michael: "It’s a pity for Juan because he was in the position where he could have challenged for the win. He did a different strategy to everybody else and made it work, which was impressive. I think that Ralf could have been in a good position as well but we had a problem with the fuel rig during his first pit stop. Not only did he have to wait for a long pit stop but he then had to come in again two laps later because we only got 5 kg of fuel in the car the first time. We are now looking into all the problems we had today."

Dr. Mario Theissen: "After yesterday’s pole we are obviously very disappointed about the outcome of this race. We had more problems on the cars during the race than what we had so far this season all together. Ralf could not get any clear laps in and was put down the order by a troubled pit stop. We were ready to watch an exciting final between Juan and Michael Schumacher, when an engine problem stopped him without any notice. We will analyse the reason of Juan’s engine failure in Munich as well as Ralf’s, who stopped right after the finish line."

Ralf Schumacher: "Today everything went wrong that could have gone wrong. You can just blame bad luck. I had a problem with the fuel rig and this meant that my race was practically lost after the additional pit stop that I had to make. Without all these problems I think I could have aimed for second place."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "Everything looked perfect in the race, the car, the tyres, the strategy. I was closing the gap to Michael and with 13 laps to go I was catching him quickly and as we saw he was struggling at the end of the race. Suddenly I felt a loss of power and that was it. We did everything right but today was not for us."

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BAR (  Olivier Panis - 8th, Jacques Villeneuve - Retired )

David Richards: "A mixed weekend but on the whole it is encouraging to see that all the new modifications to the car appear to have moved us in the right direction. It's good to see Olivier take the chequered flag but disappointing for Jacques to retire in front of his home crowd. I'm confident that we can now improve our performance still further given the progress we've made this weekend. With Honda's new engine just around the corner, we should soon have all the ingredients we need to regularly challenge for points."

Geoffrey Willis: "On the positive side, it was good to get Olivier to the finish for the first time this year so well done to the team for their efforts. It is obviously disappointing that Jacques wasn't able to finish his home Grand Prix once again and we still haven't been able to secure our first points. I'm pleased that we have seen some improvement with the new car but we still have a lot of work ahead of us."

Olivier Panis: "I'm relieved to finally finish a race after such a bad start to my season. It was very tough today but the car was reliable and I think we chose the right strategy for us. I was obviously running heavy at the start so I lost some places to some two-stoppers. It would have been nicer to get a point for the team but I'm pleased to see the progress we have made this weekend. I want to thank the team for the effort they put into this race. We know where we are with the new car now so we have to keep pushing and continue to improve so we can get both cars to the finish."

Jacques Villeneuve: "Obviously I'm disappointed not to finish my home Grand Prix again, especially just 8 laps into the race. We were running heavy for a one-stop strategy so I lost places at the beginning. Then we had the first signs of a loss of oil pressure and a couple of laps later the engine stopped. It's frustrating to have such a bad race after the improvement we saw in qualifying."

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Sauber ( Felipe Massa - 9th, Nick Heidfeld - 12th )

Willy Rampf: "This was a very disappointing race for us, as fifth place was a realistic goal. Unfortunately both cars were afflicted by a software problem with their pit lane speed limiters. They worked properly on the entry to the pit stops, but not when the drivers exited. We are currently investigating the cause."

Felipe Massa: "I had the same technical problem as Nick, and also to begin with I was not happy with my differential setting but adjusted that from the cockpit. In between penalties the car was running really well, so altogether it was a frustrating afternoon."

Nick Heidfeld: "In the beginning my car felt very good and I was having no problem staying ahead of Fisichella. After my stop I got held up in traffic and then I learned of my first speeding penalty, a drive through. I got another one as I left the pits on that occasion, and this time it was a 10s stop and go for the second offence. What else is there to say?"

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Minardi ( Mark Webber - 11th, Alex Yoong - 14th )

Alex Yoong: "It is obviously good to finish this Grand Prix. I haven't finished a race for a while, so I'm definitely happy with today's outcome. It was quite a hard race for me, because I didn't have the use of the drink bottle from the beginning. Otherwise, it was uneventful, with the exception of a problem I experienced engaging the pit-lane speed limiter. As a result, I received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty. Generally, though, I'm quite happy with today's outcome."

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Arrows ( Heinz Harald Frentzen - 13th, Enrique Bernoldi - Retired )

Graham Taylor: “One to write off I think! Enrique was very promising at the start of the race and we took the opportunity of calling him in during the Safety Car period for his first pit-stop. Shortly after his stop he reported a problem with the right rear of the car so we called him in again, checked the car over, found nothing wrong, and sent him on his way. Enrique then said that he could still feel a vibration so we took the decision to retire him on safety grounds. Obviously we'll know more once we strip the car down. Heinz had a poor start and struggled from thereon in.”

Heinz Harald Frentzen: “I basically had an unbalanced car today so I could not push. The brakes didn't feel good so I did not have the confidence to really go for it. Along with more difficulties with the fuel rig, I just didn't get any breaks today.”

Enrique Bernoldi: "I really am very disappointed. I was having a great race today as the car felt good and I was able to overtake. Straight after my pit-stop I felt there was a problem with the car and that was effectively the end of my race.”

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

Ove Andersson: "After a disappointing qualifying yesterday the cars were much better in race trim. Mika had a fantastic race until his puncture and it was nice to see so much overtaking. A double retirement is not what we wanted, but this is racing. It was our first trip to Montreal and we have learned a lot."

Allan McNish: "I had contact with de la Rosa at the start, which damaged the set up of the car making it difficult to drive. The paddles on my steering wheel would not work during my scheduled stop, so I lost time there. My race ended on lap 45 when I span the car. It has not been a good weekend and I am hoping for better things in Germany."

Mika Salo: "Things were going really well and the car was feeling the best it has all weekend. I was overtaking a lot of cars but I had to stop early to change what I thought was a punctured rear tyre. In fact, the front tyre was damaged by something on the track, so I had to come in again. Then I got a drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. It was already over by that point, but brake trouble - probably caused by the puncture - ended the race for me. I am extremely disappointed."

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

Niki Lauda: "It has obviously been a disappointing end to what should have been a much better race for us. Both cars ran heavy fuel loads and with our one-stop strategy, we were hoping the race would come to us. Instead, we suffered from a racing incident with Pedro and a mechanical problem with Eddie. I haven’t studied the footage to really comment on the incident between Pedro and Alan McNish. Pedro’s retirement could have been related to damage sustained during this incident or it could be something else. Until we look at the car and data, it is very hard to say and with Eddie, it’s a similar story to the extent that we haven’t yet got the car back for analysis. On the whole, it has been an encouraging weekend in terms of the progress made and it’s a shame we couldn’t reward ourselves at the end of it."

Eddie Irvine: "A frustrating end to our Canadian Grand Prix, but that’s motor racing. Everything was going to plan until the pit stop when we noticed the increasing temperature readouts. We had no choice at that stage but to carry on, but in the end it proved to be a terminal problem when I lost drive on lap 42. There is little more to say than that. We did a good job to qualify fourteenth and given the high retirement rate today, we may have been at the back end of the points challenge. We have, however, taken steps forward in other areas over the course of the weekend and we will apply this towards our on-going goal of improving the race car."

Pedro de la Rosa: "A terrible end to my Canadian Grand Prix and suffice to say that I’m far from happy with Alan McNish! I made a reasonably good start and was charging down the second straight with the rest of the field when I noticed Alan overtake me on the outside as we approached the chicane. Given our heavy fuel load, we were prepared for this. As we got nearer to the chicane, I then tried a similar move on him and even though he was on the inside, he moved over to the outside and hit me. This put me onto the grass and into the concrete wall. There was absolutely no reason for him to have done that and at 330kph, it was utter lunacy in my opinion. Maybe he didn’t see me, I don’t know, but it essentially ended my race. I pitted, but re-joined a lap down on everyone else. What eventually caused me to stop, I don’t know. It could have been because of the accident or it may well have been another problem."

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