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2007 Japan GP
Team Quotes - Sunday 30 September
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji Speedway claiming his fourth Formula 1 career victory and the eighth win for the team in 15 races this year. After 67 laps in torrential rain, 305.721 km and a total race time of 2:00:34.579 hrs, Lewis won 8.6 seconds ahead of Heikki Kovalainen and Kimi Räikkönen. Fernando Alonso retired on lap 42 from fourth place after he had aquaplaned off the track. Due to the first 19 laps of the race taking place behind the Mercedes-Benz Safety Car, both Lewis and Fernando made only one pit stop each. Fernando came in on lap 27 (11.9 seconds) followed by Lewis one lap later (11.6 seconds). After 15 out of 17 races, Lewis extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship and now has 107 points followed by Fernando in second position with 95 points; Räikkönen is third on 90 points with 20 points available in the remaining two races.
Ron Dennis: The weather conditions here at Fuji created their own challenges for all the teams throughout the weekend but by staying focused we made sure that both Lewis and Fernando had a chance for victory today. However, unfortunately for Fernando he aquaplaned off the circuit after driving a controlled race in very tricky conditions – particularly after his car was damaged due to a collision with Vettel. Lewis's performance was masterful, and he was in control throughout. The team is now going to focus on the last two races where both Lewis and Fernando have a chance of claiming the title. We will make sure that they both have the opportunity to do so and look forward to an exciting end to the Championship.
Norbert Haug: An extremely difficult race in challenging conditions. Lewis showed a first class performance and did not put a foot wrong. He had a handicap and lacked downforce after his car had been hit by Robert Kubica and had been damaged at the rear. Fernando was in a difficult situation fighting in the field after his pit stop, he had aquaplaning, spun and hit the wall – that is a shame but this can happen in conditions like these, and it was not Fernando's fault. The entire team worked really hard throughout the weekend achieving double pole, race win and fastest lap. We now look forward to the remaining races in China and Brazil and stay focused to maintain our 1-2 lead until after the final of the season.
In appalling conditions this afternoon at Fuji Speedway, two rookies took control of the show. While Lewis Hamilton took an assured victory, Finn Heikki Kovalainen took the first podium of his fledgling Formula 1 career at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix. Heikki started from P11, and completed the first twenty laps behind the safety car until conditions were deemed good enough for the race to begin. After qualifying outside the top ten yesterday afternoon, the team had decided to fuel both cars for a one-stop strategy, and this paid off as they ran further than their rivals in front before pitting, and indeed the team's drivers ran one-two before they made their stops. The safety car returned to the action when Fernando Alonso crashed heavily between turns 5 and 6 on lap 43, with Heikki running P4, and a collision between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel as they ran behind the safety car allowed him to climb to P2. The race resumed at the end of lap 48, and for the remaining 19 laps the Finn had to resist the attacks of Ferrari team-mates Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen. The battle with Raikkonen was particularly hard- fought but, just like in Spa two weeks ago, Heikki defended resiliently and was able to hold his second position to the flag. His first podium finish was followed up by 5th position for team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella. The Italian struggled with inconsistent handling in the low-speed corners, and recognising this, he let his team-mate past early in the race. Nonetheless, he drove strongly and consistently in difficult conditions to score more valuable points for the team, and cement its position in the constructors' championship.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: At the last wet race in Germany, we didn't make the most of the situation and only scored one point. Today was completely different. The team got everything right, and Heikki did not make a single mistake. We scored twelve points with our two cars, and our rookie drove like a man with a lot more experience. Congratulations to the team: after a difficult season, they deserve this result.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: The conditions today were extremely difficult and it was imperative not to make any mistakes. We didn't, and seized the opportunity to score our first podium finish of the year. Heikki put in an extremely assured performance: he was under intense pressure at the end, but showed the right blend of aggression and tenacity to keep Kimi behind. It demonstrated once again what a good racer he is. His first career podium is made all the sweeter by getting both cars in the points for the first time since Silverstone, after Giancarlo drove a solid race to finish fifth. The team did not put a foot wrong all day, and credit goes to every one of them for performing so well in exceptionally tough circumstances.
Jean Todt: The race was held in weather conditions so extreme that the start had to be given behind the safety car and it stayed on track for no less than 19 laps. In light of the weather forecast we had obtained, we chose to start on standard wet tyres but, after a few laps, we were informed of a decision of the stewards that demanded the use of extreme wets. The team had not been informed and only after the race, did we find that an e-mail had been sent to Stefano Domenicali which arrived after the start of the race. We were amazed and had to immediately call in the drivers to the pits to change tyres. From then on, our target was to make up for lost ground in a manner that was somewhat perplexing. After a strong climb up the order both drivers managed to get back into the points, with Kimi ending up on the podium in third place. Clearly, given the result, the situation in the Drivers' Championship is now compromised with only Kimi still in the hunt. It will need a miracle, but what is certain is that we will do our utmost to win the final two races of the season.
Luca Baldisserri: Our race was ruined by the stop both drivers had to make to switch from standard wets to the extreme ones, which came as a result of a decision of the Stewards of which we were unaware. We had specifically chosen to start on those tyres because the start was behind the safety car and we though that weather would improve. Stuck at the back of the pack, we tried to save what we could from the situation. Both drivers drove a great race in virtually zero visibility, given they were always behind other cars. The cars, despite being set up with a dry weather bias, worked well.
The Honda Racing F1 Team's Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello battled through atrocious weather conditions at Fuji Speedway today to bring their RA107s home in 10th and 11th positions.
The rain-soaked 67-lap race promised much for the Honda Racing F1 Team, with Jenson lining up in sixth position on the grid. But a coming-together with Nick Heidfeld on lap 21, a throttle problem and a couple of Safety Car periods played against the Briton and he was eventually forced to park his car on the final lap after Takuma Sato hit him and broke his suspension.
The race started behind the Safety Car with both cars on Bridgestone's extreme wet tyres. Despite running under yellow flags for the early laps, Jenson moved up to fourth place when the Ferraris ahead of him pitted.
The race went green on lap 20 but at the first corner after the re-start Jenson was involved in a collision with Heidfeld and lost his front wing. He encountered a temporary engine sensor problem which slowed him down on his in-lap and after pitting he rejoined the race in last place.
Rubens, meanwhile, started in 17th place. He dropped back to 19th during the early laps, but battled his way through to 12th by the time of the second Safety Car period on lap 42. Jenson at the same stage of the race was up to 17th.
During this final Safety Car period, the drivers moved up to eighth and 13th places following incidents involving several cars ahead of them. Rubens then gained another place when Massa pitted, but seventh was as high as he climbed because he was forced to pit for a splash-'n'-dash on lap 60. He emerged behind Jenson and crossed the line in 10th place.
Jacky Eeckelaert, Engineering Director: It is disappointing to end our home race in 10th and 11th positions, especially with Jenson having started from the third row of the grid. His ability to challenge for points was unfortunately lost at turn one when he lost his front wing after a coming together with Heidfeld. The visibility was so poor that you cannot blame either driver for that. Rubens drove a steady race from 17th to 10th, but unfortunately the deployment of the safety cars did not match his fuel strategy. We feel we missed out on an opportunity to score some good points today and that is frustrating.
The first Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji Speedway for 30 years will be remembered as spectacular and incident packed. The BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers didn't have easy races with Robert Kubica finishing seventh and Nick Heidfeld 14th, after stopping on the track with one lap to go in sixth.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): As is usual with wet races this one was very dramatic and our drivers where not left out of this drama. Nick lost his chance of a good result on the first lap after the Safety Car pulled off due to a collision. Later Robert also had a collision and dropped back due to a drive-through penalty. Both then fought their way back into the points. On the penultimate lap Nick stopped with a technical failure, which we are investigating. It was a race to forget for our team. Congratulation to Lewis Hamilton who seemed to be totally unaffected by what was happening around him on the track, and drove his car home safely. He took a big step in the direction of the championship.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): It was an extremely disappointing race. We lost our good grid positions right after the Safety Car pulled off. Nick was hit off from behind and Robert had to brake because of that. Anyway they both fought back and made up some positions. Just before the end of this spectacular race we were sixth and seventh, but then Nick had to stop because of a technical problem. In the final metres Robert had to let Felipe Massa pass after a hard fight.
Panasonic Toyota Racing endured a home race to forget with Jarno Trulli classified 13th while Ralf Schumacher did not finish. It was a case of déjà vu at Fuji Speedway with rain making for extremely difficult conditions, just like the first World Championship Japanese Grand Prix at the track in 1976. On a very wet track, Jarno – wearing a specially designed helmet for this race as part of a Panasonic competition - lined up 13th with Ralf two places further back. With both drivers using extreme wet Bridgestone Potenza tyres, the race ran behind the safety car until lap 19. Jarno had already made his first pit stop for more fuel, on lap 18, while Ralf's first stop came on lap 28 and he also continued on extreme wets. The safety car returned on lap 43 following an accident and, as racing resumed five laps later, Ralf made his final planned stop. However, an electronic problem caused by water in the cockpit forced a stop for repairs on lap 53. Quick work from the crew saw Ralf return to the track after losing several laps but a slow puncture ended his race two laps from the chequered flag. The team now heads to the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit for the penultimate race of the season.
Tadashi Yamashina – Team Principal: Today it was very difficult for us. Towards the end of the race, on Ralf's car, the main electronics box failed because of water in the cockpit but the team did well to fix the problem so Ralf could continue and race in front of our Japanese fans. Then we found the new set of tyres had a slow puncture, we think this was because of debris. For Jarno, we still have to analyse what happened because obviously the car wasn't competitive. We need to focus our energy on improving mechanical grip and aerodynamics. We must push very hard to make improvements. Our car was not competitive in these conditions but now we will do our best for the Chinese Grand Prix. I would like to say congratulations to Fuji Speedway for hosting this race for the first time in 30 years. The facilities here are excellent and the race was well organised. It is a shame we could not get the result we wanted in this race.
Christian Horner: In Formula One you face many emotions and today Mark was driving a fantastic race. He had food poisoning this morning, which he was battling with and he even threw up in the car during the initial pace-car period. In true Aussie fashion, he kept pushing and today he was quick enough to win the race. Obviously, it was very disappointing that an incident happened behind the pace car but, on days like today, I guess anything can happen. David used his experience and was competitive throughout the race. It's a shame as fourth would normally be a great result for us, but in today's circumstances it's frustrating as to have both drivers in the points would have elevated us in the Constructors Championship.
Fabrice Lom, Renault Principal Engineer, Track Support: As we expected we had a strong package today and the opportunity to score a lot of points. We had a strong car, a strong engine and two performing drivers and we could have scored 11 points which would have been fantastic and put us in front of Williams. Unfortunately Mark was hit by Vettel under the safety car and we missed an important opportunity in our fight for the Championship. We got a strong result with David who scored 5 points, but it's still a frustrating result for the team as we know it could have been even better!
In a lottery of a race that took place in challenging wet conditions, with two safety car periods, the AT&T Williams team had a disappointing race, losing both cars as two of ten retirements in a race that decimated the field. Alex Wurz was the team's first casualty when he was hit from behind in low visibility conditions on lap 19 immediately after the first safety car period. Nico Rosberg succumbed to an electronics problem later in the race which caused various control systems to fail and forced his retirement. The team wishes Alex, who became a father for the third time last night, their congratulations.
Sam Michael, Technical Director: The weather threw up a lot of difficult conditions for the drivers, but none the less it's disappointing to come away with no points. Alex was out quite early and Nico had the pace at various times during the race, but then in the last third of the race, we had a problem with an electrical sensor and we need go through the data to identify what failed. Encouragingly from analysing when others came in for their first pitstop, Nico's qualifying pace yesterday showed strongly.
Franz Tost: Let's start with the positives: Tonio scored our first point of the season today. Because of the weather, we switched him to the T car set up for wet conditions. He put in a good performance but the advantage gained from the wet set up car was lost at his pit stop that came at exactly the wrong moment because of the safety car. Sebastian also showed what he could do. He made a very good start moving up to third and was almost able to match the pace of the McLarens. He came into the pits 3.3 seconds ahead of Webber. After the pit stop he continued to put in quick laps but after the safety car came out again, unfortunately he crashed into Mark Webber which was the end of the race for both of them. Until then, it had been an impressive performance and the mistake is one that can also happen with more experienced drivers. I continue to look forward to working with him in the future. Of course, we are unhappy about the incident, especially as it happened under the safety car and especially as it happened with a Red Bull car. They could have finished second and third, but that's part of the game, that's racing.
The Etihad Aldar Spyker Formula One Team was just 4.5secs away from scoring its first World Championship point today at a chaotic, rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix. Adrian Sutil again drove a highly impressive race to scythe through the field from 20th on the grid to 9th at the chequered flag, passing racing veterans Barrichello, Trulli and Button on his way. After a long battle with Liuzzi, in which the pair traded positions several times, he was sadly unable to keep the advantage and score his and the team's first points. Sakon Yamamoto had a very successful home Grand Prix, finishing as the highest classified Japanese driver in 12th position.
The 67-lap race got underway behind the safety car as torrential rain soaked the 4.5km Fuji Speedway. Sakon took advantage of the lengthy safety car period to pit for a maximum level of fuel and tyres on lap 13 and was able to capitalise and move up the order when racing began at the end of lap 19. The 25-year-old Japanese driver was up to 11th before his second stop, and demonstrating a cool composure in only his fifth race for the team, fought back up the order to claim a comfortable 12th position, 12 secs ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli.
Adrian's one and only pit stop unfortunately then coincided with a second safety car period caused by an accident for Alonso. The delay dropped him down to the tail end of the field, but he was able to use his knowledge of the Fuji Speedway to move into 9th by the end of the race. Although missing scoring a point was ultimately a disappointment after such a tough race, the top ten finish is nevertheless the team's highest finish to date.
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: It's a case of mixed emotions for us. We had a very good day, with a solid performance from both drivers and the team in very difficult conditions, but it's also disappointing not to have picked up a point. Once again in wet conditions we proved that we were on top of the strategy, although we were unlucky with Adrian in that the second safety car period fell when he was due to come in and lost us several positions. We were still able to get some of them back, but it was just not quite enough. But well done to both drivers; Sakon again drove a very good race and although we can be happy to finish in front of the works Honda and Toyota teams, ultimately it's a disappointment not to have picked up our first point.
Colin Kolles, team principal and managing director: We're getting there steadily - 14th in Belgium and now 9th here - so I think it proves that the investments we have made and the progress we have taken is finally paying off. Of course it is disappointing not to have scored our first points today, but if we keep progressing at the way we have done in the last three races, I do not think they will be far away. China cannot come soon enough for us.
The weather at the Fuji Speedway played the starring role at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix. It is fair to say that this was not the home race that Super Aguri was hoping for, however the relentless support from the team's dedicated fans helped to lift the 'dampened' spirits of the entire team.
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: It was a very difficult race today due to the weather. Both drivers did a good job and it is a shame that both encountered problems during the race. Fog and rain is the usual weather at Fuji, even though today was wetter than normal. Our team has to survive in these types of race conditions and I think that we were unlucky with our result today.
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) has won the Japanese Grand Prix using Bridgestone's extreme wet tyres after a race which started behind the safety car and saw persistent rain and fog at the Fuji Speedway.
Hamilton made one pit stop during his race, changing one set of extreme wet tyres for another, and was joined on the podium by Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) and Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari).
The weather conditions meant that Bridgestone's extreme wet Potenza Formula One tyre was the appropriate tyre in this race, a view confirmed by the stewards of the meeting. The two Ferraris, however, started on the Bridgestone wet tyre but pitted to change to the extreme wet whilst the safety car was still circulating at the beginning of the race. Despite this, Raikkonen worked through the field to take the final podium position.
It was a race of two safety car periods, the first at the start which lasted until lap 19. A spin from championship contender Fernando Alonso caused the second one when he span off the track. Despite Alonso's non-score today, he is still in second place in the drivers' championship, 12 points behind Hamilton.
Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres will next be in race action at the Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai on October 5-7 where Bridgestone's hard and medium compound Potenza F1 tyres will be used.
Shoshi Arakawa - Bridgestone Corporation, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO: Congratulations to Mr Hamilton for his victory here at Fuji Speedway. Unfortunately for the fans we had rain today, however our extreme wet tyres provided high performance in the difficult conditions and this helped provide an exciting race. We have seen two wet races so far in 2007 and both times our wet tyres have done a good job. Bridgestone are proud to support all of the Formula One teams and drivers with our full efforts.
Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development: Track conditions were difficult today but our extreme wet tyres worked very well. The appearance and grip level of our tyres was very good for all of the drivers, including the one in the safety car. We are happy that the race was started, and with all of the drivers, unlike here in 1976 when weather conditions were similar, and not all the drivers started. Initially, the rain was not too hard, but the standing water meant that visibility was very poor and the race started behind the safety car. We saw some very interesting strategies because of the long safety car period at the start. Drivers had to concentrate very hard once racing was underway. I am disappointed for Red Bull and Toro Rosso as they could have been on the podium had they not had their incident.
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