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2008 Telefonica Grand Prix of Europe
Team Quotes - Sunday 24 August
Ten points for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the European Grand Prix thanks to Felipe Massa's fourth win of the season, the team's sixth of the year. Kimi Raikkonen had to retire at the start of lap 46 when lying sixth, because of an engine failure on his F2008. At this his hundredth Grand Prix start, Felipe secured his ninth career win, bringing the Scuderia's total of victories to 207 from 770 races entered. The Brazilian now lies second in the Drivers' championship, six points down on the leader, while Kimi is third, thirteen behind. Ferrari still heads the Constructors' classification, eight points ahead of its nearest rival. Next week, the Scuderia will be on track at Monza for four days of testing, starting on Tuesday 26th. Andrea Bertolini drives on the first day, followed by Massa (two days) and Raikkonen (one.)
Stefano Domenicali: Felipe has had an extraordinary weekend. Yesterday he was very quick in qualifying and today he drove in impeccable style, without putting a foot wrong to take what was a very well deserved win after the disappointment of Budapest. I want to compliment him and the whole team who have worked so hard in preparing for this event. Unfortunately, once again, we have suffered with a reliability problem, this time on Kimi's car, which lost us precious points. Now we have to find out what happened in yet another engine failure and then decide how to react. Clearly what happened is serious and we will have to do all in our power to make up for the ground we have lost through reliability problems in the coming races. Now we must continue to push to the maximum to develop the car and improve reliability in order to be as well prepared as possible for the forthcoming races. We still have two test sessions, at Monza and then Jerez and a lot of hard days work in the factory. Finally, I want to say a few words about Piero Timpini, our mechanic unfortunately injured in Kimi's second pit stop: his first words were to say sorry, as though the incident was his fault: it is thanks to the passion, dedication and professionalism, that these guys show on a daily basis for Ferrari how special is our team.
Luca Baldisserri: A great performance from Felipe all weekend long. He was fantastic and deserves all our praise. Unfortunately, yet again, we were not reliable, both from a technical point of view and in how we operated on the track, given what happened during Raikkonen's pit stop and then the failure of his engine, which initial investigations seem to point at a similar failure to the one Felipe experienced in Hungary. Fortunately, Pietro Timpini, the mechanic operating the refueling, injured at Kimi's second stop, got away with just a small fracture to the left foot and it is not particularly serious. Today we have seen two sides of the coin. We have a great potential, from both the team and the car, capable of putting us in front of everyone else, but if not all elements are operating at their optimum, then we are throwing away precious points that could cost us dear. We must work to remedy these problems and that's what we will do starting in the days that follow.
At the maiden F1 event in Valencia Robert Kubica finished third. It is the eighth podium for the BMW Sauber F1 Team in 2008 and the fifth this season for the Pole. Kubica started the European Grand Prix from third on the grid. Team mate Nick Heidfeld slid from eighth to ninth immediately after the start and did not score in Spain.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): First of all a big compliment to the organisers of the event for such a good first race. The atmosphere in the city and at the circuit around the harbour is just fantastic. From now on Valencia will be one of the season's highlights. Certainly we enjoyed being back on the podium, with it being the fifth time this year for Robert. He drove a strong race. During the early laps he had some trouble as a plastic bag was stuck on his car and affected its handling. Apart from this both cars ran trouble free and the pit stops went well. Starting from eighth was not an ideal situation for Nick. We were hoping he would improve one or two places at the start, but in the heat of the moment he unfortunately lost a position and then the race was basically over for him.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): This was a race without too much excitement. Our most difficult moment was when Robert radioed he had a problem. On the telemetry data we could see that his car lost downforce, which was due to a plastic bag stuck to the floor of the car. During the first pit stop we removed it, and after this, everything was fine again. At the start Robert almost overtook Lewis Hamilton, but finally it didn't work out. He then drove a good and consistent race, and he finished in third. Nick started from eighth, hence we expected him to score championship points. However, his pace was simply too slow. Of course we are happy about Robert's podium finish, but overall we expected to score more points today.
It was a disappointing afternoon for the ING Renault F1 Team as Fernando Alonso retired on the opening lap of the European Grand Prix in Valencia, while teammate Nelson Piquet finished in 11th.
Having endured a difficult qualifying session yesterday, both Renaults lined up in the midfield and expected a tough afternoon. However, Fernando's race was especially short-lived as he picked up heavy damage to the rear of his R28 during the opening lap battle, forcing the Spaniard into the pits and into retirement.
Nelson's race was more straightforward, although he sustained damage to his front wing in the early stages. He took advantage of a one-stop strategy to run a long opening stint to rise to the fringe of the top ten, where he remained until the end of the race.
After this disappointing weekend, the team will regroup and look to bounce back at the Belgian Grand Prix in two weeks time. Before that, the team will travel to Monza for three days of testing next week.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director ING Renault F1 Team: It's a weekend to forget. Our objective remains to fight for fourth place in the championship and we must now stay focussed for the races to come and continue with our efforts to grow stronger.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: It's very disappointing to leave this wonderful new track with no points. We are particularly sorry not to have had a better race with Fernando for his second home Grand Prix, but we must now move forward and think of the next race.
The AT&T Williams team secured a championship point today at the European Grand Prix. The city's Mediterranean backdrop provided blistering conditions for this afternoon's race which saw Nico Rosberg cross the line in eighth place to collect the team's first point since Silverstone. Kazuki Nakajima was unable to capitalise upon his highest grid position of the year when his anti-stall device kicked in costing him valuable places at the start. Combined with an incident on the first lap, Kazuki's race at Valencia's new street circuit delivered 15th place.
Patrick Head, Director of Engineering: With the reliability of the cars these days, one point is what you can expect from starting 9th and 11th on the grid. Kazuki went into anti-stall at the start which lost him a lot of places. He then had to pit for a new front wing which put paid to what would have been a one stop race. Nico squeezed everything he could out of the car today. Unfortunately, we missed out on seventh place with him by a few fractions of a second in his second pit-stop. We now have to return to the factory to find those few tenths.
Christian Horner: A disastrous race. David got involved in an incident in the first lap, which damaged his car and Mark, who was on a one stop strategy, was hoping for a safety car that never appeared. He didn't have enough pace, particularly after his pit stop. It's our most disappointing race of the year. Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel who drove very well today and demonstrated what the chassis is capable of.
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer, Track Support: A poor result, we were off the pace. After qualifying we didn't really have any opportunity to bet on, so we finished where we qualified. We have poor pace and we just have to work.
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal: "This has turned into one of those good weekends. After qualifying, everybody was a bit disappointed but today went much better due to excellent teamwork. After Jarno missed Saturday's practice session, the crew put Timo's set-up into Jarno's car and he delivered a very good performance and a very smooth race to 5th place today. Timo was not feeling well but he made an excellent start, managed his tyres well and put in a huge effort to complete this race with the best result. I'm very happy that we are confirming our good pace. Now we will push to keep these results coming, with a particular eye on the Japanese Grand Prix later in the season."
Franz Tost: All weekend, the team has performed excellently. We ended up with both our drivers finishing where they started in sixth and tenth places, which is a solid result as all the top teams apart from Ferrari had both their cars finish. Vettel had a good start considering he was on the dirty side of the track, but a touch with Raikkonen left him with some vibration from the front left wheel and his second stint he had a bit of graining. Bourdais also drove a good race and also performed well through the weekend. We have shown that our performance is improving from race to race and so we are looking forward to Spa and Monza. I am convinced that both of these races, especially Monza will suit our package. For Scuderia Toro Rosso and our Red Bull parent company this has been a really successful weekend.
Jenson Button was the first of the Honda Racing F1 Team's drivers home in today's inaugural European Grand Prix at Valencia. After starting the race in 16th place, he drove a determined race on a one-stop strategy to finish in 13th position. Rubens Barrichello, on the same strategy, came home in 16th place.
Both drivers enjoyed good first laps. Jenson, starting on the dirty side of the grid, managed to find traction where others did not and made up a couple of places into Turn 2. By the end of the lap he was up to 13th position. Rubens had to wait for the field to pass the pitlane exit before being released to start his race. He caught the backmarkers immediately and by the end of the opening lap he was up to 17th, ahead of David Coulthard.
With overtaking proving more difficult than anticipated on the Valencia Street Circuit, there were few changes to the order except during the pitstops. Jenson climbed up to 11th place by the time of his only stop of the race on lap 29. Rubens pitted one lap later from 16th position and one of the pleasing aspects of this race for the team was that his handling problems from yesterday were greatly improved.
After a weekend of unfulfilled promise in Valencia, the Honda Racing F1 Team moves to Monza next week for a three-day test session. The race drivers will share the driving duties, before heading to Spa Francorchamps for the next race on 7 September.
A disappointing end to a weekend that began with so much promise. Sum up the team's race today?
Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "Jenson got a good start and was able to make up three places during the first lap, however the midfield was quite close today and with a heavy fuel load he was unable to progress through the field. Starting Rubens from the pit lane was the right decision as he benefited from the melée at Turn 2 and ended up being further up the field than he would otherwise have been. Contrary to expectation though there was relatively low attrition with only three cars failing to finish and no safety cars, which meant there were no real opportunities to take advantage of."
What can you do to improve for the next race in Spa?
RB: "Fundamentally we have improved the car over the August break and we saw clear signs of that progress in free practice. We didn't make the most of that when it counted this weekend and we suffered in qualifying and the race as a result. So our first priority will be to understand where we failed and make sure we have a more robust approach for Spa and beyond. We have a three-day test in Monza next week where we will focus on getting the most out of our recent developments."
The Force India Formula One Team put in a competitive performance in today's European Grand Prix in a hot and humid Valencia, Spain. Italian Giancarlo Fisichella finished in a challenging 14th position following a solid one-stop race, while Adrian Sutil also showed strongly until his retirement on lap 42.
Giancarlo moved up four places from his starting position in the opening laps and battled with the Honda of Button throughout the race, finishing 15 seconds ahead of 15th-placed Nakajima. Adrian, who had opted for a two-stop strategy, moved up on his grid slot in his first stint and was sitting in a comfortable 16th following his second stop, however an error under braking on the slippery circuit led to a brush with the barriers and retirement.
The team will participate in a three-day test in Monza next week before the Belgian Grand Prix in just two weeks' time.
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: 'Although it was disappointing not to get two cars to the finish, both drivers drove excellent races, with good pace showing we'd made a clear step forward. Adrian was honest enough to admit he made a mistake, but until that point he was having a very good race. We had put one car on one stop and the other on two to cover all bases in case of a safety car, which we were expecting for this race, and had he finished, Adrian on his two stops would have been able to finish just behind Giancarlo. Overall it's been a very positive weekend for the team.'
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director: 'I think this weekend has been one of our most competitive to date, with strong performances in practice and qualifying, and now a very close race showing we have made a step forward and now are racing with the other teams in front. We've got to keep our heads down and keep going in that direction and the results will start to come.'
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen finished the European Grand Prix on the new Valencia street circuit in second and fourth positions respectively. After 57 laps (310.080km), Lewis came home 5.6sec behind winner Felipe Massa (Ferrari). Heikki was 39.7sec behind Felipe. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies; Lewis pitted on laps 17 (8.9sec) and 39 (7.1sec) while Heikki came in on laps 20 (9.4sec) and 43 (9.6sec). Vodafone McLaren Mercedes scored 13 points, more than any other team today, and reduced the gap in the Constructors' Championship behind the leader, Ferrari, from 11 points to eight points; after 12 of 18 races, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes now has 113 points, while Ferrari has 121. Lewis extended his lead in the drivers' rankings from five to six points; he now leads with 70 points ahead of Felipe (64 points). Heikki improved to fifth with 43 points.
Ron Dennis: "We saw another extremely solid Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team performance today, the result of which was a very useful clutch of championship points, but in truth we lost the chance of outright victory yesterday in qualifying. In my view it's pretty clear that if Lewis had qualified with the same level of fuel as Felipe, he'd probably have been able to control the race from the front. But the nature of the circuit dictated that it was always going to be difficult for him to overtake today - and, that being the case, we opted fairly early on to take the championship-strategic option of settling for second place. Following on from his victory in Hungary, Heikki also drove very strongly and helped bolster our points total in the constructors' championship. He responded well to the pressure applied by Kimi and thoroughly deserved his fourth place."
Norbert Haug: "I am quite satisfied. Lewis leads the Drivers' World Championship, six points ahead of Felipe and 13 ahead of Kimi. No other team scored more points than we did today; we reduced the gap in the constructors' and extended the lead in the drivers’ rankings. Congratulations to Felipe and Ferrari on their strong race and victory. The first grand prix here in Valencia was a great premiere - thank you to the organisers and to Bernie; this grand prix most certainly set an example. The most positive element was that the boxes containing our spare parts were kept closed all weekend - we didn’t need to fit a single replacement part throughout a race weekend that everybody thought might be full of crashes. We will now continue to work hard in order to be well prepared for the final third of the season, which will begin with back-to-back races at Spa and Monza, two particularly challenging circuits that will put maximum stress on the engines."
Felipe Massa has won the twelfth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship from pole position after using a soft – soft – super soft tyre strategy in an exciting first-ever European Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia in Spain.
Massa clinched the win in Bridgestone's 200th Grand Prix since its full-time Formula One entry in 1997. It was Massa's ninth career victory and fourth this season. He crossed the line 5.6 seconds ahead of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Robert Kubica finished in third.
Fourth position went to Heikki Kovalainen whilst Jarno Trulli was fifth. Sebastian Vettel finished sixth with a strong performance, whilst Timo Glock finished seventh and was the only driver in the points who employed a one-stop strategy. Nico Rosberg was the best finishing driver to start on the super soft compound, and took the final championship point with eighth.
Track conditions at the new street course in Valencia were very good with the event blessed by clear blue skies and fine sunshine. The race's fastest lap, a 1min 38.708secs, was set by Massa on lap 36 using the soft compound.
Leaving Valencia, Hamilton continues to lead the drivers' championship with 70 points from Massa on 64. Raikkonen is in third place on 57. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro lead the constructors' championship with 121 points, whilst Vodafone McLaren Mercedes move into second place with 113 points. BMW Sauber are in third place with 96.
Bridgestone's Potenza Formula One tyres will next be in action at the Italian circuit of Monza where an all-team test will take place August 27-29. Bridgestone's hard and medium compounds will be used. Sidewall marking options for next year's slick tyres will also be evaluated. The next race is the Belgian Grand Prix on September 5-7 where Bridgestone's hard and medium compound Potenza tyres will tackle the magical Spa Francorchamps circuit.
Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development: Congratulations to the city of Valencia for providing Formula One with such a good race venue. Today we saw a strong race which was exciting on this very high speed street course. We must congratulate Felipe Massa and Ferrari for winning the 200th Grand Prix in which Bridgestone have participated since 1997. There were many results worthy of mention today. Both Toyotas scored points and both Toro Rosso cars finished in the top ten, so well done to those teams. Both the soft and super soft compounds worked very well here, which is a credit to our engineers who selected this allocation for this new race destination. Even in the high temperatures seen today at this fast track, the super soft was capable of being used in a one-stop soft - super soft strategy as seen by Timo Glock. We now start the count towards our next hundred races.
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