29/05/2005
NEWS STORY
Starting 17th and 19th on the grid for the 2005 European Grand Prix, Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan made strong starts, avoided incidents at the first corner and therefore improved their positions. After the first pit stop, Karthikeyan managed to pass Monteiro and kept a good pace throughout. Unfortunately for him, he made a small mistake near the end, which allowed Monteiro to overtake him. Monteiro had a good race overall apart from a drive through penalty for not respecting blue flags, which made him lose some precious time. Both drivers adopted similar pit-stop strategies, each calling in twice for fuel in the course of the 59-lap race. The team is really satisfied to bring both cars to the chequered flag, a result providing them with another solid, two-car finish, the fifth this season.
Tiago Monteiro: It was the race in which I had the most fun so far this season as we had a lot of fighting. I managed to keep Villeneuve behind me for a while. After the first pit stop, Narain overtook me so I pushed as hard as I could to pass him again after the second stop, which I did. Approaching my second stop, I did not respect the blue flags and was punished with a drive-through penalty. However, I kept on pushing as the race is never over until it is over and suddenly I saw a yellow car in front of me, so I pushed even harder and managed to pass Narain again after he made a small mistake. It was one of the best races for me as I was pushing all the way, working with the balance of the car. The car was getting better and better throughout the race, therefore I would like to thank the team for having done an amazing job to provide me with a better car. Bit by bit, we will get there.
Narain Karthikeyan: I had a reasonable start and managed to avoid the chaos in the first corner and stay in front of Jacques Villeneuve for about 10 laps. I had a good first pit stop and passed my teammate. For the second stop, I had very good in and out laps but unfortunately right after, the leaders had to lap me so I lost nearly about 10 seconds in two or three laps, which allowed Tiago to go ahead of me again after his stop. Then Monteiro had a drive-through penalty so I overtook him. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake near the end and he went in front of me again. I am really happy I have finished here. I knew it was going to be a hard race as it was my first time on this circuit. Canada and Indianapolis will also be new for me so this will be a bit difficult but we will cope with this.
Trevor Carlin: Both our drivers had eventful races. Fighting with Jacques Villeneuve for the first part of the race was exciting. It took quite a long time for Villeneuve to pass Narain and he did not actually pass Tiago. Then, the race settled down after the pit stops. Unfortunately Narain made a small mistake in the end. We are quite satisfied with our race pace throughout the race and the progress we are making.