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2005 FRENCH F1 GRAND PRIX

2005 F1 GP: R10 of 19, 2005 French GP, July 3, Magny Cours

CIRCUIT:

• Magny-Cours , FRANCE
• 72 lap race
• circuit modified in 2003
• total distance 190.1 miles / 306.0 km
• 2.64 miles / 4.25 km per lap
• smooth surface; fast chicanes; slow hairpins,
• lap record: 1: 17.070s Mansell, Williams, 1992
• FRENCH GP Winners:
• 1999 winner: Frentzen, Jordan Honda
  2000 winner: Coulthard, McLaren Mercedes
  2001 winner: M Schumacher, Ferrari
  2002 winner: M Schumacher, Ferrari
  2003 winner: Ralf Schumacher, Williams
  2004 winner: M Schumacher, Ferrari
• LAST YEAR RESULT
  1 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 70 laps
  2 Fernando Alonso, Renault +8.3s
  3 Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari +31.6s
  4 Trulli, Renault +32s
  5 Button, BAR +35.5s
  6 Coulthard, McLaren
• 2004 pole: Alonso 1m 13.698

BEFORE RACE:

• ALONSO, championship leader: "When I race for Renault in Magny-Cours, in front of those people, I feel very proud and I want to give a good performance for the team."
• RAIKKONEN, 2nd in standing: "There are as many points available in the second half of the season as in the first one and I hope to start taking them in Magny Cours."

RACE

• 1 Fernando Alonso, Spain, Renault, 70 laps
  "I am very proud to win here today, for the team, for Renault, for Michelin who have had a difficult time in the last two weeks, and for all the fans who came to support us. The race was quite easy: I pushed until the first stops, and then controlled the gap, only making small adjustments to the car. I am really pleased to win again, but this still does not change anything for the championship. I have quite a good gap to Kimi, but there is still a very long way to go. Anything can happen, and we know our rivals will be very quick in Silverstone next weekend. But for the moment, I am going to enjoy what we achieved today."
  2 Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, McLaren-Mercedes +11.8s
  "Considering where we started I'm pleased with today's result as I only suffered minimum damage in my World Championship battle. The car was working well, and if I could have started third, which is where my actual qualifying time would have put me, I could definitely have won the race. Our strategists got things right and it was an interesting race. I suffered a bit from traffic and lost too much time early on working my way through the field. When I had clear air it really was too late to make any significant impact on the gap to Alonso. Hopefully everything will work out well for us at Silverstone in a few days, and I can do what Alonso did today which is winning in front of lots of supporters."
  3 Michael Schumacher, Germany, Ferrari +1m 21.9s
  "I think third was the best I could have done today. It is true that I lost a lot of time stuck behind Trulli for eighteen laps and that meant that Montoya got past me. So, I had some problems with traffic. Without that early delay, our strategy might have put me ahead of Kimi. In fact this race was all about different drivers on different strategies, but today we did not quite match the pace of the leaders. I had one moment when I ran wide at Turn 3 and then I also came under a bit of pressure from Fisichella, when he was running lighter than me, but he never got too close."
  4 Jenson Button (UK) BAR +1 lap
  "It would be nice to be on the podium, but it's a good result ... This season we've struggled, for various reasons, but this is a good base for next week's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Some people might not think it's a good result but for us, fourth is good. We'll be positive for next weekend."
  5 Jarno Trulli (ITA) Toyota +1 lap
  "After the miracle in qualifying yesterday, today was much harder. I made a strong start and held everyone behind me, but then I couldn't keep up the pace because the car was sliding, especially at the rear end. I was struggling for stability and traction and there was very little I could do. I kept fighting all day to keep the other cars behind me, but it was hard work because basically they were quicker than us. After the first pit stop the problem became worse, but we balanced the car better at the second stop and it was slightly better. Still, four points is a good result both for me and the team so we can go home satisfied with that."
  6 Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA) Renault +1 lap
  "I actually think this was a good race for me -- in spite of the finishing position. I had a problem with the fuel rig at my first stop, which cost me a lot of positions; then the support for the undertray of the car broke in the middle of the race, which cost me a lot of grip and downforce; and at the last stop, the engine cut out when I tried to pull away. So really, with all of these things, I think sixth is a good result. Of course, I am frustrated because today could have been a podium for me, but the main thing is that we scored more points than the other teams, and improved our situation in the championship."
  7 Ralf Schumacher (GER) Toyota
  "This was a good result considering where we came from at the beginning of the weekend, going out first in qualifying. We got through the whole weekend without any incidents or reliability issues, and I'm happy to be going home with two points. My car was struggling for traction and sliding a bit during the race so it was a matter of pushing as hard as possible all afternoon. The team changed my strategy from three stops to two and I was also helped out by Jacques going off near the end. It was good that we got both cars home in the points and I'd like to thank the team for all their help. I wish it could have been more but we have to be happy with this today."
  8 Jacques Villeneuve (CAN) Sauber
  9 Rubens Barrichello (BRA) Ferrari 1 lap
  10 David Coulthard (UK) Red Bull 1 lap
  11 Takuma Sato 12 Mark Webber 13 Tiago Monteiro 14 Nick Heidfeld 15 Narain Karthikeyan

RENAULT REPORT:

• Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: "The team gave a fantastic performance today, and Michelin did the same -- after the events in Indianapolis, it was great to see them come back so strongly and dominate the weekend. Fernando drove a perfect race, but we are sorry for Fisico and the problems he had again, which were our fault. But even though he did not finish as high as he could have done, his points have made the difference this afternoon, and helped us build the lead to McLaren and Ferrari. Finally, we are delighted for the spectators, and our colleagues who came to the race today -- we were proud to offer them this victory."

QUALIFYING & RACE PREVIEW - 2005 FRENCH GP

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