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2002 Italian Grand Prix 
What the teams and drivers said - Sunday 

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What the teams and drivers said - Sunday

Ferrari ( Rubens Barrichello - 1st, Michael Schumacher - 2nd ) 

Jean Todt: "This was a great triumph. We knew it would be a difficult race but our driver-car-Bridgestone tyre package proved to be fantastic. We had chosen different strategies for the two drivers in order to be able to tackle any situation created by our opponents. Everything worked well. The drivers put in an incredible performance and the team worked in a fantastic way to bring home a result which is all the greater because it was achieved in front of our fans and the staff of the Ferrari-Maserati Group. We have shown we are an exceptional team which still works with extraordinary motivation. We have great technical and commercial partners who contribute to our success and we also have great strength and stability which is the basis for what we have seen this year."

Rubens Barrichello: "It is fantastic to get this great result in our home race, as everyone, the staff and the two test drivers are here in Monza. It is a great way to pay them all back for their hard work. I don’t think we can ever expect to experience such a feeling again as we did on the podium with people as far as the eye could see. As for the race, I was a bit confused about how I got the lead. I saw Ralf slow down and I dived inside him. Then I slipstreamed Montoya and got past him too. It was the perfect lap and the car was just getting better all the time so I was able to push hard. I think two stops was the way to go today. I want to thank everyone especially the test team and also Bridgestone, who did a great job to bring such a good tyre for this weekend after last week’s test. As we are at home, I guess we will have a big party tonight."

Michael Schumacher: "Before this weekend, I did not want to think about the possibility of this result, because we have already done so much this year. But the one-two finish was the ideal dream result. I really enjoyed the podium ceremony. I could look all the way down the straight and it was just full of tifosi and that was an amazing feeling. I have plenty of experience of being on the podium, but I have never seen anything like this. It was a perfect day for all of us. I am aware that today I have another record, for the most number of points in one season, but it does not mean that much, given that the record was already mine. After the start, I had a few problems, but the second stint went well. Then, after Rubens’ second stop, we slowed the pace a bit to spare the car and get to the finish."

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Jaguar ( Eddie Irvine - 3rd, Pedro de la Rosa - Retired )

Niki Lauda: "An absolutely fantastic result and just reward for the extremely hard work that has produced today’s result. We knew coming into this weekend that we had a good chance of claming a point or two but the car performed extremely competitively and without a doubt, Eddie drove a storming race. This circuit is a killer and as we saw, it claimed the race of both BMW Williams and a McLaren Mercedes. Pedro was unlucky to have his race cut short by Massa but Eddie’s result was well deserved and down to many people who have all worked tirelessly in the pursuit of turning this season around. Cosworth and Castrol have done a great job in generating the required power and Michelin’s work clearly showed today. Add the 360 people back at Milton Keynes who have not let their commitment slip and you now get an understanding of how this turnaround happened. We have all suffered a hard season but we now have a very good baseline for next year’s car. We still have a long way to go in terms of being consistent against the front runners but we must also acknowledge how far we have come since the beginning of the season. There is nothing to prevent us from being as competitive at the next two races and in the meantime, we go to Barcelona for a three-day test."

Eddie Irvine: "It’s great to back on the podium again after so long and I’m very happy indeed with the reward generated for the team. The Jaguar R3 has been a strong contender here all weekend and without doubt, the team has done an excellent job in getting us here. The longer you’re away, the sweeter it is and this is simply fantastic for everyone at Jaguar. It was a tough race and right from the very beginning, my aim was to aim for the podium. The pace of the car was very good throughout the race and I suffered no problems at all. Once I stretched my lead into third place, I backed off in an effort to preserve the car and in particular, the brakes. About fifteen laps from the end, however, the team told me to begin pushing hard again because of the big chunks of time that Trulli’s Renault was taking out of me. I upped the pace and just kept pushing and pushing towards the end. A podium place is simply fantastic and after Monaco, there is no better place to get it. The relief on everyone’s face is clear to see and more than anything, I owe this result to the workforce at Milton Keynes who have seen very little good news this season. Under Niki and Guenther’s leadership, the team has done an incredible job in transforming the Jaguar R3 into what is now a competitive machine. Apart from the tub I sit in, everything on this car has been re-designed and changed since the beginning of the season – everything from the suspension, floor, engine and of course, the aerodynamics. Formula One needs Jaguar and Jaguar needs Formula One. Today went quite some way towards proving that and let’s now see what we can generate from the last two races."

Pedro de la Rosa: "I am delighted for the team but obviously disappointed that I couldn’t contribute towards the result. My race began badly when, at the first chicane, the car switched into neutral. By the time I got up to the correct gear, most of the field had got past me and I found myself in 15th position after the first lap. Nonetheless, I knew the car had the pace to make something out of the race and I began pushing very hard. I managed to get myself into 14th position and then found myself stuck behind Massa who did the most inexplicable things I have seen on a race track for ages. He kept moving all over the place and every time I made an effort to pass him, he blocked me. My patience was running out and I then made a move to pass him at the Ascari chicane when he moved over again and took my front wing off on lap 15. I had no choice to call it a day and take up the matter with the race stewards who are now looking into his behaviour. The real story from today, however, is the team’s giant leap into 6th place in the championship and that’s what matters most. Eddie did a very impressive job today and I am hoping to add to the tally at the last two races."

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Renault ( Jarno Trulli - 4th, Jenson Button - 5th )

Flavio Briatore: "A very good result after a difficult weekend. We took a risk on the strategy, but it paid off, helped by Jarno and Jenson who both drove fantastic races. It's good to add a few points to our total."

Pat Symonds: "A fantastic result for the whole Team on a circuit that is not easy for us. We changed our strategy during the race, and in fact almost reversed what we had planned to do. This helped us to show the true potential of our cars and drivers. It is also excellent to see such good reliability throughout the weekend."

Jarno Trulli: "I thought I'd lost everything at the start - first gear didn't engage properly when I went through the launch process, so I had to start from the back. After that, finishing fourth was pretty unexpected! Salo was holding me up during the first part of the race, so we decided to modify our strategy and stop earlier than planned. Clearly, it was the right choice and it meant we were able to score some points. I want to thank the whole team and especially Jenson, who let me past so that I could try and catch Irvine after the stops. I should also mention all the engine guys: we had some problems with reliability in testing last week, and now both cars have now finished the race. I am not just happy for Jenson and myself, but also proud to have achieved this result for the Team."

Jenson Button: "Not a bad race and a pretty unexpected result! To be honest, the race wasn't that exciting: after the start, I had to get into a rhythm and look after the car, avoiding over-revving and just driving very precisely. We changed strategy, which paid off when we were able to jump in front of Salo. The car wasn't perfect during the race: I had some oversteer in the first part, which became fairly major understeer after my pit-stop, but I managed to speed up in order to keep Panis at bay. This result reminds me a bit of Hockenheim last year, when we got both cars into the points on a circuit which didn't really suit us on paper."

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BAR ( Olivier Panis - 6th, Jacques Villeneuve - 9th )

David Richards: "A fantastic performance from Olivier today from 16th on the grid. He got a much better start than of late and maximised that advantage throughout the race to bring a hard-fought and much-welcomed point to the team. Jacques, on the other hand, found himself struggling for grip on a heavy fuel load so the one-stop strategy really didn’t work in his favour today.
This weekend has seen a further small but significant step forward for the team. All four Honda-powered cars finished the race and this, together with the improvement we’ve seen in terms of power and reliability, gives us great encouragement for the remaining two races."

Olivier Panis: "I’m absolutely delighted to finish sixth today. To get a point after starting 16th on the grid is fantastic for us. It was a tough race with plenty of action but I took the risk of a two-stop strategy and it worked for me.
I spoke with the team ahead of the race and said that I wanted to be able to attack and be part of the race. I got an amazing start and gained 7 places so I knew then I had the potential for a great result.
I had a lot of fun out there today and was able to make the most of the overtaking opportunities. The pit stops worked well for us with the mechanics doing their usual fantastic job to make sure we got out ahead of Fisichella.
I’m really pleased for the team. Every point counts and it is a very important result for us at this stage of the season. I’m really looking forward to Indianapolis now. Honda will have more of the latest specification engine and, as we’ve seen, it looks very promising in terms of performance and reliability for the last two races."

Jacques Villeneuve: "This was a very disappointing race for me after such a good qualifying session yesterday. I didn’t get a good start and I was stuck in the wrong part of the track with cars everywhere and lost places as a result.
It was a tough call on strategy today and compared with most other times here we decided to try one stop. In the end, we were running too much wing and I couldn’t get a good tow behind anyone down the straights.
Congratulations to Olivier; he made the two-stop strategy work and got a well-deserved point out of it for the team."

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McLaren ( David Coulthard - 7th, Kimi Raikkonen - Retired )

Ron Dennis: "Both drivers suffered from different problems which precluded them from finishing in the points. As always our target is to win which means there is a great deal of work to do before the start of the 2003 season."

Norbert Haug: "David lost his chances of a good result in the shuffle at the first chicane which forced him into the pits for a new nose delaying him for more than 30 seconds. Kimi’s race went according to plan when he was stopped by an engine failure on lap 30, the cause of which we will have to investigate."

David Coulthard: "Not the ideal way to end the European season, but onwards and upwards. After the start at the first chicane I ran into the back of Kimi as he slowed to avoid a car in front of him, and I wasn’t quick enough to react. As a result I had to go into the pits and get a new nose and then spent the rest of the race catching up. I was very careful to let the leaders through when I was lapped which lost me time and in hindsight that probably cost us a point."

Kimi Raikkonen: "I got in front of Eddie Irvine at the start and after that it was a matter of staying on the track. If I had been able to finish the race, I would have been third today, but it’s one of those things out of my control, and I’m already looking forward to the last two races of the season."

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Jordan ( Giancarlo Fisichella - 8th, Takuma Sato - 12th )

Eddie Jordan: "I’m satisfied to see both cars finish but unfortunately we just weren’t quick enough and our starts have let us down all year. I know we have the potential to achieve better results."

Giancarlo Fisichella: "Unfortunately our launch control system is problematic and today I lost four or five positions at the start alone which is not good at all. I was having a decent race and pushing hard, which wasn’t easy because I was so full with fuel. The car balance wasn’t too bad and there was a real possibility for me to finish 4th or 5th but we lost our race and chance to score points just because of launch control."

Takuma Sato: "The beginning of the race was really hard. I honestly struggled to get on the pace. I found the car so difficult to drive and I lost a lot of time at the beginning. After the pit stop it was getting much better and I was comfortable for the last 15 laps or so. It was a tough race."

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Sauber ( Nick Heidfeld - 10th, Felipe Massa - Retired  )

Peter Sauber: "This week we will undertake an intensive test at Silverstone to improve the SAUBER PETRONAS C21 in medium to low downforce configuration. This has been a difficult weekend for us, but once again the car was reliable so we must enhance the performance to exploit that fully in the remaining two races."

Nick Heidfeld: "I was able to make some places off the line thanks to my two-stop refuelling strategy, but then de la Rosa was very slow out of the first chicane and I got boxed in behind him which spoiled my progress. The following lap I managed to outbrake Villeneuve into the first corner, but after that it was hard to move up any higher."

Felipe Massa: "I had enough fuel to do a single stop run, so I was at a disadvantage early on and lost places after a reasonable start. Then on lap 15 de la Rosa cut the first chicane, but instead of moving over to let me by he stayed ahead for a lap. He was so slow going down to Ascari that I put my car in the middle of the track and, as far as I was concerned, I was past him. Maybe he hit the throttle again. Whatever, we touched, and that damaged either my right rear suspension or the tyre, so a lap later I was out."

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Toyota ( Mika Salo - 11th, Allan McNish - Retired )

Ove Andersson: "Overall a frustrating end to a strong weekend for us. I firmly believe we could have had two cars in the points today. Allan made a spectacular start and retired from 6th place with a suspension problem. Mika suffered early on from blistered tyres, and then crossed the white line exiting the pit lane trying to push for position after his stop. Without the subsequent drive-through penalty he would have finished in the points. I do not know how we will fare at the US GP in two weeks' time. We haven't been there before and have no track data, so we'll have to wait and see."

Mika Salo: "That was pretty much a disastrous race. I struggled with oversteer because my first set of tyres were blistered really badly. My only scheduled pit stop went well, but I was concentrating in my rear view mirrors when I left the pits and crossed the white line, so I was given a drive-through penalty. That ruined the race for me, putting me back in 11th place. Without that penalty I would have scored points today. I'm not happy."

Allan McNish: "It looks like we had a failure in the front suspension. I felt it first near the start of the race and the car became inconsistent particularly under braking at Ascari. Unfortunately it just got worse and we were not able to cure it, putting me out of the race. I made a great start and was up to 6th after 10 laps. It is a big disappointment to retire from a points scoring position. We had a real chance today."

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Minardi ( Alex Yoong - 13th, Mark Webber - Retired )

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

Sam Michael: "Obviously a disappointing end to the day from the reliability point of view. After a bad start we had a problem with the chassis on Juan's car, which ultimately caused his withdrawal from the race. The reason for this is under investigation. After the lap to the grid Ralf had to switch to the T-car due to a fuel pressure problem he then had a pneumatic pressure loss with his engine during the race after only a few laps."

Mario Theissen: "This was a disappointing race after a strong qualifying. Ralf started with the T-Car because a problem was identified with the fuel pressure on his race car. Unfortunately during the race we had an engine failure on Ralf's car due to a loss of pressure in the engine's pneumatic valve system. We still don’t know the cause. The failure happened extremely early in the race. Juan Pablo was running strongly in third position when he had to retire. The engine was running well on his car. We obviously came to Monza with high hopes, but that's racing."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "I didn't have a good start at all as the engine nearly stalled and Ralf went past me under braking and he just went straight. It's a shame that I had a problem with my chassis, which forced me to retire because I still could have finished third, as I was quicker than Kimi. Anyway, this is racing and you can't do anything about it. It is clear that at the moment we are still underperfoming compared to Ferrari. Over a race distance they are still well ahead of us."

Ralf Schumacher: "It was a very odd start Juan had some problems to get away so I took advantage at the first chicane. The team was called by the FIA to swap places with Juan. Sam told me to do so and I slowed down. Right after that I had an engine failure. It’s a shame because we usually have reliable engines and my car was going very fast, for the fuel load I had."

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Arrows - Missed the GP due to financial problems

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