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  April 28, Race Results |
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Formula One World Championship Round 5
Round 5 : Spain (Barcelona)
Villeneuve races to seventh
in Spain
B·A·R Honda driver takes seventh at Barcelona |
Jacques Villeneuve
(Lucky Strike B·A·R Honda) crossed the line in seventh position in today's Spanish
Grand Prix while team-mate Olivier Panis retired from the race on lap 44 with
a broken exhaust. DHL Jordan Honda's Takuma Sato pulled out on lap 11 while team-mate
Giancarlo Fisichella was forced out of the action on lap five with a loss of hydraulic
pressure.
The weather became cloudy and windy with temperatures around 20 degrees as the
Spanish Grand Prix got underway at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. B·A·R
Honda's Jacques Villeneuve remained in 15th position off the grid, but he had
moved up into 13th position by the end of the fifth lap, benefiting from the retirement
of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Jordan Honda's Giancarlo Fisichella. Just a handful
of laps later the race was over for Jordan Honda's Takuma Sato, moving the B·A·R
Honda driver up into 12th, just behind the Arrows of Enrique Bernoldi. Villeneuve
came in for his first pit stop on lap 23, and gained a place when Ralf Schumacher
(Williams) pitted for a new front wing. He then overtook Bernoldi for 10th position
on lap 37. Villeneuve gained another place during the second set of pit stops,
before passing the Renaults of Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli whose cars had developed
problems. Villeneuve maintained his position and went on to cross the line in
seventh place, having started from 15th on the grid.
His B·A·R Honda team-mate Olivier Panis made up two positions at the start, and
gained another place as a result of Kimi Raikkonen's departure on lap four. The
Frenchman came in for his first pit stop on lap 23 and rejoined the race in 11th
place ahead of Bernoldi. Panis continued to push hard, managing to take ninth
position from Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Arrows) as the first pit stop sequence unfolded.
He gained another place as a result of Ralf Schumacher's lengthy pit stop but
on lap 44, just after his second scheduled pit stop, Panis had to pull over with
a broken exhaust.
Jordan Honda's Takuma Sato made a great start, improving five positions to 13th
place to slot in just behind team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella by the end of the
first lap. His attack was short-lived however, as his car suffered from understeer,
causing him to spin into the gravel trap on turn 13 on lap 11. His Jordan Honda
team-mate Fisichella couldn't improve on his grid position at the start of the
race, but moved up into 11th place when Kimi Raikkonen retired. However, the Italian
was forced out of the action on lap five due a loss of gear box hydraulic pressure.
Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) dominated the race, finishing ahead of Juan Pablo
Montoya (Williams) and the McLaren of David Coulthard. The Sauber pairing of Nick
Heidfeld and Felipe Massa finished fourth and fifth with Heinz-Harald Frentzen
(Arrows) completing the top six.
Jaguar's Eddie Irvine had to start from the back of the grid due to a fuel irregularity
in yesterday's qualifying session, which meant that B·A·R Honda's Jacques Villeneuve
started from 15th and Jordan Honda's Takuma Sato started from 18th. Minardi team
boss Paul Stoddart withdrew Alex Yoong and Mark Webber due to repeated wing failures
in the practice sessions for this weekend's race. Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello
remained on the grid as the formation lap got underway but the Brazilian was unable
to start the race due to technical problems with the car.
Shuhei Nakamoto --- Race and Test Team Manager, Honda
Racing Development
"All four Honda-powered drivers pushed very hard today but for one reason or another
three obviously failed to finish, not a great day! However, we have to take the
positives from any race and learn from them. Our race pace wasn't too bad so we
have to try and improve our qualifying performance so that we can take advantage
of any chances available to score points. The fight goes on."
Jacques Villeneuve Position: 7th
"The race went well for me today and we were more competitive than in qualifying.
I was angry because Bernoldi put me on to the grass and then I lost a lot of time
running behind him. I wasn't happy with the car at first but we made some aerodynamic
changes during the pitstop and the car felt much better after that. By the time
I started doing quick laps though I was too far behind. It hasn't been a very
good weekend generally. Austria should be better for us than here but we still
have a lot of work to do."
Olivier Panis Position: DNF
"I'm disappointed that we missed a big opportunity to score one or two points
today but I'm very pleased with the team because they did a great job this weekend.
I made a very good start and the pitstop strategy and execution were brilliant.
After the first stop I rejoined the race ahead of Frentzen and I was able to keep
him behind me without difficulty before an exhaust failure ended my race. We seem
to have reduced our reliability problems to a minimum but we still need to keep
pushing to keep on top of them. When points opportunities come our way we need
to be in a position to take advantage of them. I'm looking forward to testing
in Estoril next week and to the next race in Austria as I'm hungry for a good
result."
Takuma Sato Position: DNF
"I suffered huge understeer into the high speed corner and just could not correct
it. It is a big shame as we were in good shape in warm up and I'd made a good
start to the race."
Giancarlo Fisichella Position: DNF
"Not a good day! I had a loss of hydraulic pressure which meant I could not change
gears. I am very disappointed as I haven't been able to finish any races because
of various problems and it is clear we are not competitive enough. I hope to improve
things for the future."
Round 6 of the FIA Formula One World Championship is the Austrian Grand Prix on
Sunday 12 May. |
Formula One World Championship Round 5
Round 5 : Spain (Barcelona)
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| 1 |
|
M SCHUMACHER (Ferrari) |
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| 2 |
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J-P.MONTOYA (Williams) |
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| 3 |
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D.COULTHARD (McLaren) |
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| 4 |
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N.HEIDFELD (Sauber) |
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| 5 |
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F.MASSA (Sauber) |
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| 6 |
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H-H.FRENTZEN (Arrows) |
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| 7 |
|
J.VILLENEUVE (B·A·R Honda) |
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| 8 |
|
A.MCNISH (Toyota) |
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| 9 |
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M.SALO (Toyota) |
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| 10 |
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J.TRULLI (Renault) |
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| 11 |
|
R.SCHUMACHER (Williams) |
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| 12 |
|
J.BUTTON (Renault) |
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| DNF |
|
O.PANIS (B·A·R Honda) |
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| DNF |
|
T.SATO (Jordan Honda) |
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| DNF |
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G.FISICHELLA (Jordan Honda) |
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