 |
 |
  June 23, Race Results |
|
Formula One World Championship Round 9
Round 9 : Europe --- Nürburgring (GER)
Honda-Powered Driver
Scores Top Ten Finish
Panis and Villeneuve finish ninth and 12th at the Nürburgring |
Lucky Strike B·A·R
Honda's Olivier Panis crossed the line in ninth position in today's European
Grand Prix and team-mate Jacques Villeneuve finished 12th. DHL Jordan Honda's
Takuma Sato finished 16th while Giancarlo Fisichella (Jordan Honda) retired
from the action on lap 28 due to damage sustained in a first lap accident.
B·A·R Honda's Olivier Panis started from 12th on the grid, and although
he got away well he ended up in 13th place at the end of the first lap as
the mid-field pack had a frantic start through the additional tight corners
at the redesigned Nürburgring. He regained 12th position by passing
Toyota's Mika Salo on lap four and by the fifth lap the Frenchman was fighting
with Renault's Jarno Trulli for 11th position. Panis remained in 12th and
could do nothing to stop the two-stopping Trulli pulling away as the Italian
almost immediately passed Allan McNish (Toyota), who then became Panis'
next target. During the first set of pit stops the B·A·R Honda driver progressed
three places to ninth position to end up behind Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and
he subsequently gained another two positions after a collision on lap 28
between the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya and the McLaren of David Coulthard
as they fought for fourth place. Panis came in for his one scheduled pit
stop on lap 29 and rejoined the fray in 10th, gaining another place seven
laps later as the pit stop sequence was completed. The Frenchman continued
to put in a solid performance in the second half of the race but couldn't
reduce the gap between himself and Trulli, going on to finish the race in
ninth position from 12th on the grid.
B·A·R Honda's Jacques Villeneuve, meanwhile, had a better start from 19th
on the grid and fought his way up to 15th place by the end of lap six. He
then went on to take the Arrows of Heinz Harald Frentzen and Enrique Bernoldi
and jump up to 13th place. The Honda-powered driver came in for his first
of two scheduled pit stops on lap 20, rejoining in 16th place and subsequently
moving up to 14th when Montoya and Coulthard retired from the action on
lap 28. In the course of the first set of pit stops Villeneuve made his
way up into 10th place, the Canadian taking his second pit stop on lap 45
and rejoining in 12th position, getting out ahead of McNish and Frentzen.
During the final 15 laps Villeneuve battled to catch the Jaguar of Pedro
De La Rosa but could not pass him and remained in 12th position having progressed
from 19th on the grid.
The Jordan Honda duo, however, didn't have such a good start to the race
when Giancarlo Fisichella collided with team-mate Takuma Sato on the first
lap resulting in both drivers returning to the pits to repair the damage
to their Honda-powered EJ12s. Fisichella needed a new front wing and was
back out on track on the same lap, while team-mate Sato came in right behind
him for a new set of tyres and rejoined one lap down. The Japanese driver
moved up to 19th position on lap 28 as he benefited from the exit of Montoya
and Coulthard, going on to pit 10 laps later. Sato gained three places by
lap 55 due to the retirements of Jaguar's Eddie Irvine and Minardi's Alex
Yoong and Salo, finishing the race in 16th position. His Jordan Honda team-mate
Fisichella pitted on lap 21 for fuel and to try to repair some of the damage
sustained in his first lap accident, rejoining in 21st position where he
remained until he retired from the race seven laps later as the damage had
made the car undriveable.
The fine weather continued with temperatures of 21 degrees as Ferrari's
Rubens Barrichello took the chequered flag, finishing ahead of team-mate
Michael Schumacher and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen. Ralf Schumacher (Williams)
and Jenson Button (Renault) finished fourth and fifth while Sauber's Felipe
Massa completed the point scoring positions.
Shuhei Nakamoto --- Race and Test Team Manager,
Honda Racing Development
"The first lap incident with Giancarlo and Takuma was really unfortunate
because the Honda-powered cars were definitely in better shape in morning
warm-up. Olivier and Jacques both finished the race, which I'm pleased about
because it shows we're making progress with the reliability, and Takuma
did well to bring his car home under difficult circumstances. I'm encouraged
that we didn't have any engine problems in the race but also aware that
we have to push to improve our performance."
Olivier Panis Position: 9th
"After warm-up this morning I said that points were possible but, in the
end, the Nürburgring is a fast track and we didn't have the speed to
do the job. I don't want to say I'm disappointed because I've finished the
last two races in the top 10, so this definitely has to be seen as a progression.
Before you can finish in the points, you have to be able to consistently
make the top 10. I drove a hard race and I think the strategy I adopted
proved to be the right one for me. I had a hard time trying to keep the
two-stoppers behind me at the same time as trying to preserve my tyres,
but the car stayed reliable under pressure and we got both cars to the finish.
Today's race was always going to be difficult for us but we demonstrated
a strong team performance and we have to take some encouragement from that.
As always, we have to keep working hard and see what Silverstone will bring."
Jacques Villeneuve Position: 12th
"I had a problem which started on the formation lap when I felt something
strange with the car. Off the start, I went through the first two gears
OK and then the engine bogged down. At the first corner, I had to step out
to avoid Frentzen, who was trying to avoid the two Jordans, and both of
these problems allowed other cars to pass me. I was stuck with the problem
for a while and then it seemed to recover but maybe not fully. From 19th
on the grid, this was always going to be a tough race. I think today we
did the best job we could under the circumstances."
Takuma Sato Position: 16th
"I made a reasonable start and I was side by side with the two Toyotas and
Olivier Panis, when Giancarlo hit me. It's a bit disappointing but these
things happen. It is a very tight corner with everybody turning in, so I
can't blame him. After the accident I decided to get on with the race and
do my best, fighting hard even though everybody was lapping me. It was important
for me to finish and bring the car back in one piece."
Giancarlo Fisichella Position: DNF
"I'm not sure exactly what happened, but after the start I was braking into
the first corner, and I think somebody pushed me out a little bit. I lost
grip and went into Takuma's car, which I'm very sorry about. Unfortunately
there was so much damage to my car that it was undriveable and there was
no possibility to be quick and continue racing. It is a disappointment to
end my 100th grand prix this way, but I hope to forget it and I am looking
forward to the next race."
Round 10 of the FIA Formula One World Championship is the British Grand
Prix on Sunday 7 July.
|
Formula
One World Championship Round 9
Round 9 : Europe --- Nürburgring (GER)
|
| 1 |
|
R.BARRICHELLO (Ferrari) |
|
| 2 |
|
M.SCHUMACHER (Ferrari) |
|
| 3 |
|
K.RAIKKONEN (McLaren) |
|
| 4 |
|
R.SCHUMACHER (Williams) |
|
| 5 |
|
J.BUTTON (Renault) |
|
| 6 |
|
F.MASSA (Sauber) |
|
| 7 |
|
N.HEIDFELD (Sauber) |
|
| 8 |
|
J.TRULLI (Renault) |
|
| 9 |
|
O.PANIS (B·A·R Honda) |
|
| 10 |
|
E.BERNOLDI (Arrows) |
|
| 11 |
|
P.DE-LA-ROSA (Jaguar) |
|
| 12 |
|
J.VILLENEUVE (B·A·R Honda) |
|
| 13 |
|
H-H.FRENTZEN (Arrows) |
|
| 14 |
|
A.MCNISH (Toyota) |
|
| 15 |
|
M.WEBBER (Minardi) |
|
| 16 |
|
T.SATO (DHL Jordan Honda) |
|
| DNF |
|
G.FISICHELLA (Jordan Honda) |
|
|
|
|
|
