Australian GP: Williams race notes

Juan Pablo Montoya
"I had a pretty good battle with Michael but when I passed him I thought that I could get away but I quickly realised that in fact I was holding him up as he had more speed than me and it was only a matter of time before I lost the lead. Then after my pit stop I saw Raikkonen exiting the pits alongside me and I feared that I might lose my position but when I saw him braking so late I thought that he wasn't going to make it and he didn't! It's good for the team that we collected some points at the first race."

Ralf Schumacher
"I had a great start and had already passed Michael and wanted to pass Barrichello, so I tried to dive into the inside but he closed the door. I then went to the outside and he closed again. I made my last attempt going to the inside and he closed the door and braked at the same time. I cannot complain about the braking, as we were going into the first corner, even if I thought it was a bit too early, but he definitely changed direction twice and we are only allowed to do it once. I felt like a passenger on an aeroplane and I was really lucky because I ran off in the right area and didn't trip around. Charlie Whiting took the right decision by not stopping the race, as he had made it very clear to us that he would not stop a race unless it was for safety reasons and this wasn't the case. This accident was a true shame, as my car was very good and we had no problems at all."

Sam Michael (Chief Engineer)
"It was a good result for the team to achieve some points in the first race of the season. The reliability of the cars was good. Juan drove a very good race and he had to be defensive several times. The strength of Michael and Ferrari was very evident. That is something we and our partners have to work on. We had a bad incident with Ralf at the first corner, when he was blocked. Well done to the race team and to the test team, showing that two months of hard work ended up with a car in a podium position."

Dr. Mario Theissen (BMW Sporting Director)
"This was an extremely exciting race. It is a shame that Ralf could not realise the benefit from his excellent starting position. Juan drove a very strong race and has had a really good battle with Michael Schumacher. We are also pleased that our new P82 engine has passed the acid test and finished its first race."

-williams-