Austrian GP Stewart Race Notes

A1-Ring, Sunday 25th July, 1999

Rubens Barrichello retired on 55 with an engine failure while in fourth place. He was running second until his first pit stop.

Johnny Herbert lost his rear wing after being hit from behind by Mika Salo at the second corner of the opening lap. After having a new wing fitted he was able to re-join the race - four laps behind. He finished 14th - setting the second fastest lap of the race.

RUBENS BARRICHELLO Car No.16 (SF3-04) Given that you ran strongly in the race, it must be annoying that it ended like it did?

'I got a good start and was enjoying the race. I wasn't able to make much ground on David (Coulthard) early on but I just had to keep pushing to hold second place. The car felt good and my pace was consistent. It's frustrating when you get the chance for points and they disappear like that. We have lost points too often this year when we have been well placed.'

How important was race strategy and tyre wear? 'After the pit stop, the car didn't feel as good on the new tyres. I think the guys who stayed out a little longer before stopping had the advantage because it took a couple of laps for the new tyres to work effectively on heavy fuel.

JOHNNY HERBERT Car No.17 (SF3-05) 'After being quick throughout the weekend it must be frustrating to encounter problems on the opening lap? 'Both Rubens and I made good starts but I got boxed in a bit by Frentzen coming into the first corner. I could see Hakkinen and Coulthard coming together and backed off. Unfortunately I was hit from behind by Salo and lost my rear wing.'

How do you keep motivation high when joining at the back of the field - four laps behind? 'It can be hard and you just think is there really a point continuing. In a way the pressure was off so I was able to enjoy myself while still pushing hard. My car was excellent even though there was some damage to the floor. I was able to maintain a quick pace throughout the race.'

PAUL STEWART, SGP Chief Operating Officer 'Unfortunately we came away empty-handed when there was the real prospect of points for both cars. Johnny was taken out through no fault of his own but responded well to the challenge of rejoining the race four laps down. It was a terrific performance by him to set the second fastest lap of the race. Rubens ran strongly in second place before his pit stop and was holding down fourth position and proved once again that we can run at the front on merit before his engine failure.'

MARTIN WHITAKER, Director, Ford Racing, Europe 'After such a strong performance in qualifying it is extremely frustrating to leave Austria without World Championship points. Rubens was running strongly in second place until his pit stop and then suffered an engine failure while in fourth on lap 55, our first failure since April. We musn't allow Rubens' performance to overshadow that of Johnny. Sidelined by the opening lap incident he then turned in one of the best drives of the entire race and lapped consistently at front running pace.'