Belgian GP Williams race notes

After the best possible result in qualifying, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team failed to score any points in the Belgian Grand Prix. Due to problems on the grid at both the first and second starts neither of the drivers were able to take advantage of their front row positions. Juan Pablo Montoya stalled at the first, and at the second Ralf Schumacher could not leave the grid as his car was still raised off the track after the team had run out of time changing a rear wing beam. At the end of the race Ralf was seventh, while Juan Pablo retired with an engine failure just after the re-start.

Ralf Schumacher
"This was a difficult race and with each set of tyres I suffered from understeer to begin with and later on oversteer. The car was also too slow, and furthermore we made mistakes. There are many things we can learn from today."

Juan Pablo Montoya
"I am really sorry about what happened to Luciano and I hope he is going to be okay. On the first start, the car fired up but as soon as I pressed the clutch it stalled. On the second start I went off like a rocket and was looking good until De la Rosa who had been hit by Heidfeld ran into me. Then the car was pulling to one side and I was a bit scared something was going to break so on the first lap I took it quite easy. I was pushing pretty hard past three or four cars and past Ralf, it was kind of exciting. Then the engine just went. Weekends like this it are just racing!"

Patrick Head, Technical Director
"Just as we got quite a few things right yesterday, we made some very severe errors today both in the settings of the car and with problems that occurred on the grid. The important thing is we understand what we have done and make sure we put it right in the future. It is quite clear we have still got a lot to learn."

Dr Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director
"We had enough problems for a whole season in this race. On the first start Juan Pablo’s engine died and then on the second start Ralf’s car was not ready in time. Then during Ralf’s pit stop the air gun malfunctioned, and overall we just didn’t have the pace we needed today. This makes zero points at the end of the day, and this is what we deserved."