German GP: Bridgestone race notes

Michael gives Bridgestone 90th win since 1997

Michael Schumacher was in dominant form this afternoon in front of his home crowds, winning his third German Grand Prix from pole position and giving Bridgestone its 90th victory since entering the FIA Formula One World Championship as a tyre supplier in 1997. The world champion stormed off into the distance at the start of the race and won with a clear margin, giving the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver another ten points for his 11th win of the season.

He now has 110 points to Rubens Barrichello's 74, the Brazilian finishing in 12th place after an unlucky race. The Scuderia Ferrari team continues to lead the Constructors' Championship with a large margin of 184 points to Renault's 85. Sauber Petronas' Giancarlo Fisichella, meanwhile, missed out on a points scoring finish after driving a steady race to cross the line in ninth place.

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager Bridgestone Motorsport:

"Today was a great race for Michael Schumacher his eleventh win of the season. He is quite incredible and we are delighted to have been able to provide him with the tyres to achieve this result from pole. It was a fascinating race which saw many exciting overtaking manoeuvres. The nature of this circuit means that Hockenheim always throws up a few surprises and it was unfortunate for Rubens that he suffered a suspected puncture after working so hard to work his way up the field."

"Jordan's Giorgio Pantano also had a tyre problem and we are investigating both of these issues. However, overall, this has been a very satisfying weekend for Bridgestone. We had worked hard to re-establish our competitiveness on this circuit and victory for Michael was a great way to finish the weekend."

Ross Brawn, Technical Director Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro:

"It was a pretty intense first part of the race but it was not until Kimi had his problem that Michael was able to control it through to the chequered flag. We were also involved in trying to do something for Rubens to see if we could get some points but it just didn't go his way. Anyway, on the last lap he went wide and picked up what seems to have been a puncture. A little disappointing for Rubens but we can't complain, we won the race. It was a very controlled drive from Michael and we didn't really see today how fast he could go."

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