German GP: Bridgestone race notes

German dream comes true for Michael

Five-time world champion Michael Schumacher fulfilled a dream today by winning his first German Grand Prix behind the wheel of a Ferrari. Success keeps coming for the German driver who a week ago celebrated a record-equalling 5th drivers' world championship. He started the race from pole position for the first time at Hockenheim and went on to claim his first German Grand Prix since he won the race for Benetton back in 1995.

Despite running most of the race in 3rd place, his Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team-mate Rubens Barrichello, driving the spare car, had to be content with 4th place after a problem with his fuel filler put him back at the second pit-stop. Also in the points was Nick Heidfeld who finished 6th for Sauber Petronas. His team-mate Felipe Massa unfortunately missed out on points in 7th place. Takuma Sato had his strongest race of the season finishing 8th for DHL Jordan Honda.

Ross Brawn - Technical Director - Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

"It was all about tyres today because in this kind of heat it was never going to be easy for anyone. It was important to time your stints on each set of tyres well and Michael played it perfectly. It was one of the most difficult races this year because the competition was strong today. The problem at Rubens's second pit-stop was that the fuel hatch did not open so the guys were unable to connect the hose. We will all have a few days off now and resume, we hope, with another win in Hungary."

Hisao Suganuma - Technical Manager - Bridgestone Motorsport

"Our aim here was to correct last year's result and have a car on our tyres win, so we achieved our target. However, it was a tough race for tyres. We measured a track temperature of 47C at one point, which is extreme heat for anyone. We had to select the tyres for this race based on simulation data which is not perfect, and there was room for improvement in our performance. However, it was pleasing to see that three of our teams - Sauber Petronas, DHL Jordan Honda and Lucky Strike B.A.R. Honda - were able to do battle with each other in the first part of the race, especially since Nick Heidfeld ended up with a point and two other drivers were not far off. All in all, we leave here with a lot of information about the new circuit which will be important for future development."

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