German GP Jaguar race notes

A cruel end to an otherwise promising German Grand Prix weekend for Jaguar Racing. Pedro de la Rosa experienced a racing accident on the first lap of a re-started race when he hit the back of Heidfeld's Sauber coming into the first chicane. The Spaniard admitted to misjudging his braking and was naturally disappointed to go out after running so competitively. Eddie Irvine's race was ended when he suffered a fuel pressure problem on lap 18 and he was forced to return to the pits and retire his car.

Eddie Irvine
"We should undoubtedly have scored some points today. Regardless of how many cars dropped out, we were always well placed to fight for points and it's very disappointing to retire in this manner. This circuit always pushes cars to their extreme limit and we were one of many victims today. Big shame, especially since the car felt so good and well-balanced. I made a good start and was looking forward to scrapping with those in front of me. On lap 18 I began experiencing a misfire and had no choice but to pit and call it a day. There are obviously areas that we need to get on top of quickly, especially when you look at the opportunities today of which there are very few in F1."

Pedro de la Rosa
"We all make mistakes and today it was my turn. As I approached the first chicane, the cars in front of me bunched up very quickly and before I knew it, I was heading into the back of the bottleneck. I braked well before the 100 metre board, but underestimated how close Nick Heidfeld was. In the end there was little I could do and I locked-up my brakes. I will apologise to Nick for ruining his race, but that's motor racing. I have been on the receiving end many times and I sympathise with Nick. I only exper ienced the car for one lap but it felt very good indeed. We will curse ourselves for not collecting points today and with BAR and Benetton scoring points, it's an even more bitter pill to swallow."

Bobby Rahal, Chief Executive Officer & Team Principal
"I was very disappointed with the way this weekend ended for Jaguar Racing. A promising weekend has not been rewarded and we'll now have to look into the reasons why. It's too early to diagnose the exact problem with Eddie but he was reporting a misfire before he stopped. Pedro was the victim of cars slowing down too much into the chicane, but I suspect it could have been avoided. The on-going development at Jaguar Racing, however, has proved fruitful and we should draw some consolation from the ground we've made up relative to our immediate competitors. There are only a handful of races left to go and as always, we shall be pushing forward very hard in an effort to score as many points as we can."

-Jaguar