Italian GP Arrows race notes

The 2001 Italian Grand Prix ended with a poignant win for Colombia's Juan Pablo Montoya but frustration for the OrangeArrows team as both cars raced competitively but failed to finish.

The race got off to a fantastic start for the team with Jos Verstappen making another incredible start to take him up to eighth position, then battling his way up to a strong fifth by the 10th lap. Unfortunately his brakes began to suffer and by the end of his first stint he was unable to push quite so hard, ultimately retiring with a fuel pressure problem, approaching the halfway mark of the race.

Enrique Bernoldi also had a great start and was up to eighth position prior to his mid-distance single pit-stop. Holding off strong challenges initially from the McLaren of Mika Hakkinen and then BAR-Honda's Olivier Panis, he kept his head and did exactly what he was supposed to do. His race unfortunately ended just eight laps before the chequered flag with a crankshaft sensor problem.

Jos Verstappen
"I think the start was fantastic, getting up to eighth place from 19th place on the grid. That almost matches the start I had in Malaysia this year. I was able to keep the pace during the beginning of the race but could feel that my brakes were wearing quickly. This wasn't a big problem and I came in for the first of my two pit-stops and re-joined the race but then had to retire as I had a loss of power."

Enrique Bernoldi
"I must say I enjoyed the race today. I got a good start and made up a lot of places. Afterwards I had a good fight with Villeneuve, with Hakkinen and with Panis, which was good. I had a few problems with my brakes, which didn't cause me to slow down but prevented me from pushing. A few laps before the end I felt there was a problem with the engine and then the car just stopped. It's unfortunate as I was having a good time out there today."

Graham Taylor, Chief Race Engineer
"Our race pace was a lot better than our qualifying pace and we were able to hold our own out there. Jos was flying on a two-stop strategy and Enrique was keeping pace on a one-stop. We were always concerned about the amount of brake wear we'd get here, as we haven't tested here this year. We were in a bit of trouble with brakes, but Jos' car stopped, and then so did Enrique's. So, in summary, a disappointing end to a race that was looking very good for us at the start."