Formula 1
Italian GP: Spyker MF1 race notes
The newly renamed Spyker MF1 Racing team endured a difficult afternoon of racing at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. Christijan Albers was climbing up through the field before a punctured rear right tyre and transmission problem dropped him to the ...
Edited: Dec 11, 2006, 4:17 AM
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The newly renamed Spyker MF1 Racing team endured a difficult afternoon of racing at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Christijan Albers was climbing up through the field before a punctured rear right tyre and transmission problem dropped him to the back of the pack. He nursed his car home in 17th position.
Tiago Monteiro was forced to abandon the chase after 44 laps due to brake issues.
Tiago Monteiro:
"Obviously, that's not the result we were after but I must say, the car was going quite well. In fact, once the tyres warmed up and we were able to burn off some fuel, I was catching up to the group ahead of me, so that really motivated me. The only weakness, I would say, was that we were losing ground on the straights, and this is something we will have to work hard to improve."
"Unfortunately, after my first pit stop, I developed a serious brake problem that would crop up randomly. It was causing the car to behave quite erratically, which is dangerous at a high-speed circuit like Monza. There were a couple of other issues that compounded my problems, and eventually I just had to retire because the car was becoming too unstable."
"But I'm encouraged by the fact that we were catching the cars ahead before these problems occurred, which proves that we are improving. At this time, I'd also like to thank Mr. Shnaider for all his support, and for giving me the opportunity to get my start in F1. I'd also like to welcome our new owners, and look forward to making more progress under the Spyker banner."
Christijan Albers:
"We finished the race but it 's not a good result, and that's a shame because it was our first one with the Spyker name. First I had a flat tyre, which pretty much killed my race, and then two laps later, I developed a problem with my transmission. We know what the problem is, though, so hopefully we'll be able to solve it once and for all."
"It's disappointing because the pace was there and I was able to compete for positions, which is similar to the situation at the last race in Turkey, where our performance was quite good. One thing I know for sure is that we'll come back fighting in China."
Colin Kolles, Managing Director:
"I think the performance of the cars was very good. Christijan's puncture ruined his chances for a good result, and Tiago had some brake problems that prevented him from finishing. But if you look at their times, they were quite competitive. Considering this is supposed to be the worst circuit for us, that's quite encouraging."
James Key, Technical Director:
"This was a difficult race, which is a shame, because obviously today is a special day for the team, with our new owners being introduced. Christijan was racing extremely well at the beginning and was able to run with the cars around him - the Red Bulls, the Toyotas and the Toro Rossos."
"He was battling to overtake Klien when he suffered a puncture. He came in and then there was an issue with the clutch that delayed him going back out. We're not sure what it is - whether it's a sensor problem or the clutch itself - but that led to him effectively losing a lap."
"Tiago was following a long first-stop strategy and doing quite well, but then he developed braking issues toward the end of the race. We brought him in a couple of times to have a look, but then we thought it would be safer to just retire him."
"An unfortunate race, really. It could have been better given the pace we'd showed in the beginning, but we'll see what we can learn from this and move on with more optimism for the last three races."
Johnny Herbert, Sporting Relations Manager:
"Today was a disappointment. It's never a good thing to be going through problems, and we seem to having more than our fair share lately. Christijan had a puncture early on when he was racing well, but obviously that put us completely out of contention."
"Tiago had his own set of issues and he eventually had to stop because of brake problems. It was just a shame, really, because I think we had to pace to finish well today. But, we move on, and hopefully we'll have a stronger race in China."
Tiago Monteiro
Chassis: M16-03
Starting Position: 20th
Classification: DNF, 44 laps completed (+9 laps)
Fastest Lap: 1:24.822 at 14:42:49, 15th overall (+2.263 from fastest lap of the race)
Christijan Albers
Chassis: M16-02
Starting Position: 18th
Classification: 17th, 51 laps completed (+2 laps)
Fastest Lap: 1:25.494 at 14:28:31, 20th overall (+2.935 from fastest lap of the race)
-credit: spyker mf1
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