Italian GP Williams race notes

Ralf Schumacher today gave the Winfeld WilliamsF1 team its third podium of the season, by achieving an outstanding second place. After a very good start from the fifth position on the grid, Ralf drove an incredibly steady and yet aggressive race that, after Hakkinen's off, lead him to finish as runner up to winner Heinz Harald Frentzen. After maintaining the fourth position for a long time, Alex Zanardi lost ground because of a floor problem, finishing the race in 7th place, his best result this season.

Ralf Schumacher Final Position: 2nd Best Time: 1:25.579 (fastest race lap) Chassis: FW21 06 "This is my best result this season and I am glad I achieved it here. The first few laps of today's race were quite dramatic, as Mika Salo and David Coulthard were trying to overtake me and I was trying to make my car as wide as possible. I have to say thanks to the team and as well to my team-mate who made it incredibly easy to get by him which allowed me to drive my race. Without his help I think I wouldn't have finished second today. Alex and I have an agreement: if somebody is quicker we help each other, because at the end of the day we are driving for the team to get the best result. No doubt that the FW21 has sensibly improved, I would say that it looks quite another car from what it was in Hungary."

Alex Zanardi Final Position: 7th Best Time: 1:26.047 T-Car Chassis: FW21 05 "I could feel something hitting the ground underneath the car early on in the race, around the third lap. It got so bad during the race that it was picking the nose off the ground. Unfortunately, it appears like the floor had come loose. I send my congratulations on a great result to Ralf."

Frank Williams

" A great result for the team after a lot of very hard work. This further underlines Ralf's talents and his remarkable ability to race lap after lap without any mistakes. We are disappointed with the outcome of Alex's race, but despite his handicap he still managed to finish 7th."