Monaco GP: Arrows race notes

OrangeArrows Takes Point No.2 on the Mean Streets of Monte Carlo

Heinz-Harald Frentzen notched up the OrangeArrows team's second point of the season in Monte Carlo today. Both Heinz and his team-mate, Enrique Bernoldi, got good starts to the race and were on one-stop strategies, but the Monaco Grand Prix always has a few surprises in store. Heinz's first stop seemed normal until the team realised his fuel rig had aborted so he had to come in on the next lap for a fuel top-up. Enrique's first stop was difficult as his A23 had suffered rear end damage after being hit by Felipe Massa's Sauber. The team had to physically lift the back of the car off the ground in order to complete the tyre change. Enrique was then forced into a second stop when he received a drive-thru penalty for missing the chicane.

Overall the team is delighted with the result after what is always a very tough weekend.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen

"I'm very happy with the result today. Like I said in Spain, scoring one point puts pressure on us to score more, but it is the right kind of pressure. This point will keep the momentum going. We made a change to the front suspension this morning which made the car better here but I think you could see that from my position in Warm-Up (Heinz was 1st place in the morning warm-up session). I really enjoy racing here and I have to say that the battle with Rubens was very tight but there was no way I was going to let him past!"

Enrique Bernoldi

"I had a pretty normal start and really enjoyed the first part of the race. I was quicker than Massa but when I overtook him he missed the brakes and pushed me off. I rejoined and was behind Irvine and Button and, although I could catch them, I couldn't get past. There was a problem with my pit-stop as the rear of the car was damaged as a result of my crash with Massa. I then received a drive-thru penalty for cutting the chicane so had to come in again. All in all this was a race that gave me a lot of useful experience and I'm very pleased to finish at such a tough circuit."

Mike Coughlan, Technical Director, OrangeArrows

"It was good to get both cars home today, especially as they were running very competitively. Heinz drove a great race, but unfortunately the FIA rig aborted during his stop so we had to call him in again, so we may have missed out on fifth place. The tyre performance was much better during the race so thank you to Bridgestone for that. It was really good to get Enrique home as he drove a really good race and was very unlucky."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Position: 6th
Chassis No: A23-01

Enrique Bernoldi
Position: 12th
Chassis No: A23-03

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