Monaco GP Jaguar race notes

Jaguar Racing at last saw some reward for its efforts by clinching its first points of the season and the Jaguar marque's first ever podium finish in Formula One racing. Eddie Irvine did a great job to fend off a last minute charge from Jacques Villeneuve to bring his Jaguar R2 home in third place to secure four much needed championship points. Fortune did not favour Pedro de la Rosa as he was forced to retire from the race after 18 laps with suspected hydraulic problems. While everyone at the team is delig hted with this result, it remains pragmatic about the future and well aware that there remains a tremendous amount of work to do if there are to be similar results this season.

Eddie Irvine

"That was more like it wasn't it? That's a great result for everybody at Jaguar Racing. We still have a way to go but I'm delighted for everybody who has worked relentlessly towards this major step forward. The car felt good all afternoon and I had a feeling on the grid that this race could result in a podium. I made an OK start and Ralf Schumacher managed to squeeze past me on the inside of the first corner. He actually pushed me right over towards the Armco and I had no choice but to back off and let him through. I drove a hard race and the team performed brilliantly all weekend. Our new aerodynamic package is by far the biggest development I have ever experienced in F1. We now need to see whether this works from Canada onwards and if so, we will have cracked a major nut. Many people have been quick to criticise us in recent weeks and some quarters of the media have not exactly been understanding towards the challenge we face. All I can say is that these individuals do not understand the enormous task we face and I take great pride in having done our talking on the track today. Let's now focus our efforts towards Canada and see whether our new development is consistent on other tracks."

Pedro de la Rosa

"This was obviously a very disappointing race for me and a continuation of the bad luck that has plagued me so far this season. Come to think of it I've never had any luck around Monaco anyway so I guess that's consistency! My start was ok and I actually overtook Frentzen but I then had to let Raikkonen past to avoid an unnecessary first corner accident. I was able to hold my position comfortably from there on and the car felt very well balanced. On lap 18 at the left-hander before Casino I had to let Frentzen through to avoid another accident and then I just lost the gearshift and throttle so I guess it must have been the hydraulics. Even though I'm disappointed it's been a good weekend for the team and we have shown that we can be competitive."

Bobby Rahal, Chief Executive Officer & Team Principal

"This was a real morale booster for the team and I'd like to pass on my heartfelt thanks to everyone involved with Jaguar Racing. We have faced many critics in the past few weeks and I hope today's result proves that we are making progress. The magnitude of the task ahead of us cannot be overstated enough and the challenge now is to turn this maiden podium into consistency. Jaguar Racing is not here to make up the numbers and our long-term goal is to win the World Championship. That takes time, resources, stability and consistency. Taking third place alongside the Ferraris at Monaco is one small step in a very long road ahead of us. Nevertheless, it's just reward for the work everybody has put in and I'm delighted with our achievement today."

-Jaguar