US GP: MF1 race notes

What began as an encouraging weekend for MF1 Racing at the U.S. Grand Prix ended with retirements for both Tiago Monteiro and Christijan Albers, marking the first time this season that both drivers were eliminated from the same race.

Tiago Monteiro's M16 suffered extensive sidepod damage as the result of a shunt, while Christijan Albers' car suffered a terminal transmission problem.

The team now returns home to Silverstone for a test on Friday, July 7th, in preparation for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours in two weeks' time.

Tiago Monteiro:

"It was a very short day, but that's racing sometimes. It's definitely frustrating, especially after such a competitive weekend and a great result for us here last here. We really wanted a good result here today and I think it was achievable, given our pace."

"The start of the race was very messy, with lots of cars getting tangled up, and I thought I was very lucky to get through that. I saw a gap, I dove for it, and fortunately, no one touched me, so I found myself running in P9 during the safety car period."

"It was still early in the race and, obviously, I knew there were some quick cars behind me, but we were still in a good position. We adapted our strategy to match the safety car situation and it was looking very good for us. So I was really confident and excited about finishing well at that point, actually."

"Unfortunately, at the re-start, Sato (Super Aguri) made an unrealistic move on me heading into the corner, locking his wheels and ramming into me. It's a shame for everyone. We were looking for points today and in these circumstances, it was possible to get them."

"So I'm really sad for the guys on the team - they didn't deserve that - but we can't allow it to affect us. We have to keep pushing hard and do our best in Magny-Cours."

Christijan Albers:

"It's a shame that we weren't able to finish the race, because we had a chance to get into the points if we were able to run a good race. I collided at the start and lost my front wing, which is why I had to come in early."

"I also sustained some damage to my bargeboard and sidepod wing, so I lost a lot of performance, and then later on my transmission gave up. There's nothing else to say, it's just really a shame."

Colin Kolles, Managing Director:

"One day, the luck will be on our side and we will score some much-deserved points. Unfortunately, it didn't happen today because of race incidents."

Dominic Harlow, Chief Race and Test Engineer:

"It was a thoroughly disappointing afternoon. Obviously, with the number of cars that were eliminated during the race, we could have perhaps hoped for something to come out of it."

"All in all, we've just got a lot of damage and possibly a transmission-related issue with Christijan's car, which led to his eventual retirement."

"Tiago, uncharacteristically, found himself caught up in a racing incident that prevented him from continuing. That's all there is to say about this afternoon. Now, we have look forward to testing next week and pressing on with our developments."

Johnny Herbert, Sporting Relations Manager:

"It was very disappointing to have that situation on the first lap. From what we've seen, it just looked like a racing incident, with lots of cars squeezed together and it was just unlucky that Christijan sustained some damage in the fray."

"And then, on the re-start, Sato clobbered into the side of Tiago, so that put paid to his race. It was a very messy, unfortunate result for us, because we had a good start to the weekend but, disappointingly, we didn't finish that way."

Tiago Monteiro
Chassis: M16-04
Starting Position: 15th
Classification: RET, 9 laps completed (+64 laps)
Fastest Lap: 1:22.036 at 13:19:41, 13th overall (+9.317 from fastest lap of the race)

Christijan Albers
Chassis: M16-02
Starting Position: 14th
Classification: RET, 37 laps completed (+36 laps)
Fastest Lap: 1:14.731 at 13:51:31, 12th overall (+2.012 from fastest lap of the race)

-mf1-