US GP Williams race notes

The BMW WilliamsF1 Team cannot help but be disappointed with both Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher retiring from the United States Grand Prix within two laps of each other. First to go was Ralf when he spun off on lap 36 and then a suspected hydraulic problem caused Juan Pablo to park his car at the side of the track.

Juan Pablo Montoya "We were doing really well today until I stopped with what I think was hydraulic failure. It is a bit disappointing as I think we could have got a win here which would have been my second F1 win and two back-to-back here would have been brilliant. It didn't happen but we still have the last race. As for the overtaking manoeuvre on Michael, it was good fun, I was just going for it basically."

Ralf Schumacher "Over the entire weekend we didn't manage to get the car's setup right. After my pit stop the handling became even worse. Juan Pablo and myself were on different strategies as we were not sure what the tyre wear would be. It became clear Juan Pablo had the better strategy. The spin was my mistake, I lost the rear under braking for the corner. I had many great weekends and for me this was not so great."

Patrick Head, Technical Director
"We had mixed fortunes, although mostly fairly negative. Juan Pablo was on a one-stop strategy, was definitely very fast and I am confident he was going to be in a position to challenge for the victory. Ralf was on a two-stop strategy. It didn't really work for him, but the car just was not quick enough and on the second set of tyres the handling appeared to be very poor, until eventually it got away from him. Juan Pablo set the fastest lap of the race just before his pit stop and it looks as though there was a failure in the hydraulic system."

Dr. Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director
"After a strong qualifying performance we didn't do well on race day. In the morning's warm-up session the engine of the t-car blew, and we will have to wait until we get back to Munich to find the reason. Juan Pablo was very strong in the race until we suffered a pressure drop in the hydraulic support system and this caused him to park the car. We realise our performance is not consistent yet, especially as we are not always able to do as well as we did in Monza two weeks ago."

Chassis
Montoya: FW23-08
Schumacher: FW23-07