Luxembourg GP 1998 - Race, Comments

Drivers

David Coulthard

"I have struggled all weekend with the set up of the car and for the
race I tried the qualifying set up again. It seemed to work better but it
was still a difficult race for me in terms of balance but with more rubber
on the track I gained better grip and naturally I am very happy to be on
the podium."


Giancarlo Fisichella

"It is a real shame. I wanted to beat the Williams at all cost as they
were only one point ahead of us in the Constructors Championship. I managed
to pass Frentzen but then I skidded on the oil left by Rosset and he retook
fifth place. I have earned one championship point for sixth position, but I
cannot be happy when fourth position was within my reach."


Mika Hakkinen

"As we demonstrated in this mornings warm up, we managed to solve the
set up problems I had been experiencing in practice over the weekend. This
made driving the car in the race really enjoyable. Our race strategy proved
to be right and the team did a fantastic job of the pitstops to get me out
ahead of Michael on both occasions."


Damon Hill

"The weekend started badly for me here and I suffered as a
consequence. I never really got a balance I was happy with. Although I was
not on top form in qualifying, in today's race I gave it everything I had,
but it was not possible to make up enough places to finish in the
points."


Eddie Irvine

"I made a very good start which was 50% down to my clutch working
really well. Unfortunately, the understeer we got rid of over the course of
the weekend came back this afternoon. I could not have pushed harder or I
would have gone off the track. My tyres were suffering because of this and
that made the problem worse. Mika caught me a little bit by surprise when
he got past. He seemed to close up very quickly in the last 150 metres
before the chicane. I stayed on the right hand side of the track but he
managed to get by. I think the cooler temperatures played against us as far
as tyres are concerned. But now we go to Suzuka, my favourite track, and I
think the final race of the season will be fun!"


Michael Schumacher

"I am a little bit disappointed as I thought we could win the race
today. Unfortunately, we were not quick enough. I could not push as hard as
I wanted to because the technical package was not perfect. We now have to
work as hard as possible in the forth coming tests before the final race at
Suzuka. Four points is not an impossible difference. We will certainly not
give up because we can still win in Japan."


Shinji Nakano

"At the start I kept my position. But with a lot of fuel the car can
not be very fast, of course, therefore at the beginning of the race I could
not push that much. But around the 20th lap, when it became lighter, the
car was really better and I could lap in much quicker times. Anyway, I am
happy that I could finish this Grand Prix with no mistakes and thanks also
to the mechanics who made a very good pit stop (my strategy was for just
one stop, whereas Esteban's was for two."


Olivier Panis

"I got off to a good start. The car seemed to be properly balanced and
was performing well. Unfortunately, I had to take my foot off the
accelerator to avoid Villeneuve and slipped to 16th place. After that I was
able to get up good speed on the straights, but the lack of traction on the
bends effectively stopped me from doing any overtaking. The result was
inevitable. I ended up paying for my poor starting position after
yesterday's disappointing qualifying round. But it wasn't a complete
disaster, we are still continuing to learn. I hope the EV4 engine that
we'll be using at Suzaka will allow us to improve our performance."


Ricardo Rosset

"I made a reasonable start and passed Tuero's Minardi on the run up to
the first corner. The tyres were fine at this point, but then, after five
laps, the chassis started to pick up more and more understeer. After we
fitted a fresh set of tyres at the first pit stop, the balance improved and
I was able to lap quicker once I had let the lead group of cars through.
After a few more laps, the understeer started to creep back in, but then
the engine let go on the pit straight and that was the end of my
race."


Ralf Schumacher

"This was very disappointing as I had the chance to win two more
points for our fight in the Constructors' Championship. My start was not
perfect but we managed to make up several places thanks to an excellent pit
stop strategy. We did a really great job and it is a real shame we had a
brake disc bell failure. The brakes were quite soft for a while, and I
tried to save them for the last dozen or so laps but I was not able to.
These failures happen in motor racing - it's the way it goes
sometimes."


Toranosuke Takagi

"I pushed hard from the start of the race until the very last lap
today. I also had brilliant work from my pit crew, particularly on the
second stop. Despite all that, I finished last, but that is more the result
of bad luck than anything else. As in Hockenheim and Monza, I was able to
race with Verstappen and Salo here at the Nurburgring. The lap times were
extremely close and the only real differences were tyres, chassis set-up
and the points on the circuit where you had to let the faster cars past.
Looking on the positive side, though, I learned a lot about this circuit,
which is very technical, and we finished the race. The result for me was
disappointing, but the team has every reason to be pleased with its
performance - they did everything right. I only hope that with a
combination of good mechanical reliability, slick pit work and my knowledge
of the Suzuka circuit, I can achieve Tyrrell's best result of the 1998
season at the last Grand Prix. It would be a great way to thank everybody
for their efforts this year."


Jarno Trulli

"As far as I'm concerned, the outcome was obvious pretty early on.
After a good start, I felt that something wasn't right. It seems that the
gearbox arm had worked loose, a problem that Olivier had come up against on
Saturday morning. I had to pull out of the race on the sixth lap."


Esteban Tuero

"Right at the start a serious problem at the axle shaft forced me to
go back immediately to the pit: in fact, the right rear wheel did not have
any traction. The part was replaced by the mechanics who made a really good
job, but this took some time, of course, and therefore I went out of the
pit when the other drivers were running their 10th lap. I wanted anyway to
go back to the track, at least to accumulate some more experience on this
circuit, even if I knew that I was out of the race, because to be I needed
to be within 7 laps of the winner."


Alexander Wurz

"Seventh position is not a great result. I got a good start and
improved my grid position by two places. In my first pit stop, I couldn't
engage first gear, I don't know why this happened but I lost a few seconds.
Giancarlo and I had a good battle with Frentzen, but towards the end of the
race I had some trouble with the brakes and I couldn't push as hard as I
would have liked. It was a tough race and everyone else had a good strategy
too, so we have to analyse where we lost time."


Teams

Benetton

David Richards, Chief Executive
"The championship is going right down to thw wire, not just for
Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen, but for third position on the
constructors' title. With five weeks to wait before Suzuka, we have a lot
of time fort testing and every reason to think we can finish in third place
this year."


Ferrari

Jean Todt, Team Chef
"Although our drivers came second and fourth we are very disappointed
as the Constructors' Championship is virtually out of our reach. The
Drivers' tittle is a little more open but it will be very difficult for us
to win. As I said, qualifying is one thing and the race is a different
matter. Our main rival was more competitive than us in the race. We still
have one more race - the Japanese Grand Prix. Mathematically, nothing is
yet lost nor decided. As usual, the team did a very good job. We now have
five weeks ahead of us. We will try and improve the car in that time,
without neglecting work on the new car for next season."


Jordan

Eddie Jordan, Team Owner
"A very frustrating day! It is disappointing to have fourth place so
tantalisingly close and to see it go, especially when Ralf and the team had
done such an outstanding job to beat the competition. Considering we have
had five consecutive races without any failures, I suppose the law of
averages said we were due one here. But our fight is not over yet. We have
five weeks ahead of us to put together the best possible package for
Suzuka."


McLaren

Ron Dennis, Team Chef
"Probably the most important race in the history of the company.
Today's race puts us in a very strong position for the Constructor's
Championship and of course gives Mika the opportunity to win the World
Championship. We shall enjoy the celebrations today but we will be focusing
on Suzuka from tomorrow."

Norbert Haug, Sporting Director Mercedes Benz
"The weekend did not start so well but it ended in a fantastic way.
Mika proved that he can win under very difficult circumstances and David
did a great job in finishing third. Last year we lead here but dropped out.
This year, I think we can say, that our learning curve is heading in the
right direction."


Minardi

Trevor Knowles, Ford Cosworth Support Engineer
"After Esteban's first lap's problem I thought I had the afternoon
off, but I did not reckon on the resources of the Minardi Team, getting him
back onto the circuit again. His engine did not give any problem, so the
work was not wasted. Also Shinji's engine ran smoothly through the race and
the two car finished."


Prost

Alain Prost, Team Owner
"Jarno had problems with his gearbox and Olivier, despite a fine
effort, simply wasn't in a position to take on the competition. It's clear
our performance wasn't good enough to put us up there among the lead
cars."

Corrado Provera, Peugeot Sport Director
"We always said the 1998 season would be a time of learning. Today's
Grand Prix at Luxembourg, where we made some important discoveries about
our cars' performance, only confirms that view."

--- Msged/386 4.20 beta 4