Bahrain Grand Prix – Sakhir, 12th March 2006
Michael Schumacher: 2nd + 1.246 57 laps
chassis 253
Felipe Massa: 9th + 1.09.907 57 laps chassis
252
Temperatures: air 22/20 °C, track 34/30 °C
Jean Todt: “Today we had everything
we needed to win, perhaps we needed just that extra little
bit of luck ! nevertheless we saw that this weekend our car-engine-Bridgestone
tyre package was competitive from the first to the last lap.
This is of fundamental importance for team morale and to show
that we and our technical partners have worked in the right
direction over the winter. This race confirms that there are
four teams capable of winning and Ferrari is one of them.
Michael made it to the second step of the podium. It’s
a pity about that qualifying lap that wasn’t acknowledged
this morning because of the 110% rule, because maybe that
bit of extra fuel would have been enough to stay ahead. However
we say this with hindsight and it’s the sort of thing
that is a typical part of racing and we have to accept it.
Felipe drove a great race: his spin and the subsequent problem
with the tyre change stopped him from doing as well as he
could have done. His performance today is still a good sign
for the rest of the season. We have a lot of work to do but
we’ll do our utmost to fight for the championships.
Today’s result gives an extra boost to the team, the
drivers and Bridgestone.”
Michael Schumacher: “All in all this
is an excellent result and I’m certainly not complaining
about finishing second. If someone would have told us during
the winter months that this is the way we would have finished
the first race of the season, I wouldn’t have believed
them. Today we must be really pleased with the result. On
the other hand, I still have some mixed feelings because it’s
seems that we could have been ahead and could have won the
race. Considering how it ended up, it’s now clear that
the qualifying lap that wasn’t acknowledged in as far
as refuelling this morning was concerned, was the decisive
factor that played against us. It’s a pity, because
yesterday I had to back off because of the traffic. In any
case it’s a great day for us because we know that we
have an good car and we have an excellent potential to develop
during the course of the season and this is very important.
This year the fight for the championship will be very close:
there are several good teams, all of which are capable of
battling for the title and it’s great to be one of them.”
Felipe Massa: “I must say that it
really was a pity. Right from the start of the weekend I had
a very competitive car and it’s a shame that I wasn’t
able to pick up some points. When I spun I was very close
to Alonso and I just touched the brakes but then I lost the
rear end and spun off. During the pit stop I lost a lot of
time to change the right rear tyre and that’s when I
lost any chance of finishing in the points. For the rest of
the race I was flat out all the time and I managed to climb
back up to 9th. It’s a pity that I’ve come away
from this race with no points, but I’m looking forward
to get my own back because I know that we have everything
it takes to perform well.”
Ross Brawn: “Obviously very frustrating
to have come so close to winning a race but after the season
we had last year we can take a great deal of encouragement
from today’s performance. Now we have to work on all
those bits and pieces to find that little bit extra to win
the next race and the one after that. We are in a close fight
at the front and it’s down to us now to get everything
else right and try and win this championship. Felipe was going
very well until he spun and we need to find out what caused
it. He had a very good race after that. When he came in for
the pit stop we had a problem with the right rear gun. The
back-up system didn’t work either. We’re going
to have a careful look and see what caused this error.”
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