MF1 RACING
2006 European GP Race Report
MF1 Racing overcame some bad luck earlier in the weekend
to claim a reliable two-car finish in the European Grand Prix
at Germany's Nürburgring.
The team now heads to the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona
for next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix where it will be joined
by Giorgio Mondini, who will undertake Friday testing and
reserve driving duties.
Tiago Monteiro (POR), #18,
Chassis: M16-03
Starting Position: 18th
Classification: 12th, 59 laps completed (+1 lap)
Fastest Lap: 1:35.504 at 15:11:37 (+3.405 from fastest lap
of the race)
Quote: "This is the kind of race I
really enjoy. From the beginning of the season, Christijan
and I have never had a chance to compete against one another
under normal race conditions, so this was the first time we
got to mix it up. I think we had a pretty good rhythm compared
to the others, especially at the beginning of the race. I
got a good start and was able to pass a few cars in the beginning,
so I took advantage of that and just pushed like hell from
that point on. I got a good gap and after that it was just
a matter of staying focused coming out of the pit stops. The
car performed really well and stayed balanced throughout the
race. I hardly needed to change my settings, so I have to
thank my engineers and mechanics for that. The gap between
us and the cars ahead is shrinking, and I think the tyres
are improving, as well. Even though we were on a soft compound,
there was still a lot of grip left at the end of the race.
I'm glad we were able to perform well after a relatively shaky
start to the weekend."
Christijan Albers (NED), #19,
Chassis: M16-04
Starting Position: 16th
Classification: 13th, 59 laps completed (+1 lap)
Fastest Lap: 1:35.428 at 15:02:05 (+3.329 from fastest lap
of the race)
Quote: "I had a good start, so I was
quite happy with that, because that's an area we struggled
with in the first four races. And then when we arrived at
the first corner, Coulthard and Liuzzi collided immediately
in front of me, so I lost all my positions as I braked and
swerved to avoid them. After I overtook Montagny, I found
myself behind Tiago, who was being held up by Sato. Fortunately
for my teammate, Sato made a little mistake and allowed Tiago
to get by before too long, but he made things a little more
difficult for me. Anyway, I managed to overtake him after
a few laps, but by that time, Tiago had already run away.
After that, the car was running quite well, I have to say,
and I was able to catch up again. Toward the end of the race,
however, I developed a mysterious vibration in the rear, so
we'll have to analyse that. I think it was just bad luck that
I couldn't finish higher this time, but I hope to do better
in the next race."
Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "Both
Tiago and Christijan drove consistently, but I think that
as a team, we will need to take more risks with our race strategy.
We appear to be reliable again and the speed is improving
from race to race, so we're looking forward to continuing
this trend in Barcelona."
Johnny Herbert, Sporting Relations Manager: "I
think today's race was a step forward for us. We were only
lapped the one time, but we closed the gap during the race,
which was good. We had a much better weekend with a more competitive
qualifying, red flag issue notwithstanding. But I think overall,
it was much more positive for everybody. The team is encouraged
and I'm happy about that. Hopefully, we can keep pushing forward."
Dominic Harlow, Chief Race and Test Engineer:
"We had a reliable, textbook race today. We just need
to get some more performance out of the car and that's what
we're going to go away to find, I hope. In terms of our overall
race time, we're looking more competitive than we were at
the start of the season, and it's heading in the right direction."
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