David Coulthard in 2005
David Coulthard in 2005Qualifying - 7th
"The car's brake balance seemed quite predictable this morning, although we put more aero in the car for qualifying, to counterbalance the understeer. Despite that, I didn't get it quite right going into Turn one on my qualifying lap, as I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. "The rear of the car was a little bit nervous on the warm up lap, so I took caution through Turn one and then built up my speed from there. The Porsche Supercup had run before, which meant the track was a little slippery, but it was the same for everyone and, overall, I'm quite happy with the time I set. Apart from the first sector, the rest of the lap was tidy enough, so hopefully we're going to have a good race tomorrow and get some points. That's how we started the season so that's how we want to finish it."
Race - 9th
"That was pants. With every safety car we went backwards, but that's the way these things work sometimes. Safety cars either work for or against you. We made our pit stop one lap before it came out, which cost us, but there was also some confusion with Jenson and Montoya. I overtook them both and came up along side the safety car. I slowed down to clarify the safety car wanted me to pass, but they both re-passed me alongside the safety car and re-took position. I asked Charlie Whiting (FIA) for clarification during the race, to find out if it was allowed, but it never came from the FIA. I know it's very confusing in those situations, as there's lots of traffic and cars, but it undoubtedly cost me some points. Christian scoring four points is great for the team and it concludes what's been a very positive first year for Red Bull Racing. We'll be back next year and, hopefully, be even stronger."
Brit-F1 Star Rating 
(5 star max)
Qualifying - 6th
"I was a bit concerned that all the standing water on the track would prevent me from heating the tyres up properly for my qualifying lap, but actually it was not so bad. There's more understeer in the car when you use intermediate tyres rather than full wets, but you gain more rear stability meaning the car doesn't slide about as much on the entry to corners. Before this lap, we hadn't run the car on intermediates at all this weekend, so I had to just find the feeling of the car on the out lap. I don't think I could have done anymore being first out as I'd had no sight of the track beforehand."
Race - 6th
"From the team's point of view, we've got to be satisfied, as there are some strong teams out there. I had a good battle with Jenson (Button) in Turn one and our pace was good at the start. It was only after the fuel stop I began to struggle. We have to put quite a lot of fuel in our car, which can upset the balance. However, as more fuel gets burnt off, it improves. It's happened quite often this year - we put fuel in the car and lose some performance in the middle stint of the race compared to the others. We were competitive with Williams all weekend, and they finished fourth, so, while we'll gratefully take the points, I was hoping for more."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 15th
"We've been struggling a bit this weekend. We trimmed the wing this morning to try and achieve more speed, which is just one of the compromises we've had to make. I was suffering with understeer on my qualifying lap, which meant I lost some time on the tight turns. But, I think we've got a reasonable fuel load ahead of tomorrow's race and we've done the best we can with the tools on offer, so now it's just a question of seeing what the race brings."
Race - Retired
"I made a good start and got my front wheels inside the two Williams' of Webber and Pizzonia. As we approached the first corner, I was between the two cars and thought it was going to come down to what happened in the braking zone, but we never made it there. Antonio was moving over from right to left, to try to get the better position, but as Mark (Webber) was on the other side of me, there wasn't anywhere for me to move to. All the cars touched, Antonio spun in front of my car and, I think, also hit Mark. I lost my front right wheel and that was pretty much it, I was out of the race. I'm surprised if Antonio didn't know I was there as I didn't make a dive under braking, but had gained position through acceleration from the start line. In that situation, everyone should maintain position. If the cars start to squeeze together, I can't make mine invisible! It's brings to an end what's been a pretty shit weekend."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 11th
"It's not been such a great weekend for us so far, due to the changeable weather. We had limited time on the track yesterday and, as a result, we're a bit on the back foot now. Neither Christian nor myself know the car well enough to push flat out here. We can nail the fast corners no problem, but on the medium speed ones we're struggling to know how much momentum we can take through the turn. I definitely think the car was capable of going quicker in qualifying than it did, but following yesterday's lack of track time, we didn't have the confidence to push. It's going to be difficult to get points here and the best chance for us will be if we see some varied weather tomorrow."
Race - Retired
"That's the first engine failure we've had since December. We have to accept that these engines are stressed and occasionally one will have a fault; but obviously it's too early to know what exactly caused it. We took a punt on the dry tyres as we thought the safety car would be out for a long time, which would give the slicks a chance to get up to temperature. As we must now use one slick tyre for the race, it has to be a hard compound to last the distance. That makes it more difficult to get it into its operating window in terms of temperature; so putting a slick tyre on a damp track doesn't work. On the other hand, intermediate tyres on a dry track will overheat so you end up with this no-man's-land area where no tyres fit. It's very entertaining for the crowds, but it's dangerous for us because while the wet tyres are burning up, the slick tyres, as we saw, don't work in these conditions."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 10th
"No big events during that lap; the balance of the car was good, but it was capable of going quicker. I wasn't entirely happy with my performance in qualifying and think it's fair to say that Christian wasn't either. I wasn't really able to feel the car enough on the warm up lap, it felt a bit numb, so I couldn't tell how hard to push. As a result, I was a bit too conservative going into the first chicane and lost a couple of tenths by braking too early. It's frustrating when that happens, as once you've taken the decision, it's difficult to make up the time after. Nonetheless, I think we've got good experience of the car on this track and it's certainly possible for the team to score some points."
Race - 15th
"I must say, I'm very disappointed. As a team, we felt we had a chance to pick up some points here, but we've come away with nothing and a bad qualifying slot for the next race. At the start, I made it around Turn one okay, but in Turn two where all the cars concertina up, I touched the back of Fisichella's car and broke my front wing. I then had to make a pit stop, which lengthened my race strategy. I was battling with (Mark) Webber for the remainder of the race, and the team managed to get me in front of him during his pit stop. However, I was having difficulty balance-wise and he was able to pass me again later on. I've just looked at my car in parc fermé and the barge-board, the little deflector behind the front wheel, seems to be jammed at 45 degrees and stuck in the suspension, whereas it should be sitting in line with the chassis. That must have happened in the first-lap incident and was probably what was affecting the car's aerodynamics and balance."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 12th
"We were lucky to get away with twelfth there! It's difficult to know what to expect when you're driving on new tyres; we ran on a new set this morning and were actually slower than we had been on scrubbed ones. As a result, I was cautious at the beginning of the qualifying lap when the grip levels were a little unpredictable. As the lap progressed, I began to push a bit more, but ran wide at Turn eight and nine due to dust that my tyres had picked up on that part of the track. It's a challenging circuit that's for sure. There are lots of difficult corners, but the trickiest thing is the bumps. When the car unloads over those, things get pretty interesting!"
Race - 7th
"Well, that was a pretty good result. I was happy with the overall performance of the car throughout the race and, although we still have a few issues regarding the down-force level at top speed, the balance of the car felt good. We had some understeer at the start, but made a wing adjustment during the first pit stop to create more down-force and after that it was much better. Otherwise, there were no issues at all during the race and I'm happy we collected three points."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 13th
"I'm a little disappointed. I had a little bit of a wobble at Turn one and know I could have extracted more time in the middle section, but that's what I achieved today. It's now a question of looking ahead to the race. I didn't give myself the best preparation for qualifying this morning as I went off the track on my new tyres, and that was effectively the only time I had to try them out before qualifying. I knew I was always going to give away a little time after that, but we'll just have to see what we can do tomorrow."
Race - Retired
"A double whammy and a bad day for Red Bull Racing. I now know that I hit the nose of a Renault, but at the time I didn't see anything until it was too late. I had just enough time to react, but not nearly enough to get out of the way, so it smashed the front corner of my car. I couldn't distinguish the shape of the debris and was going too fast to react to it. I was lucky not to have had a bigger accident really, debris on the track is very dangerous and as soon as a car hits something like a wing, then it's likely that you're going to get a puncture. Finishing like this is very frustrating, not only because it means no points in this race, but also means a bad start for the next one. I'm very disappointed for both Christian and myself."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 11th
"I locked up at the hairpin, ran a little wide and lost a couple of tenths there. It's always difficult to make the time back up again after something like that, but that was a better qualifying lap than what we've experienced recently. We got closer to the times we set during the morning practices, and I think we're looking in pretty good shape ahead of the race. It depends what everyone's strategy is for tomorrow of course, and also how quick or slow they are before they make their first pit stop, but I won't be the first in, that's for sure. Hopefully I'll be able to leap-frog a few positions during the race, particularly if I don't manage to at the start."
Race - 7th
"We felt that we were well set up to get points here this weekend. Qualifying was very close and we performed better than at recent races, which gave us a good foundation for a strong start. From there, we were able to deliver a good race. There are still some inconsistencies with the car that need attention, but we'll continue to work hard and see what we can do in Hungary next weekend."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 13th
"The small electronics problem we had this morning was quickly rectified, but my qualifying lap didn't start so well. We were in a routine of going from sixth to seventh gear before Turn one, then going back down to sixth again, but it didn't happen on that lap. As a driver, there's nothing worse, than going into a corner expecting a shift that doesn't come. I was therefore disadvantaged in the first corner, but other than that it was not so bad. We looked strong yesterday and I would expect that the pace we showed in the first two practice sessions will come through in the race tomorrow. I wanted to qualify in front of Webber, as I think our car is quicker than his in races and his pace might hold us up. We'll just have to hope we're carrying more fuel than he is."
Race - 13th
"I hope that was, at the very least, entertaining for the crowds. Jacques overtook me near the start, but we continued to have a battle with both the Sauber and the Williams. I was able to overtake Mark (Webber) just before my first stop, as we all had different levels of fuel in the car at that time. I was surprised by the inconsistency of the car actually. At the start, I struggled with oversteer, so when we stopped we took a sizeable chunk of aero out of the car. After that, I still wasn't happy with the balance, but then, ten laps before the second pit stop, the car suddenly changed and started going much quicker. So much so, I was struggling to keep up with it! We definitely need to work on a few things, but the support I received from the British fans here, both before and during the race, was fantastic and I hope they enjoyed the show."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 15th
"I'm disappointed. I was hoping to produce a quicker time, something in the one minute 15s, but that's all we could achieve today. The track was a little greasy this morning, so I was being cautious. I dropped a couple of tenths of a second in the first sector, but where I really lost time was Turn eight, the downhill left-hander. The car felt more slippery on the track there than it had done this morning. The balance of the car has been working well all weekend, but we've been struggling to overcome some aggressive understeer."
Race - 10th
"Bugger. I lost a lot of time in traffic during the race and could never make the time up. Let's just look to Silverstone from here."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 16th
"We've lost a little balance in the car since yesterday, after altering the tyre pressure. We've had to increase the pressure because we're competing on such an unusual track here. The actual qualifying lap itself wasn't going too badly in terms of balance, until the back straight going into Turn eight. I lost control of the back end of the car and quite a lot of time. We set some good laps yesterday, but with limited time in the car this morning, I've been prepared for a tricky weekend."
Race - Retired after parade lap due to tyre safety concerns
JOINT PRESS RELEASE FROM THE MICHELIN TEAMS 2005 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
Indianapolis (USA), 19th June 2005.
The Michelin teams deeply regret the position that they have been put in today and would like to apologise to all the spectators, TV viewers, Formula One fans and sponsors for not being able to take part in today's USA Grand Prix.
Following Ralf Schumacher's accident on Friday morning, we were advised by Michelin that none of the tyres that were available to the teams could be used unless the vehicle speed in turn 13 was reduced. Without this Michelin did not consider the tyre to be safe to be used for the race.
All the teams are confident in Michelin and trust their advice as we know they are competent and responsible and their written instruction to us not to race unless changes to the circuit were made was accepted.
After final data from Michelin became available at 06.30 on Sunday morning it became clear that Michelin were not able to guarantee the safety of the drivers. Numerous discussions and meetings took place to find a safe solution to the problem. Every possibility for the race to go ahead in a safe manner was explored. The only practical solution was for a chicane to be installed prior to Turn 13 and nine of the teams were prepared to run under these conditions even forgoing championship points or by allowing non-Michelin teams to take top positions on the grid.
Unfortunately all proposals were rejected by the FIA.
Safety is always the first concern of any team and the FIA. Regrettably the teams were obliged to follow Michelin's requirements not to race.
We are totally aware that the USA is an important market for Formula One and there is an obligation for Formula One to promote itself in a positive and professional manner. It is sad that we couldn't showcase Formula One in the manner we would have liked today
Qualifying - 12th
"As you can see from the lap times, we're struggling on this circuit. We don't seem to have the top speeds on the straights here or the same speed through turns compared to where we normally are, but it's one of those things. The car feels similar to how it did in Germany and we posted a good result there. Maybe we can hope for another incident such as the one on the first corner in Nürburgring! We'll just have to see how things turn out tomorrow."
Race - 7th
"That was a difficult race. I was struggling with quite a lot of oversteer in the car, which made it tricky to drive, especially in the early stages of the race. At various points, we had a very good pace, but now it’s about trying to work with the car to get a handle on the consistency. But, we’ve come away from this event with three points and that's got to be good."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 12th
"We're struggling a bit here. In Monte Carlo we had the advantage of knowing the circuit very well; but we'll do what we can. The track conditions had changed since the morning. It seemed dirtier following the Porsche Supercup race and the track temperature had increased. I think it got up to 47° C, which can affect the car's balance. We dropped some aero out of the car after this morning's practice, but I still had some over-steer and locked up in to the hairpin. It's always a compromise when you have fuel on board and such high temperatures. I don't think we could have done anymore than be in front of the two BARs."
Race - 4th
"I was very happy with the start of the race. I'd said to the team beforehand that I was planning to stay on the inside on the first corner, as we've seen incidents there in previous years. We had a very good first sector and were competitive. I was disappointed that I made a mistake trying to get out in front of the Minardi in the pit lane. I came off the speed limiter fractionally early and picked up a penalty, which cost us a podium. But, we've got to be satisfied with what we've done here today and I'm happy with the result."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 7th
"It was okay, not a mega performance, but not bad. The team's working hard to get points so I hope to get a good result here. There were no big moments and, strategy wise, we'll find out in the race whether it was a good lap or not."
Race - Retired
"There's not so much to say. Albers spun his car going into the corner, so I slowed down to avoid him. However, Michael couldn't see me and he hit the back of my car, which damaged the back wing and rear suspension. For that to happen twice in one weekend… well, lets just say it's pretty bad luck."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 10th
"I was a bit too cautious in the final sector of my lap, so I think I could have got another half second out of the car. We have done a slightly better job in qualifying here than we did in Imola, but I think we still need to get more out of the car's potential. That is the only way for us to move forward. Having said that, I am reasonably comfortable with the race balance for tomorrow."
Race - 8th
"Another point which is very valuable for the team. Obviously it was quite a difficult race in many respects. On my first set of tyres I had some understeer and that switched to oversteer with my second set which slowed me a bit. In the final stint the car was better balanced until I flat-spotted a tyre which gave me a lot of vibration and affected my visibility, so that I had to judge my braking points from memory. My eyeballs are still rolling around in my head! But all in all I am quite happy with my race. I did not make any mistakes and I brought home a point."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 15th
"Not really a good one this afternoon. I was a bit cautious going into Turn 1, because Tonio had said he picked up some understeer there and if you overshoot there, you can lose about half a second. So although the rest of the lap wasn't too bad, I'd already lost the time. Generally, we seem to be struggling a bit here. On a more positive note, it's fantastic that the team has secured a Ferrari engine deal for 2006."
Race - 13th
"At the start I was a bit slow away from the grid. I was running around ok but then had a bit of a bump with Massa, which broke part of the floor. We went backwards from there and never really came back. The race was pretty lonely actually, just going around in circles. The car didn't have great race pace - we knew that from yesterday - so I was expecting to struggle a bit. But I still thought I'd have a better balance than I did. There was a lot of oversteer."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 14th
"As far as the balance of the car goes, I had a lot more understeer this morning, which is what you would expect with more fuel on board. I don’t seem to have managed many good laps here, but this was definitely the worst one of the weekend. I drove an untidy lap and I just wished I could start all over again. I’m not making excuses, but I also got a bit distracted, seeing the Ferrari parked at the side of the track. Hopefully, things will go better in the race and I am sure Christian has a good chance of scoring points, as he seems to have got well tuned into his car this weekend."
Race - 8th
"At the end, Barrichello was a lot slower in his braking area and kept overshooting, so I pretty much lined him up for a couple of laps and I knew I was going to have a go on the last lap. A point out of a difficult weekend is encouraging but now we need to do a total investigation of where we are with the car because I just struggled badly in the race and in qualifying."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 8th
"I’m not unhappy with the lap although it was a little bit messy in the last sector when I ran onto the kerb in the high speed chicane and missed one shift pulling into turn 14. It’s going to be difficult but reliability is going to be the key thing as well as fuel strategy. This is a journey of discovery and we will know a lot more about how this car functions after this Grand Prix."
Race - Finished 6th
"Our car ran faultlessly but it's more difficult to drive here than in Australia and I got caught out on turn 4 on one of the laps but apart from that it was okay. I think we have to be satisfied. It's been an encouraging start to the season so we should say congratulations to everyone in the team. Special thanks should go to Cosworth because they are doing a good job with the engine. Let's count the points and head to Bahrain."
Brit-F1 Star Rating (5 star max)
Qualifying - 5th
“It’s a bit strange going out cold when you haven’t had any practice and dealing with different track conditions. In reality I shouldn’t have been in front of Christian because he had 8 sec on me. From a team point of view we are delighted!
But I’m old fashioned in that respect and I like the sporting challenge. I want to know that if I win, it’s because my team and myself did a better job and if you lose, you’ve got to try harder.”
Race - Finished 4th
"I made a good start and managed to get into third place. I struggled a bit initially with a heavy fuel load, then had lots of trouble with traffic and lost chunks of time. I hit a Minardi at one point. A podium finish was achievable today – that would have been a dream start for Red Bull and at one stage I was beginning to dream a little, but I can’t complain about fourth place. It is much more than we expected. With Christian scoring points as well, it is a fantastic start for Red Bull Racing."
Brit-F1 Star Rating
(5 star max)
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