Patrick Head Q&A
Williams went to Suzuka just three points behind Ferrari in the constructors' championship, and yet for the first time this season the team failed to get either car into the top eight. Juan Pablo Montoya looked like a good bet for victory until a hydraulic leak took him out, while Ralf Schumacher had a crazy race that involved a string of incidents at the chicane, and could not better 12th place. It was an extremely frustrating end to what has been a very good year for the Grove outfit, although obviously all kinds of disappointments in earlier races also contributed to the near miss. However, the team has to be regarded as a serious contender in 2004. Adam Cooper talked to technical director Patrick Head
"Well, these things are not actually bad luck, although you'd have to say the rain affecting Ralf's grid position, there's not much you can do about that. Obviously we've got to do is look at it and try and understand why it's happened, and put it right for next year."
"He was in very good shape, and was in line for a good result. It looks like the problem was in the clutch actuator, but it's too early to be specific about it. He just lost hydraulic oil and that meant no pressure and that meant no systems."
"No, that was the driver pushing the wrong button in the cockpit. It didn't affect his race result."
"He was fast and furious, and ultimately to finish 12th was not a very good reward for the day. So it's disappointing."
"The first few laps were quite good, but there were just too many incidents."
"Obviously we intend to start next year in a much stronger position than last year, and that's very important for us, so we've got to work very hard over the winter and make sure that we correct these problems."
"We certainly intend to be, but you don't know until you actually go out at the beginning of the next year."
"Very impressive. Quite clearly he's been the driver of the last 10 years, and has been absolutely outstanding. Ferrari provide him with a very fast car but a very reliable car, and he makes absolutely maximum use of it."
"I think the points system has a habit of keeping things a bit closer, and not letting anybody run away."
"A little bit, but it's the same for everybody, apart from when you get the weather differences mixing it up."
"There are some changes, but none of them are earth shattering, really."
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