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Patrick Head Q&A

Second and third places in Canada meant a healthy haul of points for Williams, but the inescapable fact is that Montreal was a race that the team should have won. For the second time this year Juan Pablo Montoya threw away a possible victory with a spin, while Ralf Schumacher somehow lost out to his brother at the first pit stop, despite Michael having only one lap in which to make up ground. Nevertheless the cars have been very competitive in recent races, adding an extra dimension to the battle with Ferrari. Adam Cooper spoke to technical director Patrick Head



"Yes, I think definitely. There was Juan's spin, and then the lead was lost around Ralf's first pit stop. The stop itself was good, it was quicker than Michael's stop, so one has to assume there was either a problem on the in-lap or the out-lap, because there was only a lap separating the two of them. It's a race we should have won."



"Not really. We knew they would be within five laps, but we didn't know how much."



"There was a technical problem that might have participated in it. For some reason the car wasn't receiving the lap marker, and the gear changing is dependent to some extent on that. I'm told it didn't change down correctly the right number of gears for that corner. He said he was pushing hard, and whatever it was, it was a spin he could have done without. He was 12s behind at the end of that lap at 1.3s at the end of the race, so he was clearly quick enough, but it lost him too much track position."



"We're not separating out driver error, but a driver all the time is dealing with tyres that aren't quite perfect, a brake balance that slightly locks the fronts, and it's not his job at the first thing that isn't perfect to say 'it wasn't me, it was that!' On our side it's up to us to make sure that technical problem doesn't occur again."



"I don't know. That's something for Ralf. His view quite clearly is that there wasn't. I'm not going to suggest that if I was in the car something different would have happened!"



"Yes, it's good, and we're not completely out of the hunt in the constructors' championship. We've got to improve the car, clearly, and try and maintain that position."



"Yes, it's very healthy. Alonso's race was outstanding. In effect he was 20s or so behind around lap 20, when he made our first stops, but from then to his first stop he was doing remarkable lap times, and for the rest of the race he was in quite good shape. For the first 20 laps he was in bad shape, which may be tied in with what Ralf had - he said his first set of tyres grained quite badly, and he had understeer."



"I don't think there was much wrong with his tyres! The Michelin seems to be better in damp or moist conditions on a dry-ish track. And that was what we had in qualifying."



"I don't think so."



"It's been going on for quite some time, and in a way it's a pity that they've been talked about publicly. But they're ongoing, and a conclusion has to be reached between BMW and Williams as to whether we're going to work together beyond 2004. I think it'll be within the next couple of months, or maybe earlier than that."

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