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Sunday team by team: Part 1

Ferrari

A fairly straightforward afternoon at the front for Rubens Barrichello, who held off pressure from Kimi Raikkonen and had the speed to overcome a two-stopping Jenson Button to grab his second consecutive victory. The result guarantees him second place in the drivers' championship. Further down the field Michael Schumacher's Chinese nightmare continued as a collision with Christian Klien, a mid-race spin and a puncture left him down in 12th at the finish.
RUBENS BARRICHELLO: "I had a very good start and I was amazed at the amount of grip I had on the first lap. Kimi pushed me quite hard but I was able to keep a gap. I was not sure I had command of the race until my final pit stop when Ross told me that I should be okay. So, as I left the pits I still pushed flat out and then at Turn 3, I looked in my mirrors and saw no one behind me so I knew I was okay. Towards the end, when I had a lead of about eight seconds, the team told me to back off a bit, but then I had to step up the pace again when Jenson got closer. Also at one point, I had to lap Villeneuve who did not see me at first as he was fighting for position but then he let me through correctly."

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER: "I am happy that Ferrari won today. If one driver fails, the other is there is the way we share our responsibilities, so congratulations to Rubens. This was a slightly more interesting race than I would have wanted! But at least all the unlucky things have come in just one race weekend, so hopefully we will have no more this season. I tried to pass Christian (Klien) when I saw the door was open, but he turned in as I was halfway alongside. It was just a normal racing incident. Then I had a spin as I was following Alonso very closely in his slipstream and lost downforce. Finally, came the puncture on the left rear tyre which cost me a lot of time as I had to drive a long part of the track at very slow speed, coming into the pit much too early which meant the team decided to change my strategy."



A day of mixed fortunes for Williams, which never looked like being able to join the lead battle. Ralf Schumacher was forced out of the race on lap 37 after a collision with David Coulthard at the final hairpin, even though his car only suffered a puncture. The team took so long to inspect the damage that there was little point in the German rejoining. Juan Pablo Montoya enjoyed himself to work his way through the field and finish fifth.

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: "My start wasn't too bad and I was able to pass Olivier Panis, but then I went to the inside and it was so dirty that it was like stopping and everybody passed me back. I tried to regain my position and I overtook Jacques Villeneuve twice but I didn't have enough traction and he just passed me back. It was real fun! In the first part of the race I was stuck in traffic, but the second part was better. I was quite close to Sato but I made a mistake before the pit-stop and it cost me a little but then he made a mistake and I got him back."

RALF SCHUMACHER: "It's a true pity that my race had an early end. My car had a puncture following contact with Coulthard. He tried to overtake me but I think his move was a bit too optimistic. My race had been good until then and I had been fighting in the top five positions. It's true I had lost a place at the start, but all in all I was in a position to collect some useful points."


Kimi Raikkonen continued McLaren's resurgence as a serious force as he took the challenge to Rubens Barrichello in the early stages. But he got leap-frogged by a two-stopping Jenson Button and eventually finished third. David Coulthard had a more incident-filled afternoon after getting stuck behind the Saubers at the start of the race. He collided with Ralf Schumacher at the hairpin on lap 37 and suffered a puncture before coming home ninth.

KIMI RAIKKONEN: "From where I was sitting that was a close and exciting debut race and hopefully the Chinese fans agree. I was able to keep up with Rubens but just lacked that final speed to get past and take the lead. As always we are here to win races and decided to change my strategy in an attempt to get past Rubens with a short middle stint. However it didn't work out and we lost second place to Jenson, but I'm not too disappointed. The car has felt good throughout the weekend and once again my Michelin tyres were working well."

DAVID COULTHARD: "An exciting race with a disappointing outcome for me. As always with a low grid position it is difficult to achieve a decent result particularly as you inevitably get involved in the mid-field battles. There is no doubt that the pace was there, but I got stuck behind one of the Saubers in the opening stages and lost a lot of time. On lap 37 I unfortunately had a coming together with Ralf Schumacher at the hairpin and damaged my left front wheel. I'm sorry for him but it also affected my race significantly as I could have finished higher up in the points. It took me quite some time to reach the pits to replace the wheel. At the end of day the team could have used the points, but at
least we put on a good show in China."



Renault never really got to grips with the Shanghai circuit so it was probably relieved to come away with Fernando Alonso's fourth placed finish from sixth on the grid, after joining BAR and opting for a two-stop strategy. Returning former world champion Jacques Villeneuve spent the race continuing his learning curve with the team to end up 11th.

FERNANDO ALONSO: "It was a pretty good race. We started the weekend with quite a lot of problems, we improved the car throughout the weekend and it got better during the race. I think these five points will be important for the championship at the end of the year. The next two circuits should favour us more than the last ones have and I am feeling good. My motivation his high and I am focused on scoring the points we need to get back second place in the championship."

JACQUES VILLENEUVE: "I learned a lot during the race this afternoon: I know the R24 better, I have got a full race distance under my belt and I have also understood what a 2004-style race is like. To be honest, I just needed too long to get into the rhythm at the start of the race. I made a good start but I hadn't warmed the tyres enough and lost a lot of the positions I had made up. As soon as the circuit rubbered in more and the grip improved, I was able to attack but unfortunately, I couldn't stay close enough behind Webber in turns 9 and 10 - which meant that I was too far behind to try and overtake when we got to the braking zone for the hairpin at turn 14. Even so, I feel ready for Suzuka now."



Jenson Button and Takuma Sato did everything that was expected of them in the Chinese Grand Prix to help further bolster the team's grip on second place in the constructors' championship. Button opted for a two-stop strategy that helped net him second place and outfox McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, while Sato charged through the field from 18th on the grid to finish sixth.

JENSON BUTTON: "It's fantastic to finish on the podium in the first-ever Chinese Grand Prix and to achieve my fourth second place finish this season. We came here needing to keep Renault at bay for second in the championship and a nine-point lead is exactly what we were looking for. It's a great result for the whole team and well done to them for a great job. I didn't get a good start; in fact losing two places off the grid was disastrous. Our strategy was good but it was so hard to push versus the three-stoppers, so in the end I had to concentrate on keeping Raikkonen behind me."

TAKUMA SATO: "This is a great result for the team! I am delighted with our performance today, with one car on the podium and my car starting from the back of the grid still scoring good points. I fought a hard battle having heavy fuel on board, but I was able to enjoy the race and at the end of the day to be able to finish in sixth place is a great team effort. I am happy that we have moved even further ahead of Renault. This first Chinese Grand Prix has been a great success with really exciting racing and I am now really looking forward to the next race at Suzuka."

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