For the Record: the 2005 season in quotes

March

Minardi seek legal action to race in Australia; FIA threatens Australian racing; Fisichella takes easy win at Australian GP; Davidson replaces Sato in Malaysia; Alonso cruises to Malaysian GP win; Montoya injured while playing tennis; de la Rosa takes Montoya's place in Bahrain.

"It was a positive experience to suffer not a single engine failure during the long period of track testing, which we have never achieved in the run up to the season in the years before."

"As of now, Wednesday afternoon, the situation is that Minardi will not be competing in Sunday's race because (Jean) Todt has refused to agree to our request."

"Ferrari are a war machine, they're lethal."

"Paul's been a bit of a nuisance since day one, but we have protected him. Regretfully, there is now no place in Formula One for someone like him. If you can't sustain running a team then you should get out."

"Max (Mosley) is threatening to cancel the Australian Grand Prix. I stated at the time my total disgust at such threats."

"As far as I am concerned what we are doing here is rapidly pushing the Formula One World Championship to its destruction. The wounds are getting so deep now there is not going to be any healing."

"He retired once in July and he needs to do it again."

"We're here, we're going to fight. It's still our old car and the new car is going to give us even more pleasure."

"We've made it too easy for Michael. He's relaxed out there like a taxi driver. Sticks his arm out and just cuts in."

"Personally I've set my sights higher this year. I've got more experience and I feel I belong in the top group of drivers."

"Ferrari have brought this on themselves. How can they be so arrogant as to start the season with the old car? On top of that, they're going it alone with their own tyre contract."

"The stupid thing is that the teams spend a fortune on testing, a real fortune. We shouldn't have the necessity in this sport to spend money to be competitive. That is what we are trying to cut down on. And Ferrari are doing the opposite."

"With the F2005 we can really fight the opposition."

"Ferrari have to take the blame. I think that Michael is not responsible for their poor results. I pity him since he is the wrong man to accuse. As far as I know my brother, he aches to go out there and prove everyone wrong."

April

Ferrari debut F2005 in Bahrain; Alonso Wins Eventful Bahrain GP; Liuzzi replaces Klien at Imola; BAR sign de Ferran as sporting director; FIA change third driver rule; Midland buys Jordan's wind tunnel; Wurz replaces Montoya at Imola; Williams sign Rosberg as test driver; Minardi debut new car at Imola; Ferrari announce Red Bull engine deal; Briatore renews Renault contract; Alonso wins heart-stopping race at Imola; FIA investigate BAR cars after Imola; Adrian Newey extends McLaren contract.

"Juan Pablo told us it was tennis. I don't care - that's what we were told. If he hasn't told the truth, he hasn't told the truth."

"To bring the new car here was a fantastic effort. Seeing the car racing, it was very competitive and from now on I think we will be very competitive. That's the way I look at it."

"The only problem Ferrari still has is easy to repair: the durability and reliability of the new car."

"If Renault win the Championship I will give it all up and go to live on some island."

"I knew of Michael because I was racing in go-karts and you always know the big names in Formula One. But I didn't know his face until five years ago."

"There's no way we're going to turn up and not be quicker. It definitely feels like we have turned a corner. It's exciting to come back to Europe from where we started and think we've made a good improvement."

"Our gap to Renault is much smaller than everyone thinks."

"The partnership between Jacques Villeneuve and Sauber Petronas is currently at a difficult point."

"It must have been a bad translation. There has never been a bad moment, we have always got along. I am not sure where that came from and I think he was quite surprised himself."

"It won't be an overnight change, it will be step by step and a hard slog."

"Williams is certainly more than just a team we supply with engines. It is a cooperation that goes beyond engine supply and there is no decision to change that."

"The rules are worse than before, the interest is less than before and this has nothing to do with Ferrari domination. I read the newspaper on Sunday morning without knowing who is on pole position. This is ridiculous."

"The stewards after hearing the explanation of the competitor's representatives and studying all the available documentation decided that the matter requires no further action."

"They're taking a lot of money out of the business, and I'm delighted for them, but it would be nice if they signed a few more autographs, gave a few more interviews."

"We're back on top of things. Our performance at Imola gives us strength and hope for the next races - we're back fighting for the Championship title."

"This team is owned by two blue-chip international corporations with huge integrity. Does anyone really think that we would deliberately do anything against the rules? We've hidden nothing."

"Nick just sits there. He's happy to do that. I refuse to sit there. I'm going to try. I don't want to settle for seventh or eighth."

May

FIA calls for BAR to be excluded; BAR receive two-race ban; Montoya returns after injury; Raikkonen takes dominant win in Spain; Mosley offers Ecclestone an FIA role; teams approve qualifying change; Raikkonen storms to Monaco win ; Montagny replaces Doornbos at Jordan; Head, Newey acquitted in Senna case; BAR return to action at Nurburgring; Heidfeld grabs maiden pole at European GP; Alonso wins in Europe after last lap drama.

"At the beginning of the season it was not a real target for the team or me, but regarding how it's going now it's starting to be a dream getting close."

"I am sure that the court will hear our evidence and see that we are doing everything we can to stick to the rules of Formula One."

"The team set out deliberately to gain an illegitimate and unfair advantage over other teams, an act prejudicial to the interests of the competition and to the interests of motor sports generally."

"There are two teams cheating here. The first one is BAR, as Imola showed, and the other one is Ferrari, who are testing more than what it is allowed in the agreement."

"Under the circumstances, we feel they have been treated rather leniently."

"Now we can certainly better understand why BAR overtook us last year in the Constructors' Championship table. To lose second place was painful, and now it is even more so."

"I don't regret anything I said. BAR has been punished for cheating. The rules are the same for all and if someone goes against them they are risking being penalised. I agree with their exclusion."

"Everybody who was really in the know in Formula One strongly suspected something was going on."

"They know that the whole thing would be out in the open and their case would collapse. We'd have someone cross-examining their witnesses and it would be somewhere between an embarrassment and a disaster."

"While another team might have two wind tunnels, Ferrari has one. Then there's a third team that only has one wind tunnel and doesn't have a test track but decided to spend I don't know how many hundred million dollars on a headquarters."

"If anything happened in Melbourne, it sunk into the sea or something, then we'd be back to Adelaide for sure."

"I wouldn't be surprised if we won a lot more races, maybe more than Alonso, but didn't win the Championship."

"With these new regulations it's more of a World Championship for tyres than for cars."

"I assume that Michael will stop after this season. That is independent of whether he defends the title or not."

"If the tyres we have today worked as well as the brakes, then our Ferrari would win every race."

"I don't think they really want to buy Peter Sauber's team, and I don't think Peter wants to sell it."

"Schumacher can win the title, there are still 140 points at stake, he can do it and obviously I don't think he can be considered old."

"How serious could it have been? It could have been me and a few people in the hotel dead."

"A World Champion like him does not need to do things like this. We could have ended up out of the race. I wouldn't have done it."

"Michael's crazy. He should have switched on his brain before he tried that move. One more millimetre and one of us could have been dead. Sometimes Michael is just not right in the head."

"We are coming back and I feel the Ferrari team will be very strong from now to the end of the year and we will be winning races hopefully very soon."

"Let me say this more clearly so you can write it down: I'm not thinking about quitting."

June

Speed lands third Red Bull seat; Carlin steps down from Jordan; Raikkonen wins action-packed Canadian GP; FIA unveils proposed changes for 2008; Ralf taken to hospital after Indy crash; Zonta replaces Ralf in US GP; Trulli secures first pole for Toyota; Michelin teams withdraw from US GP; Schumacher wins farcical US GP; Michelin teams summoned by FIA; lawsuits filed over US GP; BMW confirm Sauber buyout; Michelin offers US GP tickets refund.

"I have a black book in which I keep a record of plus and minus points. And Jacques got some severe minus points for his manoeuvre in Monaco."

"Our partnerships in the past with Renault and Honda have been more successful and co-operative. You never had this constant finger-pointing. We do not constantly ask why BMW had some 150 engine failures in 2000 alone."

"In this team, the driver has no influence. The only thing that matters is aerodynamics. It's not what I thought, it's not what I had been told."

"Everyone knows that we are in discussions and we expect to reach an agreement in June. This story of a sale is not true."

"That's just gossip. Next year I will still race for Ferrari. These alleged rumours come from language misunderstandings in the translations."

"Maybe we are better than I actually thought originally."

"I'd rather crash in third than finish fourth."

"Indianapolis represents a real challenge because tyres have to cope with sustained heat build-up for more than 20 seconds as cars negotiate the season's longest flat-out section, which incorporates the banking and the pit straight."

"I don't believe that Michael will be driving for very much longer. He's not having that fun at the moment and I'm very anxious to see what will happen if it stays like that until the end of the season."

"After last season, they became big-headed and arrogant again. Suddenly, they're back where they were when they started. If you've never been at the top, it's not a problem. But once you get a glimpse of what you can get when you reach the summit, then it's hard."

"As it stands today, we would advise the teams that they shouldn't race."

"Nine teams want to have the chicane. At the moment it looks like it will be non-Championship. We will be ready to go out of the pitlane at 1230 with our two cars as will the other nine cars. If there's no chicane no one will go from the pitlane. It's only down to Ferrari."

"Ferrari are just preparing for the race. We are focused on this 100 percent and there are a lot of rumours, but it is up to the FIA to decide."

"I don't believe they're building [the chicane] and I don't believe it can be built in 20 minutes, so unless something dramatic happens, there won't be a race."

"As a driver I am embarrassed by this situation."

"It's terrible. It should never have gotten to this."

"Formula One is damaged, very damaged, maybe irrevocably so in North America."

"It is not pink."

"We screwed up."

"Today did not happen as far as I'm concerned. I don't care about the points, I'm not in the slightest bit interested, this was a sad day for Formula One. The damage is immeasurable."

"They were totally innocent in this affair entirely. They had no reason not to race."

"I don't think there is enough satisfaction there for me."

"Max just wants to humiliate us. I fear this is not a battle we can fight and win. Even Bernie was humiliated by Max last Sunday and now he wants to humiliate us."

"The fact is that the referee is often unpopular, it's something you can't avoid."

"I'm staying with Ferrari at least until the end of next season. My contract doesn't even have a buyout clause."

July

Panis drives third Toyota in France; Michelin teams plan Indy race; Alonso wins for Renault in France; FIA submit 2008 rules draft; Red Bull extend Coulthard's contract; Montoya takes first win with McLaren at Silverstone; FIA Senate absolves Michelin teams; Red Bull commit to F1 beyond 2008; Minardi replace Friesacher with Doornbos; Jordan commit to F1 beyond 2008; FIA cancels US GP verdict; Alonso cruises to German GP win; Jordan sign Herbert for management role; Toyota confirm engines for Jordan in 2006; Raikkonen eases to Hungarian GP win.

"If Ferrari called me I'd go there immediately. But I don't think there is the possibility for now."

"The start of the race was just unbearable. I went to a corner and I cried for 15 minutes."

"Lots of people don't like Max Mosley, that's clear. I like Max Mosley, so that's the first fundamental difference. I like him, I rate him, I appreciate what he does, and I respect what he does. They (the other teams) don't like him, they don't rate what he does and they don't want him to stand again for (presidency of) the FIA."

"I haven't written off the title. We're not as far away as many people think."

"These are voices that come from someone who hates me since we were children. I ask you: what would be my interest in damaging Giancarlo's races when our main target this year is to win the Constructors' Championship."

"I think I am exceedingly more disappointed than ever this year. I think F1 has brought itself into disrepute. It is a great shame for the sponsors, the team owners and the manufacturers. They deserve better and if they don't deserve better, then the fans do. I also think what happened in America was an outrage, a disgrace, and it should not have happened."

"I don't feel like promising big things to my fans. I'm not thinking about victory at all but I'll do my best to get on the podium at least. I must admit I feel fairly pessimistic."

"If Michael is not prepared to stand up and be counted, I am sure there are those who will excuse him from his duties on the GPDA. If he has got a good reason and good logic, which the drivers accept, then he stays. If he hasn't, then he doesn't stay - that's called democracy."

"We do have an existing contract for Jenson for 2006. We fully expect him to arrive at Williams at the due period of time. There is nothing that will change that."

"I don't think I can count myself in this battle anymore."

"I don't have a great deal of faith as we sit here today. But we have an agreement (with Formula One Management) to have a race and until we feel compelled to try to change that, it's certainly our preference to have it."

"If you look at what is happening currently, it is quite clear which tyre brand you must have."

"I can understand Williams's situation, but Frank has to understand mine as well. To be competitive next year, any team has to be with a manufacturer that is fully involved. The position has changed a lot with Williams from last year. A racing drivers' career is short, so you have to make the best you can of it."

"We still look forward to winning several more races this season, that's the main target that's left for us."

"The team was sold with all the contracts in place. I am not even questioning it."

"We are slipping away a little bit too much now. We still have a chance but I think we have to be realistic. It is not (achievable) without any problems to anyone else."

"I don't think any team wants a driver that would like to be racing for somebody else. I can't see why anybody would want that."

"A deal is a deal. A contract is a contract. I must explain that to Jenson."

"Jenson is emphatically, in capital letters, not for sale. We are a serious racing team, we need him."

August

Ferrari sign Massa to replace Barrichello; Rossi tests for Ferrari again; Williams-Cosworth deal made official; BAR confirm Barrichello for 2006; Raikkonen dominates the Turkish GP; Williams and Gavin Fisher part ways.

"Why did Piquet have to come up with this story? Wouldn't it be better if he followed his son in GP2, who by the way doesn't seem to be doing too well? There's been lots of confusion in Brazil too."

"Takuma needs to put in decent performances for the rest of the year but the door is still open."

"I am very happy and proud to be racing with Ferrari in 2006."

"I undoubtedly benefited from Raikkonen's failures in the first Grands Prix. But I don't like talks of luck, because I don't believe in it and because Renault worked really hard to be ready - performance- and reliability-wise - from the Australian GP."

"He's fantastically good. And I have to say I think it was a mistake for him to go to Renault. Why? Because, after one year with Sauber, he had an excellent reputation - but who wants him now?"

I had a great time at Sauber and Peter is a fantastic person, but I have no regrets. If I had stayed there I would not have scored the pole position and win in Australia and would not have contributed to Renault's leading position in the Constructors' Championship."

"The situation is very simple in lots of ways. If Jenson stays there won't be a race seat for Takuma, you don't need to be a mathematician to work that out."

"To have a driver like Rubens who has winning experience and a massive experience in Formula One is certainly a help for BAR. I think it's a good thing. Hopefully I will stay there."

"It was so stupid...he's the first one to talk about it all the time in the briefings - you don't move position in the braking zone for safety reasons and to avoid this kind of problem."

"I can't reveal the laptimes, because Ferrari do not want to. But if you take into account how I improved, I would say the lap times were fine. So yes, I could be fast in Formula One as well."

"As long as he wants to stay in F1, he has a Ferrari car available to him."

September

Red Bull confirm Speed as test driver; Pizzonia replaces injured Heidfeld at Williams; Philip Morris renews Ferrari deal; Montoya wins the Italian GP; BMW sign Heidfeld for 2006; Red Bull complete Minardi buyout; Bridgestone confirms Williams deal; Red Bull extend Michelin deal; Raikkonen wins incident-filled Belgian GP; Heidfeld injured again at home; HP ends Williams sponsorship; Button confirms he will stay at BAR; Montoya leads McLaren 1-2 in Brazil, Alonso takes title.

"Where I drive next year depends on what Frank (Williams) decides to do. I believe Jenson will be here. He has a contract and he should honour it. If he doesn't it will create a big mess in Formula One."

"I have heard the Red Bull rumours and they are the kind of serious people that I would talk to. But at the moment the story doesn't have any legs - although that is not to say it won't have in the future."

"Mark Webber will be the next Australian World Champion - in boxing, not Formula One."

"This proposal to work with a single tyre manufacturer in reality conceals a fundamental issue: the reduction of the role of the tyre to that of a banal component with no other added value than permitting Formula One cars to be mobile."

"The doctors in the hospital are of the opinion that I should in all probability be fit to race at Spa."

"This Championship is over, at least for me. I have been champion for a long time and I am more surprised by how long it has been. I always knew it would end one day."

"He's a very talented driver. I think he has surprised us by his calmness, considering he is from Spain."

"When we won a GP with four tyre changes we did something technically and sportively exceptional. I don't like a dumbed down F1, with taxi drivers on worn out tyres. I'm against this version of F1."

"After such a strange and tormented season, I'd like to have at least once a Ferrari that will allow me to fight for a victory. That's all I would like from 2005; am I asking too much?"

"My 2005 season was useful for Renault: everything got broken, so the operations on my car allowed Fernando to get through the problems unharmed. The result is Alonso leading the Championship, a bit thanks to me."

"I said before that I had spoken to Red Bull but not necessarily about the team. Since then, there is not a lot to add. There is an interest from Red Bull but it may still turn out to be an interest in drivers as apposed to an interest in the team, but I don't know."

"Formula One is not a one-man band. We don't pay $20 million or $30 million for one man. There are 800 people in this company and everything they do is important to the result we get on a Sunday afternoon."

"From a purely personal standpoint, I am going to be very sad to leave this paddock and the sport I love."

"If the control tyre is adopted, Michelin would seriously consider withdrawing from F1 competition."

"We've often experienced Hara-Kiri reactions from him in the past and that was another one today. We've talked to him about it in the past. I don't know what sort of therapy might help him."

"I don't think he's given anything to Formula One. I had a few opportunities at the beginning when he took over Minardi to meet him, then he came a few times with the two-seater and allowed Michael to (drive). I would say I changed my feeling over the last period, so I will not miss him."

"I don't understand BMW and I certainly don't understand Frank. Cosworth's last race win in about 10 years must have been with Jordan in Brazil with Fisi in 2003. No doubt Cosworth will build a brilliant V8 as it's their forte but, sadly, bigger budgets will dominate."

"Jenson is out to do what's best for Jenson, obviously. But why would another team want to sign a contract with him now, because obviously contracts mean very little to him?"

"Raikkonen is really good. He's a killer. That's what he's like. Montoya, in my opinion, isn't."

"With Michael on the track it is much better to win a title."

"We have to be careful in Formula One that we don't end up with the team that spends the most money being the team that wins everything. Because then it's just a spending contest and not an engineering and driver contest. I wish them every success but I hope Toyota don't end up as the Chelsea of Formula One."

"I think I came from a country with no traditions in Formula One and I fought alone, basically, because I had no help from anyone. I got into Formula One thanks to the results and this is the maximum I can achieve in my life."

"It was clear for a while that it would happen maybe now or the next race and I am not sad to lose the world title after all this time."

"I think there is a category of driver that comes from South America, Italy or Spain that doesn't have the discipline required to win the World Championship."

October

Honda acquires 100% of BAR; Sato offered drive by new F1 team; Ferrari mechanic killed in car crash; Montagny parts ways with Renault; Toyota confirm Bridgestone switch; Ralf gives Toyota Japan pole; FIA proposes radical new rules; Raikkonen wins Japanese GP thriller; Sato excluded from Japanese GP; Red Bull confirms Minardi name change; Alonso wins in China, Renault secure title.

"I think Fernando can be as great even if Michael already has seven championships - a crazy number. Fernando has the potential to do that because he is made to be a champion."

"We have nearly reached the point of no return."

"I have been saying this all year, but nobody believed me when I said that Kimi has been lucky. I know that it sounds strange but, of the four or five engine problems he has had, they have always been very close to the race. It's always been last lap on Saturday morning or first laps on Friday."

"I think we are heading now sadly to two series. It is looking increasingly more obvious."

"We never speak about bad luck, we are just not good enough."

"I think we have a dangerous person on the track and we have seen that for a few years. I have nothing against Takuma. He is a nice guy and likeable, but when he is in the cockpit he is a different character. He does not think. He never uses his intelligence. He never listens. So he will make the same mistakes again."

"The biggest thing is they have to do something about people jumping starts. I mean Coulthard went two weeks early. It was like Ralf (Schumacher) in Brazil. With the technology we have, they have to do something. One thousand percent, he went before the lights went out."

"It's not an easy decision to make, I'm still regretting it."

"I keep hearing that stuff about being a worthy World Champion or not. Fact is that he is champion and in my opinion whoever won it, deserves it."

"My stock has gone down. It's not as good as it was when I left Jaguar. But that's what the game is."

"I'm just extremely happy to win the Championship with the second quickest car. It doesn't happen very often but I did it. McLaren are much stronger so I'm more than happy."

"From our point of view very much so, I don't see difficulties in the future, I think it is all going to end up quite peaceful."

"I'm glad it's over now and we can concentrate for next year."

"McLaren completely built up the Constructors' Championship but we won that as well. In the last three weeks everybody built up the Constructors' Championship like it was the most important. What more do we have to do that we have to win that as well? We beat McLaren fair and square. We do the job when we have to do the job. This is the reason we are World Champions."

"In 2001 I arrived at Renault and I said, 'we'll become World Champions in 2005'. We made it, otherwise in December I would have resigned."

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