Grand Prix de France

Question: Congratulations, Heinz-Harald, on your second Grand Prix victory, and on the strategy which enabled you to go through to the finish on one stop. You must be delighted...
Heinz-Harald Frentzen: Well, it's not a decision that I took at that moment. I went into the pits because it had suddenly started to rain quite heavily and everyone was trying to make it into the pits as safely as possible. But then I noticed that the guys doing the refuelling were taking a lot of time, and when I went out again I knew immediately that the car felt very heavy. I was wondering how I was going to be able to keep the car on the road with all the aquaplaning. I was suffering quite a lot and I noticed that the guys around me must have had less fuel, because initially they were able to pull away from me quite quickly. But luckily then the Safety Car was brought out, and there was time for me to have some conversations with the pits by radio. We talked about strategy and why I was so heavy on fuel. It was still pretty tight and I even had to save fuel at one stage, to be sure of making it all the way to the end [without a second stop]. But we have good radio communications and everything worked out well.

Q: About 20 laps from the end you had a moment with an Arrows while you were lapping it at the Adelaide hairpin. What happened there?
HHF: It was very close, and I pulled in very tight [to the inside of the corner]. Then I found I didn't have any gears, and I thought my gearbox had broken. I didn't know what had happened and I had to start looking for gears. That was an adrenalin moment.

Q: Mika, this must have been the most amazing race of your long career in F1. You went from 14th place to 2nd, then you spun and fell back to 8th, and eventually you got back into the lead and finally finished 2nd. Can you talk us through it, please?
Mika Häkkinen: Wow, don't tell me all that at once! So many things happened, but the most important was the psychological strength required today, starting the race from 14th position, not only from me but from everyone on the team. Obviously we have been getting used to starting races this year from the front row, so to be starting from 14th position was a new type of situation for us. The race was just great: good tactics, perfect communications and I was able to push the car to the limit through 80 per cent of the race. Unfortunately it was not one of my best moments when it started raining, because I spun and lost a lot of time. That is the reason why I am sitting here today in 2nd place. But... well, after all, it doesn't matter. It was great fun.

Q: You had a couple of battles with Rubens Barrichello, the last of them for the lead. How did they go?
MH: It's great. Don't worry, Rubens, I am not going to make too many compliments about you! But today has once again proved that we can be professional drivers without banging wheels, even if it is very close competition. We can have great racing without touching each others' cars. This is exactly what motor racing should be. It's also a good example for the younger generation who are racing karts and competing in the lower formulas. This is what racing should be: not banging wheels and crashing into each other. It has to be fair and square. The way Rubens drove today was fabulous. There was nothing tricky, well only a few little things, and nothing serious. It was the same with the other drivers, it was all great fun.

Q: Rubens, you held the lead three times today. Are you disappointed that you only took 3rd place today?
Rubens Barrichello: It's mixed emotions for me. I don't think I need to be disappointed, because I have finished on the podium. This is the second time this season we have been on the podium and there is nothing disappointing about that. While leading the race I had that feeling that it could be ours today. But when it started to rain heavily my car was aquaplaning quite a lot and I was lucky not to spin off. Also, after the first pit stops we had some practice in the wet when my car was getting more and more oversteer. It was quite difficult to drive and I was having to concentrate hard, but even so I was losing time to the McLarens, the Ferraris and the Jordans. So 3rd place is not a bad place to be today.

Q: You had long battles today with both Mika Häkkinen and Michael Schumacher. Did you enjoy that?
RB: I fully enjoyed it. I tried to be as correct as possible, although I was having trouble with oversteer and locking rear brakes. But I enjoy great battles like that and I want to have more fights like that. Now that we have a competitive car I am sure can be up there more often.

Q: Heinz-Harald, two weeks ago in Canada you had such a heavy collision with the wall that there was some doubt over whether you would even be able to race here this weekend. After winning your second GP, and scoring Jordan's second GP victory, what can we expect from you at Silverstone?
HHF: It's another place, another challenge. We will be introducing another engine step with a modified chassis incorporating some new aerodynamic parts. I am very optimistic about the race. Seeing how well we are doing at the moment, I am also very proud for the team. Technically we are doing a great job and I think we can still be up there again at Silverstone.