Spanish GP - 2 June 1996
Red Bull Sauber Ford Press Release

It was a shame that the rain in Spain ended my Grand Prix with a spin into the gravel trap, and that I could not repeat the success I had at a wet Monaco two weeks earlier when I finished third, but the Barcelona weekend as a whole has really lifted my spirits.

The Red Bull Sauber-Ford team proved in Monte Carlo that we can challenge near the front of the grid though and I have always felt that we were on the verge of being on the pace for most of this year's races. It's just that I always had some silly little problem on Friday and Saturday which would make race day very difficult.

Barcelona is a circuit I like a lot. There are a lot of really challenging and fast corners, and I also managed to finish second there last year with Benetton which was fantastic. It was good this year too because I finally managed to have a trouble free practice and qualifying and become the first team-mate of Heinz-Harald to outqualify him! People have always said that he is better than Schumacher, so after all the problems I had last year at Benetton alongside him I think I have shown, and will show again, that I can be as quick as anyone out there.

I think Heinz-Harald and I have really fired each other on to try and outpace each other. When I was with Mika Häkkinen at Lotus we had this kind of relationship where if I went quicker then he would go quicker and then I would try and go even faster still. It made the team better because we were all going for the same thing and we both pushed ourselves hard to do that. I hope Heinz-Harald feels exactly the same working alongside me but it has certainly spurred me on - particularly with all the talk that he is quicker than Schumacher.

One of the main reasons why I could get on terms with Heinz-Harald in Spain was that I have managed to get some serious testing done with the team this year. That has helped me get a better understanding of the car and get the car more to my liking. To have that gives you a great psychological boost.

We were just unlucky that the rain clouds opened over the Circuit Catalunya on Sunday and made the race a complete lottery. The car was difficult in the morning warm-up and we set it up so it was too low and aquaplaning everywhere. There wasn't a lot I could do about it and, after a brief spin in the early laps, I eventually spun off into the gravel trap for good on lap 21.

I was disappointed the weekend ended that way, but I think this is the start of something for both me and the team. I'm more settled as a person and, after moving to Monaco over the winter, I've realised that things are a lot easier now. I am right at the centre of Europe and nearer to the team, nearer to test tracks and nearer to Grands Prix.

In fact, I think I am finally enjoying my motor racing once again. With all the problems I had when Lotus was on its last legs, and again last year at Benetton when there was a lot of criticism coming my way, I had lost the desire to really be in the sport but now it is coming back.

I think the same goes too for my close friend Alessandro Zanardi, who is doing quite well in IndyCars this year. He has been really on the pace, leading a few races, and I was really interested in how he would do at the Michigan 500 last month.

He was supposed to phone me to let me know what hotel he was staying at there, but he never did and so I thought I would get my own back. When he came in for his first pit stop and stopped about eight inches before he should, I wanted to leave a message on his answerphone that was like live commentary and telling him all his mistakes. But unfortunately he didn't have an answerphone - although he has promised to buy one soon.

I really think after working with him at Lotus, Alex is probably the best driver I've had as a team-mate. He is such a nice guy, he is a really good friend and he is so down to earth. I am happy that he is doing so well out there, and I think he was always hungry to do something. He has grabbed the opportunity with both hands, given it a shake and made it work, which is good. He has got rid of the curse of Lotus. I hope I can do exactly the same with Sauber-Ford this year.

With thanks to Johnny, Red Bull Sauber Ford and Bob Herbert
This page prepared 17 June 1996. All rights reserved.