The 1999 Italian Grand Prix
10th - 12th September

Sunday - race

STEWART-FORD NOTES AND QUOTES

Weather: sunny and hot (ambient temperature 27°C, track temperature 30°C)

Rubens Barrichello claimed fourth place in today's Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Johnny Herbert retired with clutch failure. The race was won by Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan) with Ralf Schumacher (Williams) second and Mika Salo (Ferrari) third.

JOHNNY HERBERT Car No.17 (SF3-05)

Retired Lap 40

What happened at the start?

'At the exit to the first chicane Panis stopped ahead of me and I ran into the back of him. Fortunately I must have hit him square on because there was no damage to the front wing but the incident allowed everybody to get by me and I dropped down to 20th position.'

You retired with a clutch failure on lap 40 - was there any warning?

'It just suddenly went when I shifted into sixth gear at the end of the pit straight. It sums up my weekend which has been pretty much up and down. I haven't been able to get the car running consistently.'

RUBENS BARRICHELLO Car No.16 (SF3-04)

4th place. Three points

A great race and an emotional day?

'I would like to dedicate this race to Gonzalo Rodriguez who we lost yesterday during qualifying for the CART race at Laguna Seca. He was a good friend and a real fighter. I spent a lot of the time before the race thinking about him.

Could you have finished on the podium today?

' I'm really pleased with today's result. The car felt very good throughout the race and allowed me to drive very aggressively. The team did a great job giving me a car I could run at the front with. A podium finish was very close at one stage but we lost a little time during the pit stop. Third place would have been a nice reward for Jackie and Paul and the whole Stewart-Ford team and for my future fans here in Italy.'

PAUL STEWART, Stewart-Ford Chief Operating Officer

'I'm absolutely delighted. I thought that it would be tough to overtake and maintain position after the pit stop but the strategy we chose worked out and Rubens drove a hell of a race. The most important aspect is moving to fifth place in the Constructors' Championship. Unfortunately Johnny retired with a clutch problem but he kept up a good pace during the race.

NEIL RESSLER, Vice-President, Research & Vehicle Technology, Ford

'A fabulous drive from Rubens. In the first part of the race he put in an impressive performance when he drove past Coulthard, Salo and Zanardi and in the second half when he held off Coulthard. At the end of the day three points take us to fifth in the Constructors' Championship with three races to go. Johnny was also making good progress after being caught up in the confusion at the start but yet again he seemed to have problems.'

Race results from F1today:

Warm up times from F1today:

Saturday - qualifying

STEWART-FORD NOTES AND QUOTES

Weather: sunny (ambient temperature 26°C, track temperature 31°C)

Rubens Barrichello will start tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix, the 13th round of the FIA Formula One Championship, from seventh position. Johnny Herbert qualified 15th.

McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen finished in pole position with a time of 1:22.432. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan, 1:22.926) was second with David Coulthard (McLaren, 1:23.177) third fastest.

JOHNNY HERBERT Car No.17 (SF3-05)

Time: 1:24.594. Position: 15th

How do you account for your lowly position?

'I just didn't get the job done in qualifying which is frustrating. It's no good for me or the team to be down in 15th place. I can't honestly say where I lost the time from this morning.'

What are your race prospects?

'The car has felt good on heavy fuel so that's some small comfort for the race. After last week's test I expected to be on the pace this weekend and qualify well. I've got my work cut out for me tomorrow.'

RUBENS BARRICHELLO Car No.16 (SF3-04)

Time: 1:23.739. Position: seventh

Are you satisfied with seventh place?

'The car felt a lot more unstable under braking this afternoon which cost me some time. I went straight on at the first chicane on my first run which upset my rhythm. I also experienced more understeer maybe because of the track conditions. I should have been top six or better.'

What was your qualifying strategy?

'The timing was important today because we were not sure whether to go for just one flying lap or put in a couple of runs given that the tyres seemed to improve. We also had to choose our moment carefully because there were so many yellow flags out there.'

PAUL STEWART, Stewart-Ford Chief Operating Officer

'Rubens is only three tenths off fourth place but nonetheless this was not a qualifying session to boast about. The track conditions may have changed but it was the same for everyone. Our race strategy is going to very crucial now if we are going to score points.'

MARTIN WHITAKER, Director, Ford Racing, Europe

'The mechanics did a great job in changing the engine on Rubens' car between this morning's two practice sessions when it developed a problem at high revs. The quick turnaround allowed Rubens to get out well before the end of the second session and the rest of today has been trouble-free from an engine point of view. Obviously after last week's test we had expected both cars to be higher up the grid.'

Qualifying times from F1today:

Friday - Practice

STEWART-FORD NOTES AND QUOTES

Weather: Sunny, humid (ambient temperature 27°C, track temperature 32°C)

Rubens Barrichello finished today's Free Practice for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix in 11th place. Team mate Johnny Herbert was 12th.

JOHNNY HERBERT, Car No.17 (SF3-05)

Time: 1:25.511. Position: 12th (37 laps)

Are you satisfied with the session?

'To be honest I thought I could be higher up. We proved last week in the test that the car can work well at Monza. I was reasonably happy with the morning session but I lost the balance of the car towards the end. I can’t put it down to any set-up change I made, it was more due to the track conditions which is a little mystifying.'

Where can you improve the car?

'We are losing time with a little instability under braking, particularly on initial entry to the corners, so that’s an area we can work on. Being able to brake deeper going in is very important at Monza but you have to strike the right brake balance with the car.'

RUBENS BARRICHELLO, Car No.16 (SF3-04)

Time: 1:25.499. Position: 11th (37 laps)

Are you pleased with 11th place?

'Although I’m down the time sheets a bit, I’m happy with the way the car feels at the moment. I think there are lot of people playing with fuel loads. I would take Hakkinen's time (1:25.103) as the real measure of my position relative to everyone else. Assuming he is on a similar fuel load, and I believe he is, I am only three tenths behind his time.'

What was your programme for today?

'We went through the normal Friday set-up routine, a few tweaks here and there to improve the aerodynamic efficiency and the ride of the car over the kerbs. The overall balance of the car is a lot better than it was at the test last week. I’m sure there is more to come tomorrow.'

PAUL STEWART, Stewart-Ford Chief Operating Officer

'We probably didn't make as much impression as we expected today. A lot of our work centred on improving the groundwork we laid at last week's test. We had a trouble-free day so from that perspective it was an encouraging start to the race weekend. Obviously we still need to find some improvement in the performance of the car before qualifying'

MARTIN WHITAKER, Director, Ford Racing, Europe

'We covered a lot of kilometres today and experienced no problems while we were working on optimising the package for the race. Both cars were running Series 3 engines and fresh Series 4 engines will be fitted for tomorrow.'

Practice times from Atlas:

1. R.Schumacher Williams Supertec 1:24.507 245.802 kmph 
2. Trulli Prost Peugeot 1:24.692 + 0.185 
3. Zanardi Williams Supertec 1:24.823 + 0.316 
4. Panis Prost Peugeot 1:25.007 + 0.500 
5. Alesi Sauber Petronas 1:25.030 + 0.523 
6. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:25.103 + 0.596 
7. Villeneuve BAR Supertec 1:25.307 + 0.800 
8. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:25.347 + 0.840 
9. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:25.388 + 0.881 
10. Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:25.397 + 0.890 
11. Barrichello Stewart Ford 1:25.499 + 0.992 
12. Herbert Stewart Ford 1:25.551 + 1.044 
13. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:25.577 + 1.070 
14. Fisichella Benetton Supertec 1:25.701 + 1.194 
15. Wurz Benetton Supertec 1:25.742 + 1.235 
16. Irvine Ferrari 1:25.897 + 1.390 
17. Salo Ferrari 1:25.931 + 1.424 
18. Gene Minardi Ford 1:26.069 + 1.562 
19. Zonta BAR Supertec 1:26.181 + 1.674 
20. Badoer Minardi Ford 1:26.633 + 2.126 
21. de la Rosa Arrows TWR 1:27.542 + 3.035 
22. Takagi Arrows TWR 1:28.806 + 4.299

Race Preview from Stewart-Ford

STEWART-FORD NOTES AND QUOTES

Monza, along with Hockenheim, is one of the fastest circuits on the Grand Prix calendar. Cars run very low downforce so as to reduce drag on the circuit’s fast straights and sweeping corners. Those low wing settings throw a heavy emphasis on braking for the chicanes. The ideal combination for a driver at Monza is good mechanical grip and aerodynamic efficiency.

Johnny Herbert was second fastest overall during the Stewart-Ford team’s three days of testing at Monza last week. On Thursday he set the quickest time of the day with 1:24.180. The team concentrated on finding a good aerodynamic balance with the cars running in low downforce trim.

JOHNNY HERBERT Car No.17 (SF3-05)

What was the most pleasing aspect of the recent Monza test?

‘The fact that I was able to produce competitive times compared to our rivals while running on heavy fuel loads was very encouraging. To be just two tenths down on the Ferraris on their home turf bodes well for the weekend.’

What are your expectations for the weekend?

‘Obviously I’d like to repeat my victory of 1995 but with the McLarens and Ferraris still dominant that is not realistic. My goal is to be the best of the rest and finish in the top six though it’s going to be tough. I enjoy the circuit – the atmosphere created by the tifosi is something special.’

RUBENS BARRICHELLO Car No.16 (SF3-04)

Has it been difficult to stay focused following the Ferrari announcement?

‘There has been a lot of media attention, but Ferrari is next year – it’s still a way off. I am still very committed to helping the Stewart-Ford team finish as high as possible in the Constructors’ Championship. My focus has not altered. I want to keep on delivering, keep on pushing, until the season is out. I’m sure we can pick up more points this season and secure fifth place at least. Everyone in the team deserves it.’

What are the set-up characteristics required for Monza?

‘Monza is all about power and hard braking. Curva Parabolica, probably the most important corner on the circuit, is a good barometer of how well the car is set up. You’re hard on the brakes at the entrance to Parabolica and down to third gear (100 mph). Up to fourth on exit and fifth (170 mph) as you enter the Rettifilio Straight. Your whole lap time can be determined by the speed of entry and exit here so you need to have the car well balanced and braking effectively.’

PAUL STEWART, Stewart-Ford Chief Operating Officer

‘Following the results of our three-day test at Monza last week, we are optimistic that we are well placed to score much-needed points. There will no doubt be a lot of attention on Rubens in Monza following his decision to join Ferrari next season. Having said that I know he is totally committed to ensuring that Stewart-Ford end the season on a positive note. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with him and thank him for the tremendous contribution he has made to the team over the last three years. I wish him well and I look forward to racing against him next year!’

MARTIN WHITAKER, Director, Ford Racing, Europe

‘At the Monza test we went through a programme aimed at improving the driveability of the engine. We did suffer a few minor reliability problems which meant we didn't get quite as much done as planned. Nevertheless, we were competitive, with Johnny setting quickest time on Thursday – a time which was amongst the quickest all week. Monza is a very quick circuit where good power and low drag are crucial and the Stewart-Ford seems well suited to the track. If our pace from the test is maintained, we should be in a position to qualify both cars well and challenge for points.’

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no responsibility is accepted for this information
Last updated 12th September 1999