Drivers review their Turkish GP

After an stringent race this afternoon, the drivers can look back on the first GP of Turkey. Some of them are very happy, like Kimi Raikkonen who goes into history as the first winner of the GP, others are dissapointed, like the two Williams drivers.

Fernando Alonso may also be happy with his second place. He therefore let Kimi only take 2 points back in the Championship. In the constructors Championship, there are more and more clouds on the blue sky for Renault. They're only 9 points ahead.

Kimi Raikkonen: "I'm very happy to win the first ever Turkish Grand Prix. We arrived here with a strong basis thanks to the work put in back at base which definitely made our weekend a lot easier. I didn't make the best of starts as I had bit of wheel spin which allowed Fisichella to pass. However he ran wide later on the first lap which allowed me to re-take the lead. As a team we were a little bit unlucky today with what happened to Juan Pablo. At the end of the season two points can make all the difference, and all we can do is just to keep on winning."

His team mate Juan Pablo Montoya can't be very happy about his
weekend. He was on the third scaffold, but he let the second place
slip between his fingers and gave it away to Alonso.

Juan Pablo Montoya: "I'm obviously disappointed to lose second place so close to the end of the race to Alonso. I had lapped Monteiro in the Jordan, but I think he must have locked up under braking and went into the back of me. The car felt OK for the first couple of corners after this, but when I came back to the pits after the race I could see that my entire diffuser at the back of the car had been destroyed. I then ran wide in turn eight which allowed Alonso to pass. I'm a bit disappointed as my car was very quick and the strategy was right, so second place would have been fairly easy. I had a bit of an incident in my first pitstop when the fuel nozzle got stuck, but that didn't really cost me too much time. I'm sad for the team because a one-two would have been really good for the Championships."

Renault celebrates the unexpected second place. They were very happy with the present of the Colombian.

Fernando Alonso: "We had a slightly different race to normal today: we qualified quite early yesterday, when the track was slower, and that meant we had to try something unusual to get a good grid position. So we were quite light, and got a clean first stint - which meant we could run without traffic for the rest of the race, and this paid off with two good finishes for the team. From my point of view, I knew the McLarens were faster so I concentrated on doing a race with no mistakes, and driving consistently: the car was reliable again, and I had some luck with
Montoya's problems as well. But you know, sometimes you can make your own luck - I kept the pressure on, and it paid off because I was close enough to take advantage."

Giancarlo Fisichella started very strong but he lost some positions
and had to push until the very end as Jenson Button was coming close to the Roman.

Giancarlo Fisichella: "I got a great start even from the dirty side of the grid - we had a
lighter fuel load than the McLarens, and that gave us an advantage off the line. But I was struggling to get my tyres working properly in the opening laps, which meant I went off on lap one and that allowed Kimi to pass me; then the team had told me Fernando was quicker, so when he got a good slipstream down the back straight, I did not make things difficult for him because I knew I was fuelled a bit longer. I lost time at the first pit-stop with a problem on the fuel rig, so after that it was a good recovery to finish fourth. The balance of the car was quite good, so I was able to do consistent lap times and just push to the maximum. We have lost a few points in the championship to McLaren, but given the speed they showed today, it's not too bad."

Jenson Button wanted to give his father a nice birthdaypresent, but made things complicated for him after his mistake in qualifying yesterday. Jenson drove one of the best races in his career and ended on a complimentary 5th place after the Renault of Fisichella.

Jenson Button: "I really enjoyed the race! I had a terrible start, but to work my way through the pack was fantastic. For me, it was probably one of the most exciting races this year. The result is a little disappointing in a way because we have had good pace all weekend, but we've just got to try not make the same mistake again. It has been a fantastic weekend for the team and it has shown that we are getting closer to the top two teams, so we are very excited about the next race in Monza."

His team mate at BAR wanted to prove that he is worthy of a place in F1 for next year and a place at BAR. Sato started from the last row, after Michael Schumacher but he made a great comeback and ended 9th.

Takuma Sato: "It was a mixed weekend for me. It was great on the one hand as I had a really exciting race, but it was a shame that I could not finish in the points today. Our qualifying positions cost us the result, but we tried a very different strategy today to try to make up some places.
The team has done a great job this weekend and I want to thank
everybody who has worked so hard. I hope that we will be able to carry this momentum over to the next race."

At Red Bull Racing Team there is also reason for happiness. David Coulthard and Christian Klien finished the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix in 7th and 8th position to collect more FIA Championship points for both themselves and the team.

David Coulthard: "Well, that was a pretty good result. I'm happy with the overall performance of the car throughout the race and, although we still have a few issues regarding the down-force level at top speed, the balance of the car felt good. We had some understeer at the start, but made a wing adjustment during the first pit stop to create more down-force and after that it was much better. Otherwise, there were no issues at all during the race and I'm happy we collected three points."

Red Bull team mate Christian Klien: "That was a really tough race, really tough. I was pushing hard on every single lap - there was no let up at all and this track needs 110 per cent of concentration all the time. I got one point at the end, which is pretty good I think, especially considering the qualifying position so I'm pleased."

Ferrari could not confirm their good performance from Hockenheim and the Hungaroring.

Rubens Barrichello: "This was a very, very tough race. I drove flat out from the start,
but it had been obvious that we lacked performance since we started on Friday. After Hungary, it is disappointing to see us back in a situation like this. We had no grip and I we clearly made the wrong choice in terms of the tyres we brought to Turkey."

Michael Schumacher: "I did not expect to get any points and that is how it turned out. As regards the incident with Webber, I saw him closing on me and he moved to the right. As I began to brake, I could no longer see him
and, when I was in mid-corner, I felt a bang at the back as he hit me with his nose. He was one lap down, so I don't understand why he tried this move. After the collision, there was something wrong with the car, so I went into the pits where the mechanics changed the power steering incredibly quickly. I went back out on track so as not to have to be first out in qualifying in Monza. At least this worked out, as I made up three places."

At Williams we find tow very disappointed drivers. Both men suffered right rear tyre punctures twice.

Nick Heidfeld: My start was average but I had a good look at Jarno on the inside
going into turn one and nearly passed him there. I then nearly took him on the outside going into turn three but I was on the clean side of the track and he pushed me over a bit. It was ok though. It was good fun for the first half of the first lap! Afterwards, I think the pace was reasonable, but I couldn't keep up with the guys in front. I then had two tyre incidents. At the moment, we are not sure what the cause was."

Mark Webber: "It was a difficult day for us. I had a pretty poor start and then I
saw Felipe nearly take Nick out at the first corner so I had to make sure I wasn't on the outside of him. The Red Bulls then got a good run on me up the hill but I soon managed to pass Christian Klien and David Coulthard. I was trying to get to the first stop as quickly as possible when I had an incident with my tyre at turn 12. When I came out of the pits, I was a lap behind Michael Schumacher but I was much quicker than him. I thought it was strange that he was moving around the braking area as all the drivers agree to try not to do this. Michael seemed quite keen to do it though so I didn't show much respect in the end when I went round the corner. We then made contact. After that, I had another tyre incident which ended our race."

Lots of teams are looking forward to Italy (Monza) for a new chance for succes.