29/06/2003

European Grand Prix - Race Report

The European Grand Prix at Nurburgring ended in disappointment for Panasonic Toyota Racing with both TF103 chassis failing to finish the race.

After qualifying seventh Olivier Panis was eighth at the end of the opening lap and was able to keep David Coulthard's McLaren behind him until he locked a wheel going into Turn 1 on lap 10 and had a quick spin.

He rejoined in 11th place and was battling hard with Jenson Button's BAR-Honda following the first round of pit stops when he had another spin at Turn 1 almost a carbon copy of the first incident. This time however the engine stalled and the Frenchman's afternoon was over.

"The car has been great all weekend Panis said, but from the early stages of the race I was in trouble with locking brakes. We do not know yet what the problem was but it was a shame because we were obviously in a position to race and score points. Let's look ahead to my home race in a week's time rather than reflect on what should have been at the Nurburgring."

Team mate Cristiano da Matta was also in the top 10 after the start but had to make an unscheduled stop for a new nose after damaging his front wing end plate over the chicane at turn 6. That dropped him down the order and for the second race in succession he retired within striking distance of the chequered flag. An engine failure caused by a drop in oil pressure was the reason.

"At the moment we don't know the details possibly an oil leak the Brazilian said, but as at Montreal it is annoying to complete almost 90% of the distance and not see the chequered flag although the early pit stop to change my nose cone effectively put us out of points-scoring contention. Very disappointing outcome to an otherwise competitive and enjoyable weekend for the whole team."

A dramatic race saw a 1-2 finish for the BMW Williams F1 Team with Ralf Schumacher taking the lead when Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren suffered a mechanical failure after the Finn had led from pole position.

World Championship leader Michael Schumacher spun down to sixth place after he was involved in a collision with Juan Pablo Montoya at the Dunlop Kurve. Schumacher labelled it a 'racing incident' and recovered to finish fifth while the Colombian went on to finish second. Rubens Barrichello took third position in the second Scuderia Marlboro Ferrari car ahead of Mild Seven Renault F1 Team driver Fernando Alonso. Mark Webber finished sixth for Jaguar Racing with the final points falling to Jenson Button's BAR-Honda and Nick Heidfeld's Sauber Petronas.

The result has closed up the battle at the top of the constructors championship chase with the BMW Williams F1 Team moving into second place six points ahead of West McLaren Mercedes but 13 adrift of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. In the drivers' championship Michael Schumacher heads to France with a seven-point advantage over Kimi Raikkonen.