Schumacher: "a special win for me"
Michael Schumacher was over the moon with his British Grand Prix victory today particularly as the track has not been a happy hunting ground for him.
The German was locked in battle with Juan-Pablo Montoya in the very early stages but after the rain and the enforced first pit stop, he took control, particularly after changing to Bridgestone's famed intermediate tyre, which worked particularly well in the conditions.
'This is a very special win for me, as I have not finished first so often here and it is also my 60th win,' Schumacher said. 'It is also an ideal situation for the championship.'
'We were not expecting rain. The car handled really well although we never had consistent conditions and I struggled a little bit in the wet. But I have to say the intermediates were good in both the almost dry and the wet. We have worked very hard on that with Bridgestone and the whole car tyre packaged worked well. The real question was when to use what tyre. I have to say I was not really sure, so I must thank Ross (Brawn) for making the decisions for me and making the right one.
'The conditions were really very tricky, especially as the intermediate tyres started to wear out in the dry.'
Schumacher has a whopping 54-point lead in the Championship now and is in a position to win the title at the next race in Magny-Cours for the French Grand Prix.
Team-mate Rubens Barrichello drove an excellent race after having to start from the back of the grid following a stall on the formation grid. He now moves into second on the rankings after passing Juan-Pablo Montoya who finished third today.
'This is a fantastic result for the team and the best I could hope for,' Barrichello said. 'I don't yet know what was my problem at the start of the formation lap. When I lined up at the back of the grid, I concentrated on staying very calm, because I knew I had the car to get past people and I was just hoping to get points. I kept my attitude together and started to pass people and there were times when I was lucky not to crash because of the big speed differential between our cars and some of the opposition.
'Everything worked fine and the Bridgestone tyres were fantastic. I spun, when I touched a kerb after pushing a bit too hard on the intermediates which were quite worn at the rear. I enjoyed my fight with Juan Pablo. It was a fair one. I lost some speed going into Club corner, but I did not expect him to move on me there. I tried to make a move on him at the exit to the corner, which did not work, but after a few more laps I managed to overtake him again.'
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