F1: Stewart-Ford Notes and Quotes - 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring
18 August 1998
Paul Stewart, Managing Director:'It was nice that we got a race finish with Jos but obviously it's disappointing for Rubens that we couldn't get him to the end. There weren't as many incidents as usual at Hungaroring so neither driver was able to make any improvement on their starting positions early in the race. It's frustrating that there still is clearly some handling difficulty which is preventing our car from being as competitive and manageable as we would like. With only four races remaining we have to do all we can to rectify the situation. All four pit stops went well today, the mechanics did a terrific job to make sure of that and the engine performed well all weekend.'
Martin Whitaker, Ford European Director of Motorsport:
'In the light of recent performances it was satisfying to achieve a finish with Jos. However, Rubens' retirement with gearbox problems again underlines that we have to concentrate on reliability before we can achieve consistent finishes.'
Rubens Barrichello:
Car no. 18: SF-2/04
Retired: Gearbox temperature
Laps: 54
'The car bogged down at the start which cost me a couple of places off the line. I fought as hard as I could in the race but I couldn't really make any impression on Diniz who was ahead of me. Since Friday the car has been difficult to drive. We have been struggling for mechanical grip and never really found the optimum set-up for a circuit like this. It is a weekend I would rather forget.'
Jos Verstappen:
Car no.19: SF-2/03
Position: 13th
'I didn't get away to the best of starts because I found the car difficult to drive on the first set of tyres. I didn't feel like I could catch the people in front. We adjusted the pressure on the second set which helped a little but throughout the race the steering was very heavy. My arms are really sore and because the track is so bumpy my head was rocked about quite a lot. I felt like I was getting hit by Mike Tyson every lap. On the positive side, it's important for the team to get a race finish.'
T-car: SF-2/02
