BMW WilliamsF1 Team-Malaysian GP-Race

Malaysian Grand Prix  -  RACE
23rd March 2003

Weather: Dry and sunny -  air  33-34°C, track 34-37°C

Sepang (MAL). That¹s racing. After Ralf Schumacher qualified only 17th, he
managed to achieve a further five championship points for the BMW WilliamsF1
Team by finishing the Malaysian Grand Prix in fourth position. Teammate Juan
Pablo Montoya, who started eighth on the grid but got hit in the rear on the
first lap and was forced to make a long pit stop to fit a new rear wing,
crossed the finish line in 12th position.

Ralf Schumacher: 4th
Chassis: FW25 03
Best time: 1.38,071 min (lap 24, 8th)
"This race was as demanding as 56 laps of qualifying. Driving at the front
as I did last year was obviously much easier. I am happy that I achieved
fourth position after I started 17th. The new rules are proving positive.
They mix up the field so much that a lot goes on in the race."

Juan Pablo Montoya: 12th
Chassis: FW25 04
Best time: 1.37,787 min (lap 26, 6th)
"No doubt my race was decided in the first lap. I was hit by Pizzonia¹s
Jaguar and I lost most of the rear wing, which forced me to pit.
Unfortunately we had a mechanical problem that slowed down the wing change
but the mechanics changed it as quick as they could. When I went back to the
track I was three laps behind the leader. Such a gap was impossible to
close! Furthermor,e my drink bottle stopped  working after a dozen laps
which made the rest of my race today very, very hard."

Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):
"Ralf did a good job by driving from 17th position to fourth and secured
valuable points for the championship. It was unfortunate that Juan got hit
in the rear right on the first lap. He was well placed regarding the fuel
load and strategy he was on. But at this incident he lost his rear wing and
after the repair had dropped far behind. His lap times were good, but we
don¹t know were he could have finished. For Brazil we will have some new
parts and we are looking forward  to the next race."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"It was another exciting Grand Prix. The accident right after the start
mixed up the field. Ralf took advantage of the situation and managed to
reach the midfield. You don¹t  often see a driver achieving  fourth place
after having started 17th. Ralf really did the very best he could. Shame for
Juan Pablo, who was unlucky. After the start somebody hit him from the back
and he lost his rear wing."

Barcelona test: 25-28 March, Marc Gené all days, Juan Pablo Montoya 25/26,
Ralf Schumacher 27/28.