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Formula One: BMW Williams F1 European GP race report

21 May 2000

European Grand Prix -- RACE
         Nurburgring, 21st May 2000

Weather: Rain after 9 laps. Average temperature 8 C.

In a very incident packed race, neither of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team
cars saw the chequered flag. Ralf Schumacher had an early end to his
race when he got caught in an accident between Irvine and
Verstappen and slid off on lap 30 whilst in 9th place. Jenson Button
didn't finish either because of an electrical failure caused by water in
the footwell. He was in seventh position at the time with only three
laps to go.

Jenson Button
Chassis:
         FW22 04
Best Time:
         1:23.688 on lap 5 (10th)
    Position: DNF (10th)
"It was a very difficult race. I was very close to Herbert's Jaguar and
had a couple of attempts to pass but I couldn't get past him. It was too
wet and I couldn't see a thing. When you are a 100 meters behind it's
so difficult with all that spray! Racing in such bad weather conditions
is something I am not used to. If it was clearer, I could possibly have
set some good times as the car felt very good. It's a bit of a shame
that I couldn't finish this race, especially with only a few laps to go. At
the exit of the hairpin the car just died and stopped."

Ralf Schumacher
Chassis:
         FW22 05
Best Time:
         1:23.802 on lap 9 (7th)
    Position: DNF
"I was on a one-stop strategy and I think I had a good chance in this
race. My start wasn't too bad and the race went well, until the rain
started. The car then developed brake problems and on the straights I
had to pump the pedal which caused me a couple of 'off tracks'. I saw
the accident coming between Irvine and Verstappen at the Castol
chicane, but I expected them to both slide off onto the inside. As
Irvine's rear moved onto the right in front of me, I was already
accelerating and I could not avoid hitting it. "

Patrick Head (Technical Director WilliamsF1)
'A very poor race for us. We may have been guilty of letting the car
out for too long on the dry tyres, but there was clearly plenty of
potential for points today.  Ralf was not to blame as he couldn't avoid
getting caught up in the accident between Irvine and Verstappen.
Jenson had a bump with Herbert which exposed the front of the nose
and from then on water leaked into the chassis and it looks as if we've
experienced some sort of electrical shut down just before the end."

Gerhard Berger (BMW Motorsport Director)
"This was not our day. Even if we had hoped for these conditions, we
could not make the most of them. Our strategy wasn't perfect today
and Ralf was involved in an accident through no fault of his own. Pity
also for Jenson as he retired so close to the end of the race. A cold
comfort is that we are still third in the Constructors' championships."

The BMW WilliamsF1 Team will be testing in Nogaro (France)
Thursday 25th and Friday 26th May. Both Ralf and Jenson will be on
duty.