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Formula One: French GP race report: BMW Williams F1

2 July 2000

French Grand Prix -- RACE
Magny-Cours, 2nd July 2000

Weather: Sunny, dry. Average air temperature 30 C. Av. air
temperature 35 C.

Both the drivers of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team, Ralf Schumacher and
Jenson Button, saw the chequered flag of the 2000 French Grand Prix
in 5th and 8th position respectively. Ralf confirmed his starting grid
position to record his fifth race finish of the season and score in the
points for the fifth time.

Ralf Schumacher 
Position:       5th
Chassis:        FW22 03
Best Time:  1:20.908 on lap 3
          
"At the start I lost two positions to Villeneuve and Frentzen. I had the
feeling that I could have been faster than Heinz-Harald but it was
impossible to overtake him. Luckily, the team had a good pit-stop
strategy so that I could overtake H-H after the first stop. Later I
managed to overtake Trulli and got close to Villenueve but I didn't
want to risk too much in the last laps and I slowed down a bit to save
the two points which are very valuable for the team."

Jenson Button 
Position:       8th
Chassis:        FW22 04
Best Time:  1:21.151 on lap 14 
"My start wasn't the best in the world and I think Ralf had the same
problem as me. Then, at lap 12 I was able to get past Irvine at the
hairpin and on the next lap Salo, so I managed to get in front and pull
away. The car was working very well and I managed to catch the two
Jordans and Ralf. My first pit stop was very good, except that Ralf and
I almost had a collision afterward. I think we pitted too early for the
second stop and I lost some time there and was never able to get past
Frentzen. All round it was a good race and I enjoyed myself. It was just
annoying that I could not pass Frentzen in the end."

Frank Williams
"A good race for the first six places especially at the very front. Good
to keep the championship open a bit more like this. Clearly we are
very pleased that we are scoring some more points."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director)
"After a truly poor start both the drivers had to fight hard. Ralf
regained his grid position and Jenson also won his place through
tough duels. Both cars made it to the end and we have two more
points in the bag, this is brilliant for the team. This makes us forget the
last three races, when we couldn't score any points due to some
accidents we were mostly not responsible for."

TEST: The BMW WilliamsF1 Team will be testing in Estoril (Portugal)
from Wednesday 5th to Friday 7th July. The drivers will alternate at
the wheel of the only FW22 present.