Sunday October 31st, 1999

Amazing Year for Ralf; Miserable Time for Zanardi
Williams Press Release

Once again a mixed result for the Winfield WilliamsF1 drivers in the very last Grand Prix of the season. Ralf Schumacher achieved a strong fifth position adding two more points to his valuable tally for this season, which gives him sixth place in the final Drivers' Championship. Alex Zanardi had a sad end to quite an unlucky season, as he couldn't complete his very first lap due to an electrical problem.

Ralf Schumacher: "First of all I want to congratulate Mika Hakkinen, because it has been no easy job for him to win the championship. With regards to my race today, I had a good start but after that I had to stay behind Heinz Harald and, although I was generally quicker, it was not possible to overtake him. A fifth place is fine even if, of course, I was hoping that I could achieve something better, mostly to help my team in the Constructors' Championship. At the end, I want to thank the Williams F1 team for the good co-operation they gave me throughout the season. We now look forward to working next year together with BMW and I am quite sure that we will do a great job."

Alex Zanardi: "In my first lap I experienced an electrical problem that put too early an end to my race. The pitlane speed limiter activated itself and when I tried to release it the engine went into neutral and shut off, so all I could do was park the car. It's a pity because I was 9th at that moment, having gained five positions at the start and overtaken two more cars in the first half lap."

Frank Williams: "A fine end to the championship - disappointing for Ferrari but I think that McLaren and Mika overall looked like champions for most of the year. Ralf again did an outstanding job for us but we're very disappointed with Alex's lack of opportunity to race. I would like to congratulate Mika and McLaren on an outstanding Drivers' World Championship and the same to Ferrari for the Constructors', which is equally important, in my opinion."

Patrick Head, Technical Director: "Ralf drove a very good race and I think that we achieved the best result we could possibly expect considering the reliability of the cars in front of us. We are very sorry for Alex, who made a fantastic start but something electrical shut down right after and so he couldn't even complete a lap and we are sorry that he didn't have an opportunity to race. I am very pleased for Mika - I think he deserved the championship and perhaps the way it finished, with Ferrari winning the Constructors' and McLaren winning the Drivers', maybe there is some fairness. Anyway, it was a good result."