02/04/2005
NEWS STORY
Jean Todt: The qualifying session was closely fought, right to the end. On its race weekend debut, the F2005 went well. Michael did a good lap which will allow him to run third from last in tomorrow morning's qualifying. We knew Rubens would find it tough, as he did hardly any running in free practice. Nevertheless, he did a good job and has every chance of having a good race on Sunday. We can expect a very tough race tomorrow, with very high temperatures playing their part. Tyres will play a crucial role and we will have to wait and see whether Bridgestone or its competitor has made the best choice.
Michael Schumacher: It is fair to say that Malaysia gave us a wake up call and I must thank the team for the great effort it has made to move the new car schedule forward. It was important to have it here in Bahrain because of the new engine rule. All the work has paid off, we are back near the top and the gap to the two guys ahead of me is quite reasonable. We and Bridgestone seem to be back on track. So far this season we have been off the pace in qualifying and a bit better in the race. Now, we are reasonable in qualifying and our race pace seems good too. Over the course of all the practice sessions here we have made steady progress with the car-tyre package.
Rubens Barrichello: Qualifying was a shot in the dark, given that I had only done a few laps yesterday morning. I made a mistake at the first corner and locked my wheels, losing quite a lot of time. Track condition seems different to last year and, not having done any running, I was not in a position to get the most out of qualifying. But all things considered, it was not too bad and the car confirmed the first impressions I had formed yesterday. Tomorrow will be a long, tough race and I am convinced we have the potential to do well.
Ross Brawn: It has been a reasonable day for us. I think that Rubens really did a great job, given that this was only his second proper lap in the car. His performance was fantastic and he should be able to do an even better job tomorrow, having got this lap under his belt. Michael's performance puts us in the right position from which we can really have a race on Sunday, assuming we go well in tomorrow's final qualifying. Every time we go out on track, we are learning a bit more about the F2005 and, also thanks to all Bridgestone's efforts, we are improving our performance level.