09/07/2005
NEWS STORY
Jean Todt: Sixth place for Rubens and tenth for Michael is how the qualifying session panned out for Ferrari. When looking at the overall picture, we have to take into account the unknown factor of how much fuel the others had on board. However, it is obvious that we are less than satisfied and that, starting from the third and fifth rows means we face a very difficult race tomorrow afternoon. We have a well balanced car and we know we can count on Bridgestone tyres that should deliver consistent performance throughout the race. This factor, along with strategy and overall reliability of the package will be the key tomorrow, as always in fact. Our most realistic target is to get both cars home in the points to keep the fight for both Championships open.
Rubens Barrichello: I am quite happy with this qualifying performance as a place on the third row of the grid is not so bad. I gave it my all on the lap. It is clear we are still not in a position to fight for pole and of course, I am not very happy about that. But I think we will have a good race pace, partly because the Bridgestone tyres we have here should be more competitive than those we used in Magny-Cours. So it’s a case of going for an attacking strategy, an aggressive drive and try to get a good result!
Michael Schumacher: I am not very happy with my lap, especially in the third sector. I had problems there as the car did not react as it should. By the end of the lap, the rear tyre pressures were coming up a bit too much, which explains the lack of grip and the excessive sliding. We will have to find out why. I also had a difficult moment in the second sector, but it did not cost me much time. For sure, starting from the fifth row tomorrow, it will be a case of reacting to how the race unfolds rather than going on the attack.
Ross Brawn: We were not able to compete for pole today, but we were looking for good grid positions to form the basis of a strong race tomorrow. Rubens is in a good position, but it was a little bit disappointing for Michael. We will study the data to understand what happened, because the lap looked a little bit messy. I don’t think the car was quite what he expected or wanted. We will try and improve the situation for tomorrow’s race, within the limits of the parc ferme regulations.