23/07/2005
NEWS STORY
In the last two Free Practice sessions, Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro continued fine- tuning their cars for qualifying and tomorrow's race. The sessions went well in general apart from a small spin for Monteiro at the end of the morning. Karthikeyan made two mistakes in his qualifying lap and decided to return to the pits without setting a time. He will therefore start the race in 20th position. Monteiro will start tomorrow's 67-lap German Grand Prix in 18th place.
Narain Karthikeyan: I made a mistake in the first corner and then I was trying to gain the time back. I was pushing harder but I made another mistake and we decided that I should go straight to the pits to save our tyres. It is a pity because the car felt ok. I was pretty satisfied with the balance of the car and I am sure we have made the right choice of Bridgestone tyres for the race tomorrow. I will now do my best to have a good race on Sunday.
Tiago Monteiro: My run went ok. I had a relatively clean lap. I have had a few problems finding a good balance with my car during the weekend so we will have to find out some solutions for tomorrow's Grand Prix. The race will be long here in Hockenheim and some rain is expected, so it could be exciting and maybe bring us some luck.
Adrian Burgess: It was quite clear to see that Narain's qualifying session did not run to plan. He made two small but costly mistakes therefore we decided to abort his lap. Tiago was a bit put off at the start of his lap by having a Minardi in front of him for two or three corners, which distracted him. On a whole it was not a great day but anything and everything could happen tomorrow and we will see what the weather will bring.