15/10/2005
NEWS STORY
The BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers Mark Webber and Antonio Pizzonia will start from the 10th and 13th positions respectively for the season- closing Grand Prix of China. Antonio Pizzonia was out early for his qualifying lap which didn't help him to achieve a starting position at the front, while Webber made a mistake in the last sector, while pushing hard for a good lap.
Mark Webber: It would have been nice to have finished the one-lap qualifying format with a clean lap and I was trying to do a really good one but in the last sector I braked a bit late before the hairpin and went wide, losing three or four tenths. It's a shame and it doesn't help for tomorrow, but still it was worth trying. Achieving a reasonable starting position was crucial for having a good race tomorrow. Having to start from10th position means that I'm likely to be held up in traffic for quite a while.
Antonio Pizzonia: I was among the first cars out for qualifying and the track conditions were quite bad. It was dirty, which affected the car balance. Being out so early, I didn't expect to have the same amount of grip that I had at the end of this morning's Free Practice sessions, but still I was quite surprised by the lack of it. Anyway, it's going to be an interesting race, especially because there are several places for overtaking here. The first corner will be crucial tomorrow as it's a bit tricky but it's technically good. I like this track very much.
Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1): It was a disappointing qualifying session after we have been really strong in practice with high fuel loads. We struggled a little with our tyre warm-up, however we are happy with our tyre choice so I'm sure that our race pace will be good tomorrow. The final race of the season is going to be interesting with regards to the pit strategies.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): The outcome of qualifying does not reflect our expectetions. Due to his early starting position, Antonio found a slippery track. Mark was doing well but his mistake in the penultimate corner probably lost him a place on the third row. There were no problems on the technical side.