18/03/2006
NEWS STORY
Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1: "It's great for the team to have both cars on the second row of the grid in only the second Grand Prix with our new partners Cosworth & Bridgestone, especially on such an aero-dominated circuit. The qualifying session second time around was a lot calmer as we have had a chance to review the various strategies employed and we ran a slightly different strategy between our cars in terms of tyre use. Nico's lap was fantastic, particularly considering this is only his second GP. Mark drove well and will be well-placed to benefit in tomorrow's race. Everything looks solid on the car for tomorrow reliability-wise and our lap times on long runs look really strong, so we are looking forward to a good race. Just as in Bahrain, it's great to be the fastest Bridgestone team again."
Mark Webber: "The team has done a really good job again bringing a competitive car here, so congratulations to everyone at Williams, Cosworth and Bridgestone. I think the drivers went well too. We decided to run right at the end of the last session and did pretty well. From what we did today, I think we look in pretty good shape for the race tomorrow."
Nico Rosberg: "I am really pleased to be starting from the second row for tomorrow as it is important for me to make a good first impression. The team has worked well and it is very good to have this opportunity to drive a great combination of chassis, engine and tyres and start so far up the grid. Getting here has not been easy at all, but I have been working really well with my engineers and the team generally. Looking ahead to tomorrow, I think we will be strong and maybe have a bit of an edge engine-wise. It might be tough in the heat for some drivers, but I didn't find the conditions in Bahrain a problem at all."
Bernard Ferguson, Cosworth: "We're delighted that the promise seen in Bahrain is continuing and pleased of course to be third and fourth on the grid, even more pleased to have achieved this with the same engines as there have been a lot of changes elsewhere this weekend."