Rubens
Barrichello:
I was in agony waiting for the session to end! Yesterday,
I made a mistake and also we had tried something completely different
in terms of set-up which did not work. So today, we knew we had
to work in a different direction. I am very happy with the car.
Ferrari is a fantastic group of people who have worked very well
on improving the car. We came here with lots of new items, the car
is very fast and Bridgestone has done a fantastic job. I don’t
think running at the beginning of the session was a disadvantage
in terms of lap time, but there was a lot more pressure to be 100%
committed but not to make a mistake. It was a mind game. As for
Michael, it was a case of mixed feelings, because of course I didn’t
want him to beat me, but at the same time I wanted him to do well
for reasons of team spirit.
Michael
Schumacher:
Naturally, I am a bit disappointed with today’s qualifying.
I made a mistake, slid and ran wide at Abbey and of course, driving
on grass is not very good for traction! The current top runners
in the championship; Ralf, Kimi and myself are close together on
the grid, which could be important tomorrow. Given the overall performance
of our car this weekend, I expect us to be consistent in the race
and fifth place is not the end of the world, although it will make
my life more difficult. It will be a long afternoon, so let’s
wait and see. Congratulations to Rubens: he was quick here in the
test and all weekend, so his performance was not a surprise.
Ross
Brawn:
Rubens did a fantastic lap, while Michael made a small
mistake. I think that the track conditions might have been a bit
more difficult towards the end of the session. Our chassis-engine-tyre
package has taken a significant step forward compared with the last
few races. Bridgestone came up with new tyres for us, both in terms
of their compound and their construction. I feel everything is in
place for us to have a great race tomorrow: Rubens starts ahead
of everyone and despite what happened to Michael on his quick lap,
he still has a good grid position.