"From what
we have seen so far, once again, the Japanese company has done a
great job. Over the two hours of practice, the track condition improved
with every passing car. The times look very close which leads one
to believe that both qualifying and the race will produce a close
fight."
Rubens
Barrichello:
"I am very pleased and listening to the reaction of
the crowd brought a smile to my face. More than that, the car has
been behaving quite well throughout today's sessions. It is well
balanced and the team has done a good job. Now, we just have to
keep our cool and try and improve the car even more and I am sure
we will be competitive for the rest of the weekend. The track surface
has more grip than last year, but there are still some bumps."
Michael
Schumacher:
"It was a complicated day as I seemed to run into
a lot of traffic out on the track. It made it quite difficult to
push to the end of the programme we had set ourselves, but I guess
it is the same for everyone here and we have enough data to know
which way to go on set-up. I am not sure where we are in terms of
consistency of performance, but over a single lap, we look very
strong. The track is very bumpy which adds to the difficulty, but
all in all, we are looking good and should be in the fight for the
win. Being first and second is a wonderful start to the weekend."
Ross
Brawn:
"Two very good sessions for us, although the car was
not so well balanced at the start of the morning. Then, as the track
cleaned up and the engineers made some adjustments, the car improved
and now seems very good. We evaluated both types of tyre and I think
it will be a close decision between them. The tyres seem very consistent
and the drivers are happy with their cars. If we can make a bit
more progress tomorrow, we should be in good shape for the race."