Bridgestone shod Ralf Schumacher gave Toyota Racing its best qualifying finish so far this season after setting the sixth fastest time of the final top ten shoot out session this afternoon. His teammate Jarno Trulli also made it into the top ten but did not complete a shoot out lap due to a technical problem. Local hero and fellow Bridgestone runner, Mark Webber, continued to demonstrate the consistency and strength of the WillamsF1 team’s pace today and he will line up on the fourth row of the grid tomorrow. The Ferrari pair did not have its best qualifying session. Massa spun off in the second session while Michael Schumacher failed to get a flying lap indicative of his potential. Melbourne’s coastal autumnal weather has done its best to disrupt today’s Formula One action at the Albert Park circuit and could yet prove to be the deciding factor in tomorrow’s race.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager - Bridgestone Motorsport:
“We had wet weather conditions this morning which prevented the teams conducting further evaluation of their dry weather tyres but the teams were decisive about their final tyre choices. The track was damp with intermittent rain which made conditions a little tricky but the majority of the Bridgestone runners used our standard wet tyres which performed well. The teams were able to check their car balance in wet weather set-ups so they are prepared for whatever conditions they are presented with in tomorrow’s race. We had another interesting qualifying session today and it was good to see the two Toyota drivers doing well. Ralf finished sixth and Jarno advanced to the third session - although did not run due to a car problem. Webber did a good job too, finishing in seventh. The two Ferraris weren’t able to show their true qualifying performance today as Felipe went off on his flying lap and Michael was caught out by the rain. They would normally have made it into the final qualifying session but we are expecting them both to be strong in the race. We have a good choice of tyres here this weekend for our teams and they have all been performing well. Ultimately, however, it will perhaps be the weather which determines the outcome of tomorrow’s race.”
Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director Chassis – Toyota Racing:
“We’re very happy with the tyres we have this weekend. We knew Melbourne would be challenging from a tyre point of view but the new compound that Bridgestone supplied us with at the last test has proved to be very effective. So we’re pleased with our best qualifying performance of the year so far and can really thank Bridgestone for that.”
Sam Michael, Technical Director - WilliamsF1:
“Qualifying was not quite what we had expected. We really wanted both cars in the top ten but Nico got caught up in some rain. Mark would have probably gained another position if it had not been for catching Montoya in traffic. We are in a good position for the race tomorrow and are confident of our long term pace. The new Bridgestone tyre which has been brought to Melbourne is working very well.” |
