Austrian GP: Williams Friday notes

The BMW WilliamsF1 team drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya had a trouble free and productive first day of practice at the A1-Ring in Spielberg (Austria). Juan Pablo was 3rd and Ralf was 12th.

Juan Pablo Montoya

"We did quite a good job today and the car definitely improved throughout the two sessions. We have been working on the set-up of the car and tyre evaluation. I think this is going to be a tough weekend but we hope to be closer to Ferrari here."

Ralf Schumacher

"Today's first session was not too bad. We tried a few balance variations and we obviously compared the two different tyre compounds, even though we are not sure yet about which we are going to use. There are still some small problems with the set-up of the car to be sorted out. If we manage to do that, tomorrow we should be in a position to fight for the first two rows on the grid."

Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):

"We have had a normal Friday practice, doing some homework for the race and evaluating the two different tyres from Michelin. In terms of reliability it was a trouble free day. But in terms of balance we have some work to do to get ready for qualifying. On Ralf's comparison run he had a software problem and lost the car on the exit of turn two, which hurt his best lap time."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):

"Both the drivers have thoroughly completed their set-up programme, achieving 45 and 46 laps. The A1 circuit is a very demanding circuit on the engine with many sections of the track at full throttle and uphill straights. If the weather is going to be on our side we could be in good shape for qualifying and for the race."

Juan Pablo Montoya: 3rd
Chassis: FW24 05
Best time: 1.10,613

Ralf Schumacher: 12th
Chassis: FW24 04 (T-Car FW24 02)
Best time: 1.11,652

-williams-