Austrian GP: Williams Saturday notes

After a breath taking qualifying session, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya will start from the first and second row of the grid for tomorrow's Austrian Grand Prix.

Ralf Scumacher

"I am definitely pleased with my result and also a bit surprised as we were expecting to be closer to Ferrari but probably not to qualify between them. I had two very similar laps. The car was very good throughout the morning and this afternoon's qualifying session and I must thank the team for the good job as well as Michelin. My only concern for tomorrow is that I will be starting from the dirty side of the track but we all have launch control, which will definitely help."

Juan Pablo Montoya

"After all the trouble I had today, this is a pretty good result. Because of technical problems with my race car I had to switch to the T-Car, which did not work properly at the beginning. It was set-up for Ralf this time and there was not enough time to ch ange everything back, so I found it difficult to drive it. I could have been quicker on my second run, but I had to be careful not to make any mistakes. Finally I am really happy having achieved a place on the second row during my last run."

Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):

"Well done to Ralf and his crew for getting the best out of the car and putting it on the front row. He is well placed for the race. It was a fantastic effort from Juan after he had problems with the race car, having to change to the T-Car and experiencing problems there as well. He worked quickly, thinking with a clear head how to go faster during the session. He was helped a lot by the mechanics who handled a high pressure situation calmly and efficiently."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):

"It was a hectic qualifying session both on the track with several offs and imperfections and also in the garage. Juan Pablo got a misfire in the first lap and he had to switch to the T-car. After a few starting problems the T-car ran all right. There were no technical problems on Ralf's car. He was very quick and we are happy we have put a car on the front row, after all the Ferrari dominance. We will analyse the reason for the misfire on Juan's car later in the day."

Ralf Schumacher: 2nd
Chassis: FW24 04
Best time: 1.08:364

Juan Pablo Montoya: 4th
Chassis: T-Car FW24 02
Best time: 1.09:118

-williams-