Formula 1
Bahrain GP: Bridgestone Saturday qualifying notes
Bridgestone & Ferrari lock out front row in Bahrain! The first ever running of this season's new-style qualifying format brought plenty of excitement today at the Bahrain International Circuit as seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher ...
Published: Mar 12, 2006, 4:43 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Bridgestone & Ferrari lock out front row in Bahrain!
The first ever running of this season's new-style qualifying format brought plenty of excitement today at the Bahrain International Circuit as seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher and new Ferrari teammate, Felipe Massa, claimed a stunning 1-2 in the final minutes of the three-part qualifying session. Schumacher's pole not only equals Ayrton Senna's record of 65 poles but it is Bridgestone's 91st since entering F1 in 1997.
Fellow Bridgestone runner, WilliamsF1's Mark Webber was also on good form today, posting the seventh fastest time in the top ten shoot-out period while his F1 rookie teammate, Nico Rosberg, will be pleased with a respectable 12th position on his F1 qualifying debut.
The Toyotas of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli fared less well today but they will be looking for a stronger race performance on Sunday. For MF1 Racing's Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro and Super Aguri's Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide it was a brief qualifying with all four being knocked out in the first part of qualifying.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager Bridgestone Motorsport:
"All of us at Bridgestone are delighted with today's results. A 1-2 is a great way to start the season - especially as it has been some time since our last pole in Hungary 2005. Mark Webber's 7th place is also an excellent achievement from one of our new teams and these results are a reflection of all the hard work put in during winter testing. But, this is only round one qualifying and there is a whole season to go."
"The most important thing now is tomorrow afternoon's race result so we shall be busy this evening checking the tyres again and giving some final advice to the teams to maximize their chances. Today's weather has been very changeable and we've had a lot of sand blown on track. The temperature is also significantly lower than yesterday and some drivers had difficulty getting the temperature up in their tyres. This is something we need to improve and we will keep working closely with our teams to do so."
Bridgestone Team News
Ross Brawn, Technical Director Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro:
"The final part of the qualifying session was run on race fuel levels so until the race starts tomorrow no-one really knows where we are. However, it was a good start to the year and we are definitely encouraged by today's performance. If we can hold our positions on the grid it should be a good race."
Sam Michael, Technical Director WilliamsF1:
"This is our first race weekend on Bridgestone tyres and it's going well so far. The tyres are clearly working well here in Bahrain but we will have to wait and see how the strategies compare to see where we are. We are confident of our long run performance."
-bridgestone-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Bahrain GP: Super Aguri Saturday qualifying notes
Next article Bahrain GP: Saturday press conference
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Felipe Massa
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case
Formula 1
Formula 1
Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
Formula 1
Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
More from
Ferrari
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
WEC
WEC
Monza
5 h
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
5 h
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Latest news
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
2 h
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 h
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 h
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
4 h
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe