Bahrain GP: Williams Saturday qualifying notes

Today witnessed the best qualifying position of the season so far for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team, with Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher achieving third and fourth positions respectively on the new Bahrain International Circuit.

Juan Pablo Montoya:

"It is a shame, because I was having a very good lap and I was really quick in the first and second sectors. I lost all my advantage and even more in the third part, in the last corner actually, where I was trying to find a bit more speed. I'm not sure I could have set the pole without that problem at the last corner, because Michael was really quick. It is a bit disappointing of course being only third, but at least I will still be starting from the clean side of the track. It is difficult to predict how tomorrow's race is going to be."

Ralf Schumacher:

"I am really pleased with my car and my qualifying performance. My race set-up should turn into an advantage tomorrow. But still, my lap time could have been better today. I lost some time in the middle sector. Ferrari seems to be very strong again, but I think, if my brother and Rubens do not manage to open up a gap soon after the start, we could give them a hard time tomorrow."

Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):

"It was a reasonable day from the qualifying point of view but in order to start beating Ferrari we really need to be on front row. However, it is going to be a long race tomorrow, hard on all the cars, and we are confident of our performances. We are looking forward to an exciting Grand Prix at this fantastic new venue."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):

"We have witnessed an interesting qualifying session today and having both cars on the second row is a good result. Juan Pablo said he lost his chance for pole position just in the last corner. In Ralf's case it was the second sector where he lost time. None of our drivers experienced any engine trouble today. We are in a good position for tomorrow's race. The weather forecast for Sunday is not really clear. Also the first corner after the start might become crucial although the track is wide there, the clean line is actually a narrow band."

Juan Pablo Montoya: 3rd
Chassis: FW26 05
(T-car FW02)
Best time: 1:30.581 min

Ralf Schumacher: 4th
Chassis: FW26 03
Best time: 1:30.633 min

-williams-