Belgian GP Ferrari Saturday notes

Michael Schumacher: "
I had one car set up for the wet and one for the dry. I am not upset at only being third. We timed the runs right and I have the "Bridgestone pole." To be honest it was very tight for us to run the dry tyres at the end. When I went out for the final run, I was not sure that it would be alright, but luckily it just dried enough. The weather forecast is for a dry race, which would suit me. After this afternoon, it would seem that the only conditions where we might have a problem is when the track just makes the final change from wet to dry."

Rubens Barrichello
"The result of qualifying was determined by the gradual changing condition of the track. I did both my runs on intermediate tyres. Looking at the quickest times, set by those on the other brand of tyre to ours, I don't think that a change to dry tyres would have seen me manage to get on the front row. Anyway, I think I am in quite a good grid position and the race result tomorrow could all come down to the weather."

Jean Todt
"As a spectacle, this was a very strange but interesting qualifying session. Our cars were the quickest of the Bridgestone runners. We knew the track would be drying out towards the end of the session with conditions right on the limit of fitting dry weather tyres. Michael took this decision himself, using the race car which had been set up differently to the spare. However, we operated both options, with Rubens continuing to run on intermediates. There was a clear gap to the quickest and another runner using the other tyre brand split our two cars. The changing weather conditions should make for an interesting race tomorrow. We can expect a good scrap for second place in both championships."

Ross Brawn
"This session was all about being out at the right time on the right tyres. Maybe one more lap on dry tyres would have given us an improvement but I don't think we could have got down to the times that the Williams did. At the end, we put one car out on intermediates and one on dry tyres and the latter seemed to be better. I think we did a reasonable job today and we are in a good position for tomorrow. Our opposition, in terms of those running on Bridgestone are quite a long way back, so we are looking forward to tomorrow's race, when I believe the weather should be a bit more stable than it was today. Our intermediate tyres were fine and Michael was quickest for a long time. It was only when Williams managed to get onto dry tyres that they took pole position. Generally, I was pleased with the way our car worked. I think on a normal dry track there will not be such a big difference in tyre performance."

Chassis
Schumacher: F2001-213, F2001-211
Barrichello: F2001-206