British GP: Bridgestone Saturday notes

Ferrari pushed off pole.

A last minute quick lap by Juan Pablo Montoya pushed Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro into 2nd and 3rd positions on the grid for tomorrow's British Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello exchanged the top two places between each other throughout the qualifying session until the dying moments. Jacques Villeneuve was the next fastest driver on Bridgestone tyres in 9th place for Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda, closely followed by Sauber Petronas drivers Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa. After yesterday's rain, a dry track and partly sunny skies allowed Bridgestone's teams their first runs on the two new dry-weather specifications developed for this race. Meanwhile, OrangeArrows were back on track for qualifying and this morning's practice sessions.

Ross Brawn, technical director, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

"You never believe you have pole until the last run and it was a little disappointing to lose it at the end. The car was good this morning and in qualifying but obviously Montoya made a big improvement. The encouraging thing was that we were able to put in consistently good times throughout the session so I hope that is an indication of how the race will be. The choice we have made from the two dry weather tyres is right for the race; we have a good qualifying position with what is the better race tyre, so we should have a good race tomorrow."

Hisao Suganuma, technical manager, Bridgestone Motorsport

"This result is somewhat disappointing, particularly when Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro seemed to have the front row to itself. Again, I am confident about tomorrow since we are stronger when the cars are in race trim, as was proven in the last three races. There is also a chance of showers tomorrow afternoon so it could be a very different story from today. We will see both specifications of Bridgestone tyre in the race and both should prove to be competitive."

-bridgestone-