British GP: Minardi Saturday qualifying notes

It was "business as usual" for Minardi F1 Team drivers Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher during the second day of preparations for tomorrow's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Relatively low overnight temperatures meant track conditions were not ideal for the first of today's two official practice sessions, but grip levels gradually improved, allowing Albers and Friesacher to continue with their chassis set-up programmes ahead of the afternoon qualifying session and Sunday's race.

As usual, both drivers pushed to the maximum on their qualifying runs around the high-speed twists and turns of Silverstone, Albers emerging as the quicker of the two on this occasion.

Christijan Albers:

"It was a bit difficult to get enough heat in the tyres in just the one warm-up lap, but even so, I'm satisfied with my qualifying effort. I think it was a good lap, particularly considering Patrick and I are on similar strategies tomorrow."

"As far as the circuit is concerned, Silverstone is a very nice track, but doesn't suit the Minardi chassis as well as some others we visit. Undoubtedly, tomorrow's race will prove to be tough, but we'll see what we can do."

Patrick Friesacher:

"I'm a bit disappointed with the qualifying result. The morning practice was good, as we were able to improve lap after lap during both sessions. Unfortunately, I had a problem with the brakes on my qualifying lap, and the chassis balance wasn't perfect either. "

"The track temperature rose this afternoon, and I think that affected the handling. As a result, I was struggling with the car, and my lap time reflected that."

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth:

"Despite relatively trouble-free third and fourth practice sessions today, the team failed to capitalise on this in qualifying. Having said that, both cars have healthy fuel loads on board for tomorrow, and we therefore look forward to an interesting race."

CHRISTIJAN ALBERS
Chassis: PS05/01
Best lap: 1 min 24.576 secs
Position: 18th

PATRICK FRIESACHER
Chassis: PS05/02
Best lap: 1 min 25.566 secs
Position: 19th

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