British GP Stewart-Ford

STEWART-FORD NOTES AND QUOTES 1998 British Grand Prix - Silverstone

Friday 10th July: FREE PRACTICE

Paul Stewart, Managing Director: 'Both drivers spent much of the day learning more about tyre choice for qualifying and working through a set-up programme which we put in place during last week's test. Rubens in particular doesn't feel that he can attack the circuit at present so it's our aim to work on a set-up change tomorrow to counter this problem. Our objective still remains to target the top 10 in qualifying.'

Alan Jenkins, Technical Director:

'During the test here at Silverstone a week ago neither driver managed to complete the full tyre programme available from Bridgestone. Consequently a lot of time today was spent evaluating a new tyre combination with which we failed to find the grip and balance required. The track conditions account for some of this but we are confident that going back to set-ups and a tyre we know a little more about will produce an improvement tomorrow. In addition we are looking forward to both drivers having available the Series 5 engine which gives an improvement in both driveability and top-end power.'

Martin Whitaker, Ford European Director of Motorsport:

'From an engine point of view we had an uneventful day with both Series 4 engines running faultlessly. We will be fitting Series 5 engines on both cars tonight ready for tomorrow's qualifying, which will mark the debut of the latest specification Ford Zetec-R V10 at a race meeting.'

Rubens Barrichello: Car no.18: SF-2/04 Laps: 23 Best time:1:28.339

'At present the balance of the car is not great which means we may have to revise our plans on set-up. The track conditions are not like they were during the test so we are struggling a little with grip. We were also caught out by the wind today. However, since the conditions are the same for everyone it shows that we have some catching up to do. At least we know the areas where we can find improvement.'

Jos Verstappen: Car no.19: SF-2/03 Laps: 32 Best time:1:28.983

'I must be honest and say I would have liked to be quicker. We made lots of changes to the car and tried different set-ups in both sessions but we are still troubled by understeer in certain corners. Hopefully we will find a solution in time for tomorrow's qualifying. After last week's test I feel much more comfortable in the car and I hope to do better tomorrow.'