Canadian GP: Williams Friday notes

On a sunny Friday the BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher, last year's winner, had a positive start to the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, by achieving 2nd and 5th position respectively in today's Free Practice session.

Juan Pablo Montoya

"I feel that we are going to have a strong weekend here. We knew we had a good chance on this track based on last year's result, as the car was very competitive and Ralf won the race. The Michelin tyres look strong again and we know we've got a powerful engine. It will be a challenge tomorrow and in the race on Sunday, as the margin between the teams at the top is very tight."

Ralf Schumacher

"I am very pleased with my car. The balance is good even though there is still room for improvement. It has been a trouble free practice day, where we have completed the programme we had scheduled. Also the tyre choice should not be a difficult one. I think that tomorrow we should be aiming for a place on the front two rows."

Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):

"We had a good day and went through our normal race programme work on the car for Sunday. Obviously this circuit demands a lot from brakes and tyres so we had an extensive test on both cars and we came away with some very good answers. We are reasonably happy with our position for Sunday. We now start looking at qualifying. We had a minor problem with Juan's car, which shouldn't be an issue in the future."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):

"Juan Pablo's car experienced some problems when firing up the engine. This hampered his job especially during the second session. However both the drivers have completed an extensive programme and there have been no engine problems on the track. We are definitely happy with Friday's result. With 55% of full throttle this circuit is one of the most demanding tracks in the F1 calendar for the engine's performance."

Juan Pablo Montoya: 2nd
Chassis: FW24 05 (T-Car FW24 02)
Best time: 1.15,543 min

Ralf Schumacher: 5th
Chassis: FW24 06
Best time: 1.16,018 min

-williams-