European GP: Bridgestone Friday practice notes

Bridgestone soaks up the sun in Nurburgring

Bridgestone Motorsport's three teams (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, Jordan Grand Prix and Minardi F1) quickly got to work at a hot and sunny Nurburgring circuit today in preparation for Round Seven of the FIA Formula One World Championship.

The Scuderia drivers soon got to grips with the 5.148km German track with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello setting the second and fifth fastest times respectively in the first session.

Unfortunately an electrical problem resulted in the reigning World Champion sitting out much of the second session but Barrichello continued to look consistently strong and the team will have enough data to make their tyre choice this evening.

Franck Montagny, meanwhile, had little time to familiarise himself with the Jordan having had a last minute call up to run as the team's Friday test driver this weekend. Despite this however, the Frenchman soon settled in putting in some consistent times and finishing the second session ahead of the team's race drivers.

Hisao Suganuma, Bridgestone Motorsport Technical Manager:

"The track was quite dirty this morning which produced some graining on the front tyres but the track improved considerably in the afternoon session resulting in the level of graining reducing. The track temperatures did rise quite a bit to approximately 40 degrees [Celcius] which can be tough on the tyres but the tyres looked OK today."

"Having completed the practice sessions we will now conduct the normal checks - wear checks for example - on all the tyres used by our three teams and will make our recommendations to the teams later this evening."

Ross Brawn, Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro:

"Quite a good session generally and the car is well balanced. The Bridgestone tyres are consistent and the first lap doesn't seem too bad. We had an electrical problem on Michael's car which we are investigating but it meant he missed much of the second session, which is a shame. But we got some good work done with the tyres and we'll now take the numbers and make a decision this evening about which tyres to use tomorrow and in the race."

-bridgestone-