French GP Stewart Friday Notes

Magny Cours, Friday 25th June, 1999

STEWART-FORD NOTES & QUOTES French Grand Prix: Free Practice

Weather: Sunny and hot (ambient 26 degrees C, track temperature 36 degrees C)

Rubens Barrichello was eighth fastest after today's practice sessions for Sunday's French Grand Prix. He completed 20 laps.

Johnny Herbert set the 10th fastest time after completing 24 laps. The Brit, who celebrates his 35th birthday today, spun off on the circuit halfway through the second session but managed to continue his run.

RUBENS BARRICHELLO Car No.16 (SF3-04) 1.18:950 20 laps 8th position

How were the track conditions today compared to the test here last week? 'The conditions are very different and I think everyone is suffering quite a bit. There was a lot of cross wind around today which affected the handling of the car, particularly in the slower sections of the circuit. There were a lot of buffeting at times.'

What set-up work did you concentrate on today? 'I was working on getting the right balance in case we have similar conditions for the rest of the weekend. I'm reasonably happy with the progress we have made and feel confident there is more to come tomorrow in time for qualifying.'

JOHNNY HERBERT Car No.17 (SF3-05) 1.19:226 24 laps 10th position

There were quite a few cars going off today, what do you put that down to?

''The tyre degradation was severe and the track surface was quite slippery. I had a moment myself during the second session when I damaged a rim. In conditions like these you have to really look after the tyres. You can see from the times some drivers did on new tyres that there is a big difference in performance level.'

Where can you pick up time tomorrow?

'I experienced a bit of understeer turning in and the car was a little twitchy on exit under power. We will concentrate further tomorrow on getting the car balanced. I'm not too concerned about finishing where I did because it looks like qualifying is going to be very close.'

GARY ANDERSON, Technical Director, SGP 'We're pretty happy with the work we completed today. There is no doubt that getting the best out of the tyres will be the key to a good race here. Like a lot of the other teams we restricted our running this morning in order to preserve rubber.'

MARTIN WHITAKER, Director, Ford Racing, Europe 'We have experienced no problems today During the test last week we introduced some new software to improve the driveability of the engine. This has helped us respond well to the changes in track conditions from the test.'