French GP: Williams Friday notes

Despite the odd spin on the smooth asphalt surface of the Magny-Cours circuit, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team had a trouble free start to the French GP weekend. In the first Free Practice session Ralf Schumacher drove 37 laps achieving claiming the 5th quickest time while team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya clocked 36 laps ending in 10th position.

Ralf Schumacher

"Today everything went according to plan and we completed the scheduled work, trying out a few things. At present we are still not sure about our tyre choice. All in all the car is not so bad but there's still some work ahead of us."

Juan Pablo Montoya

"It's been quite a difficult day. At present I am still struggling with the balance of my car a little almost everywhere on the track. Due to the quite slippery nature of this circuit I spun and went off into the gravel during the afternoon session, which caused me to lose some track time. We are now concentrating on the job of improving the car for qualifying."

Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):

"Today we spent the time going through the two different compounds Michelin has brought for us here as well as checking some cooling options on the new bodywork to make sure it is right for Sunday. As usual for a Friday we did quite a lot of set-up changes on the car. We know we have quite a lot of work ahead of us in order to get ready for tomorrow's qualifying session."

Mario Theissen(BMW Motorsport Director):

"Both the drivers completed their programme today. Compared with the Grands Prix we have competed in so far this season, this location has quite high temperatures. Michelin measured a track temperature of 44C today. Everything went according to plan with regard to engines."

Ralf Schumacher: 5th
Chassis: FW24 06 (T-Car FW24 02)
Best time: 1.14,970 min

Juan Pablo Montoya: 10th
Chassis: FW24 05
Best time: 1.15,271 min

-williams-