German GP Bridgestone Saturday notes

Mobil 1 German Grand Prix - Qualifying

Hakkinen best of Bridgestone runners

Mika Hakkinen led the charge of Bridgestone runners in qualifying for the German Grand Prix. The West McLaren Mercedes driver will start tomorrow's race in third place after posting a fastest lap of 1:38.811. In a difficult afternoon for all teams because of the high temperatures, Michael Schumacher was fourth fastest, followed by David Coulthard in the other West McLaren Mercedes. Rubens Barrichello finished sixth in the second Ferrari. Red Bull Sauber Petronas enjoyed an encouraging session, with German driver Nick Heidfeld seventh and his teammate Kimi Raikkonen eighth. Juan Pablo Montoya will start from pole position for the first time in his F1 career, alongside his teammate Ralf Schumacher.

Steve Hallam - Race Operations Manager - West McLaren Mercedes
"Williams have a good package that is suited to this circuit, but I have to say that we did not do a bad job either. It was a fairly tough fight between us and Ferrari, and Mika did a super job. Obviously, everyone had to make the choice of tyre before qualifying, but I do not think the conditions will be significantly different tomorrow. It is always a tough race here and the load on the engine and tyres is severe. All the teams, ourselves included, will be massaging their cars tonight so they are ready to deal with the race tomorrow. Everyone will have stretched their equipment to the limit today to qualify well; now the target is durability to finish the race and finish competitively."

Ross Brawn - Technical Director - Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
"Not such a good qualifying session for us. We did not get the car working well on all parts of the track and we had some problems with wheels locking under braking which did not happen this morning. The competition is very close behind the Williams, but unless they make a mistake I think we will be racing with the McLarens. Michael was as quick as the Williams in the third sector so they are making up the time in the forest. I am sure it will be a very tough race, and it will be tough for tyres because it is so hot."

Hisao Suganuma - Technical Manager - Bridgestone Motorsport
"I am disappointed, of course, not to get pole position but tomorrow is another day and I am sure our tyres will work well and perform consistently in race trim. It was good to see both Sauber drivers doing well, and especially for Nick in front of his home crowd."

Temperatures Air Track Weather

Morning 23-32C 26-40C Sunny

Afternoon 32-34C 42-47C Sunny

-Bridgestone Bridgestone and Ferrari extend contract

Bridgestone Motorsport is pleased to announce that it has extended its collaboration with Ferrari.

The company will continue to supply tyres to the Maranello team for the next three years, until the end of the 2004 season.

Bridgestone began working with Ferrari in 1999, which culminated in the team winning the constructors' world championship. Last year, we celebrated two more world titles with Ferrari.

Papadopoulos Dimitris Media Manager The International Formula One Supporters Association (FOSA) http://www.fosagold.org

e - Mail : enigma@fosagold.org Mobile: +30 944 884667 FAX : +1 707 2020042 ICQ Number : 18498426