German GP: Ferrari Friday notes

Ferraris first and second in the free practice

Jean Todt:

"Team morale is even higher than usual after the result achieved last Sunday in Magny-Cours, when Michael Schumacher took his third consecutive Drivers' World Championship title with Ferrari. Today is the first time we have run on the new Hockenheim layout, which has proved popular with both our drivers. We therefore did a lot of work aimed at gathering as much data as possible on how the cars handle on this circuit. Obviously, we concentrated on the usual pre-race work and on evaluating the two different types of tyre at our disposal. For the next couple of days we can expect the weather to turn hotter and that might see a slight change compared with today's situation. We are confident that in tomorrow's qualifying, we will be fighting for places on the two front rows of the grid."

Michael Schumacher:

"I like this new circuit and in my opinion, it is a great success. Of course it requires a lot more aerodynamic downforce than the old Hockenheim and that means the Motodrom section has become more fun to drive. The new layout flows nicely and there are some overtaking opportunities. It is quite demanding. I had a good day. As usual at Hockenheim I get a warm reception from the fans. It is a pleasure to be here as they all support me and push me forward."

Rubens Barrichello:

"I like this new circuit. It is good to drive, even if of course, it is still a bit dirty and green as it has never been used before. We experimented with various different settings on the car, as well as carrying out a tyre evaluation programme: all of this while learning our way around the new layout. Everything went fine and it was a quiet day."

Ross Brawn:

"This was a slightly different to usual first day as we are tackling pretty much a new track. Both drivers said they liked the circuit a great deal. As usual, we tried both types of tyre. It is not quite clear which is the best choice and we will have to study the data. The cars were reasonably well balanced and we managed to work through our entire programme. The track seems quite hard on brakes. I think an interesting race is in prospect, especially as there appear to be some overtaking opportunities."

Michael Schumacher 1st
1:16.086 45 laps
Chassis No. 221

Rubens Barrichello 2nd
1:16.248 49 laps
Chassis No. 220

-ferrari-