German GP Saturday Stewart notes

Hockenheim, Saturday 31st July, 1999 STEWART-FORD NOTES & QUOTES German Grand Prix: Qualifying

Weather: Sunny and hot (Ambient temperature 27 deg C, track temperature 32 deg C)

Rubens Barrichello will start tomorrow's German Grand Prix from sixth position - continuing his unbroken run of top seven qualifying performances this year.

A number of problems on Johnny Herbert's car during this morning's practice limited his running and restricted his set-up time. As a result he was only able to qualify 17th.

RUBENS BARRICHELLO Car No.16 (SF3-04) Time: 1:43.938 Position: sixth Are you satisfied with qualifying sixth? 'Well, at least I have kept up my average for the year. My target was the second row but I guess we didn't improve as much as our rivals in the afternoon. After this morning I was expecting to be closer to the front.'

What are your prospects tomorrow? 'The car has run well on heavy fuel loads so I think we're in good shape for the race. It's a long race so anything can happen.'

JOHNNY HERBERT Car No.17 (SF3-05) Time: 1:45.454 Position: 17th You only managed a few laps in this morning practice - what happened? 'In the first practice I was just about to start my first timed lap when I had to stop with an electrical problem. Then I had a rear wing failure in the second session and went off the circuit. There was some damage to the car and I also hurt my thumb. As a result I was playing 'catch up' during qualifying and was unable to clock a good time.'

How difficult will it be starting so far back on the grid? 'I haven't even thought about race strategy yet, but starting from 17th is going to make things tough for me. I have only got 30 minutes tomorrow morning, probably just 10 laps, to get the car in some sort of race trim.'

PAUL STEWART, SGP Chief Operating Officer 'We're pleased that Rubens is on the third row. Had he not encountered traffic on his final run there was the prospect of a higher qualifying position. Johnny's lowly starting position is all down to the problems he had this morning which were not of his own making.'

JAC NASSER, CEO & President, Ford Motor Company 'It's fabulous to be at a grand prix again, and I'm certainly planning to spend more time at Formula One races in the future. We're satisfied with Rubens' qualifying position, although I know he was hoping for a top four grid spot. Johnny has had more bad luck - the poor guy really is due for a change in fortune. We ran the new Series 4 Ford Cosworth CR-1 engine for the first time in qualifying, and Rubens reported a useful improvement in power and driveability.'