Hungarian GP: Bridgestone Saturday qualifying notes

Bridgestone Potenzas on front row lock out with Ferrari

The Bridgestone equipped Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro pair of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello and Sauber Petronas' Giancarlo Fisichella put in brilliant performances this afternoon in the two qualifying sessions for tomorrow's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Running on new specification Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres, Schumacher and Barrichello blew away the opposition in both qualifying sessions for the Hungarian Grand Prix and with Schumacher on pole for the seventh time this season and Barrichello just 0.177seconds behind him, the pair have locked out the front row of the grid.

Sauber's Fisichella, who has been looking strong all weekend, was also on top form posting the third fastest time in pre-qualifying before setting a very respectable seventh fastest time in the final session.

Unfortunately for his Sauber teammate Felipe Massa, an engine replacement earlier in the day meant he would have been penalized ten places on the grid so after setting the third fastest time in pre-qualifying, he elected not to run in the final session. He will start from the back of the grid but is expected to be a force to contend with. Jordan Ford and Minardi Cosworth should also benefit from running on Bridgestone tyres tomorrow.

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport:

"A great result today for Bridgestone with pole and second for Michael [Schumacher] and Rubens [Barrichello] and a fourth row spot for Sauber's Giancarlo Fisichella. Judging by his preliminary qualifying time, Felipe Massa, too, would have qualified well had he run in the final qualifying session. Unfortunately he will start from the back of the grid but given the strong performance from the Sauber cars this weekend we expect him to be competitive tomorrow."

"This result is a clear reflection of our development over the season. Of course tomorrow's race will be the real test but we have seen consistently over the course of the weekend the strength of the Bridgestone tyres. It's going to be a very interesting Grand Prix."

Ross Brawn, Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro:

"We've got a new specification of tyre here and it is very, very good. We've been working on it for a long time and we've seen the first real results of that today. So the credit for this must go to Bridgestone because they've done a great job."

"Michael looked to have a tidy lap but I thought Rubens might just do it because he was quicker in the first sector. Overall it was fantastic. If we can get a good start tomorrow I think we should be able to use the performance of the tyres because we know they are consistent. We should have a good race."

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