Hungarian GP: Williams Saturday qualifying notes

Antonio Pizzonia and Juan Pablo Montoya will start tomorrow from 3rd and 4th row respectively, having qualified in 6th and 7th position at the Hungaroring. Qualifying was run under a cloudy, grey sky which threatened rain throughout.

Antonio Pizzonia:

"I am fairly pleased with my qualifying lap, even if I didn't have much luck because it started to rain a little bit when I was in the last sector and this slowed me down a bit, especially going through the last two corners. My car felt better in the final qualifying than in pre-qualifying and also the track conditions improved from one session to the other."

"Anyway, I know I have a better race car than a qualifying car so I am confident. After all, starting from 6th and 7th position means we can score points, and this is what we are aiming for."

Juan Pablo Montoya:

"I put in a fairly good lap without mistakes but the balance of my car prevented me from setting a quicker time. We sacrificed a little of qualifying performance for the race pace. For the first time I will be starting from the clean side of the track, which is also important here."

"Still, starting from 7th position on a circuit where overtaking is very difficult, is not ideal. The only chance I see to pass the car in front is at turn one really, and that's it. Nevertheless, we should have a good race. It's nice to see Antonio doing well. He has been quick all weekend and he did a good job."

Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1):

"We have had no mechanical problems and the new chassis parts worked well. Our tyre choice looks good for the race as does the set-up. In qualifying we did struggle a bit with the balance on both cars, but this should help us for the race tomorrow. Both drivers did a good job in qualifying, especially considering it was raining lightly for both of them. We were all pleased for Antonio as he performed much better than the last GP. With a good race we should have points from both cars tomorrow."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):

"The most important acknowledgement of this weekend so far is that the car with the new aero package works well. However we are not completely satisfied with starting positions six and seven. In any event, we will see tommorow in the race what these starting positions translate to. Congratulations to Antonio, who showed a strong qualifying performance at his second GP outing."

Antonio Pizzonia
6th, 1:20.170
Chassis: FW26 07

Juan Pablo Montoya
7th, 1:20.199
Chassis: FW26 06
(T-car FW03)

-williams-