Japanese GP Friday Ferrari notes

Michael Schumacher:
"We have had a good day, developing the car very nicely throughout the session. Certainly the work we did at Mugello last week seems to have paid off. The new tyres are as good as we expected, very fast and consistent, which I am pleased about. We made some positive changes. The circuit seems to suit me and the car reasonably well, and we are particularly strong in the first and third sectors. So I am optimistic at the start of what will be a long weekend. Now we have to wait and see how things develop. Out on the track, I did not feel the tremor. The most important point for doing a good lap here is to get the right rythm, because with so many corners following in quick succession, if you get one wrong, the following one will also be wrong. The gap behind me is very big, but I do not expect it to be the same tomorrow. They will improve, but I hope we will too.“

Rubens Barrichello:
“In the early part of the session, my set-up was not perfect as the car felt light at the back end. When I went off the track at the end of the first hour, I did not damage the car, but the mechanics had a lot of work to do to clean it up and remove all the debris, so I was not able to run in quite the way I would have liked during the second half of the session. Before tomorrow’s qualifying we will have to continue working on finding the right balance on the car.”

Jean Todt:
“After the novelty of Indianapolis, we are now back on a track we know and therefore this Friday has been the same as any other we have encountered during the season. Today’s work centred mainly on finding the best set-up. For the first time this year we only have one type of tyre for dry conditions and so we have not had to work on making a choice. We know we still have room for improvement in terms of our performance. Tomorrow, as usual, qualifying will probably come down to a fight between ourselves and our closest rivals. This is a very tough track, both in terms of driving it well and for the car. Tomorrow morning’s session will be devoted to working on preparations for qualifying.“