Japanese GP Williams Saturday notes

The BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers have kept up with their recent run of good qualifying performances with Juan Pablo Montoya second and Ralf Schumacher third on the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Juan Pablo Montoya
"I think second and third for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team here is pretty good and I like this circuit a lot. I think it is not too bad being on front row at the first visit to Suzuka but I think experience in this place would help quite a lot. Yesterday on high fuel the car felt really good and it did the same this morning, but then we got lost a little bit. The first two runs in qualifying were okay, then in the third one we picked up the pace through the esses and it is a place were you really have to flow. My car didn’t have as good stability as Michael’s and I think that was all the difference."

Ralf Schumacher
"Qualifying went pretty well. We have been working really hard after we had some problems yesterday. It is nice for the team to have both of us so high on the grid. Michael was driving in his own world, he was unbeatable. We have a very good car for the race, and quite a good chance of podium finishes. It would be nice to finish ahead of Rubens, although we are only fighting for third place in the Championship."

Patrick Head, Technical Director
"Both the drivers extracted the maximum possible from their cars in qualifying. It is going to be a very interesting race tomorrow and we will see how Michelin and Bridgestone match up against each other. I believe it will be a very strategic race tomorrow."

Dr Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director
"This was a very good qualifying session. The only person we could not beat was the World Champion. Apart from Michael‘s outstanding time in the first sector, we were able to match his split times. I think Ralf and Juan Pablo got the most out of the cars. So far we have not suffered any technical problems with the engine in Suzuka. We have every chance of achieving a very good result in this final race of the season."