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 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."
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