Formula 1
Japanese GP: Williams Saturday qualifying notes
The changeable weather played a major part in today's qualifying session which started wet and then rained again towards the end of the hour. From the start the track went progressively quicker as more cars ran on a drying circuit but then it ...
Edited: Oct 9, 2005, 1:11 AM
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The changeable weather played a major part in today's qualifying session which started wet and then rained again towards the end of the hour.
From the start the track went progressively quicker as more cars ran on a drying circuit but then it became very slow when it started to rain heavily again. Mark Webber and Antonio Pizzonia, who were among the first cars to go out, achieved the 7th and 12th fastest times respectively.
Mark Webber:
"We ran on full wet tyres all morning due to the aqua - planing and since we switched to intermediate tyres for qualifying, the balance of the car was quite different and very difficult to drive to the limit. It was frustrating not to have a better car especially in the second sector which was very hard work. Anyway, the weather helped us at the end."
Antonio Pizzonia:
"Track conditions were pretty different from this morning when we were running on full wet tyres when it was raining a lot. For qualifying we chose to go for intermediate tyres as the rain had stopped and I spun on my out lap because I was pushing hard in order to learn about the grip level. I was quite happy with the balance of the car this morning but we changed some things for qualifying and it didn't help too much."
"The car was very difficult to drive and unfortunately it didn't go my way today. This doesn't take anything away from the fact that I like this track, no matter if dry or wet, even if I am driving here for the first time. At the moment the weather forecast for tomorrow is for dry weather, so we'll see what happens."
Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1):
"Because of the wet session the grid is not representative, which will make an exciting race for everybody. The weather prediction for tomorrow's race is dry, so Friday's work on dry tyres has provided us with our information for the race set-up. We have brought some further improvements to the FW27 and they seem to be working well."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"Today's qualifying was a true weather lottery, from which the starting order for tomorrow's race was determined. Mark made the best of his situation and achieved seventh starting position. Antonio was driving for the first time on this track, which is outstandingly challenging even when dry, let alone in today's changing conditions and given the circumstances, he can be happy with his 12th starting position."
"Due to the rain falling at the end of the session, many of the favourite drivers have qualified at the tail-end of the field which promises a very exciting race tomorrow."
Mark Webber
7th, 1:47.233
Chassis: FW27 04
(T-Car FW27 06)
BMW P84/5 Engine: 2nd GP
Antonio Pizzonia
12th, 1:48.898
Chassis: FW27 03
BMW P84/5 Engine: 2nd GP
-williams-
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