Malaysian GP: Williams Friday practice notes
On a tropical Malaysian afternoon, with the heat index reaching 46°C during the second Free Practice session, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya and their FW26 coped encouragingly well, ending up 2nd and 5th ...
On a tropical Malaysian afternoon, with the heat index reaching 46°C during the second Free Practice session, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya and their FW26 coped encouragingly well, ending up 2nd and 5th fastest respectively. Earlier in the first Free Practice Session Ralf Schumacher finished 5th and Juan Pablo Montoya finished 8th.
Ralf Schumacher:
I have to say that I am very happy with the car. We focused on our homework intensely and have completed our programme without too many problems. This fact makes me very confident for tomorrow's Qualifying. We are still discussing about what our tyre choice will be, but I am sure we'll find a good solution.
Juan Pablo Montoya:
There's still room for improvement. I know there's more to come in the car than what I could show today, so it's just a matter of exploiting my FW26 at its best. I had some grip problems, so not ideal conditions for setting a fast time however, I am confident we can improve for tomorrow's Qualifying.
Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):
We've had a productive day as we went though our programme of testing tyres on both cars, and had no mechanical problems. We are sure we have enough information to make our tyre choice. The pace of our cars looks reasonable in the high ambience temperature, but we won't know until the end of Sunday what everyone's true pace is.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
We had a trouble free Practice, today. Both the drivers could complete their programme. In the First session we focused on the car set-up whereas the Second session was spent collecting data in order to make the right tyre choice. In spite of the heat, the engine temperature always remained within green levels.
Ralf Schumacher: 2nd
Chassis: FW26 03
(Spare car FW25 02)
Best time: 1.34.693min
Juan Pablo Montoya: 5th
Chassis: FW26 05
Best time: 1.35.100min
-williams-
Share Or Save This Story
Juan Pablo Montoya admires Franco Colapinto's "aggressive" approach despite Baku crash
Williams tipped for "huge step" forward at Azerbaijan GP with major upgrade
Juan Pablo Montoya says Madring is first 2026 F1 track he wants to drive
James Vowles hails Williams factory effort after major Baku F1 upgrade
Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz reveal F1 boys' trip plans
How Fernando Alonso scored ninth at Zandvoort - and how Alex Albon lost a similar payday
Juan Pablo Montoya admires Franco Colapinto's "aggressive" approach despite Baku crash
Pedro Acosta told KTM he wants to beat Marc Marquez on the same MotoGP bike
What made Red Bull so fast in the Azerbaijan GP after Max Verstappen’s qualifying issue
Has George Russell hit his stride too late? 'With this form I would have been in the fight'
Why Mercedes is still quicker than McLaren
Baku late-race chaos almost costs George Russell victory over Max Verstappen
How George Russell claimed his career-best pole margin in F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying
How the chase to catch Mercedes is unfolding
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments