Malaysian GP: Williams Friday qualifying notes

Today's first Qualifying decided that the BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher will leave the pits for tomorrows final Qualifying as 3rd last and 7th respectively having achieved today the 3rd and 13th position. While the Colombian had a clean lap, the German had some balance problems which prevented him from getting his fast lap right and therefore achieving a better position.

Juan Pablo Montoya:

"I am glad as I could get in a pretty good lap. I am quite happy with my car at the moment, in spite of some understeer we now need to address. Ferrari are still quite a bit ahead but it is some comfort for me being ahead of both McLarens. Now we have to decide what we are going to do for tomorrow's qualifying and consequently for the race. Malaysian hot weather doesn't bother me too much, which definitely helps when you have to drive in such extreme conditions."

Ralf Schumacher:

"I am obviously not happy with my performance but to be honest I can't really understand why I am so far behind. In this morning's Free Practice the car behaved well but during the First Qualifying I had to fight with massive oversteer. However, I still have a chance to achieve a good grid position in tomorrow's Final Qualifying. According to the new rules I will have to be out on the track quite early, which is of course a disadvantage."

Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):

"Juan did a good job today and secured himself a good position for tomorrow's qualifying when he will be out of the pits third last. Ralf obviously had a balance problem which we will have a look at tonight in order to get the car right for tomorrow and for Sunday. We still have quite a bit of work ahead of us. Ferrari have proved they still have a big advantage. The track temperature is very high, 61C on the tarmac, so this will put a high demand on the tyres for the race."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):

"Apart from Michael Schumacher's huge advantage, it was an exciting qualifying with close lap times. Today one had to pay the price for even the smallest mistake. Juan Pablo did a very good lap. Ralf was not happy with the balance of his car which had consequences in every single corner. For our BMW engine, the most important factor during this weekend is the heat. So far, we have had no problems with it."

Juan Pablo Montoya: 3rd
Chassis: FW25 04
Best time: 1.35,939 min

Ralf Schumacher: 13th
Chassis: FW25 03 (Spare Car FW25 02)
Best time: 1.36,805 min

-williams-