Monaco GP Williams Thursday notes

BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers Ralf Schumacher and Jenson Button were 6th and 13th quickest in the first free practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix. At the beginning of the morning session, Ralf unfortunately struck the tyre wall which limited his first free practice hour to just one lap.

Ralf Schumacher
Chassis: FW22 05
T-Car Chassis: FW22 03
Best Time: 1:22.700
Position: 6th
"Unfortunately I lost a lot of time in the morning session because when I came down to the Virage du Portier corner I lost the rear of the car, touched the tyre wall and this meant the end of my first free practice. In the afternoon we improved quite a lot and I ended up in sixth position. We still need to improve the set up as I have some understeer problems, consequently I am losing some time on acceleration out of the corners. Nevertheless I can say I am quietly optimistic both for qualifying and the race. "

Jenson Button
Chassis: FW22 04
Best Time: 1:23.578
Position: 13th
"It was good to get some laps on this circuit, which is very demanding, no doubt. I like it though, even if the main problem here is the traffic, which was a nightmare and prevented me from getting one good clear lap. I spent these two sessions learning the circuit and we didn't experience any major problems. Hopefully on Saturday we can move up the times!"

Patrick Head (Technical Director, WilliamsF1)
"Jenson did a lot of good homework and good preparation for qualifying and for the race. He had a very good day and was amazingly quick to be on the pace. Ralf rather upset his day by having an accident on his first timed lap in the morning, losing all the first session, therefore we spent the afternoon doing everything we might have done in the morning. He's a little bit behind but we are sure we can catch up tomorrow."