Nurburgring Stewart-Ford Qualifying Notes & Quotes

Nürburgring, Saturday 25th September, 1999 STEWART-FORD NOTES & QUOTES European Grand Prix: Qualifying

Weather: Rain initially, clear and dry towards the end of the session. (Ambient temperature 15 deg C, track temperature 18 deg C)

Johnny Herbert will start tomorrow's European Grand Prix from 14th position. He had to use the spare car after his race car developed an electrical problem on his first lap out of the pits. Rubens Barrichello qualified 15th.

JOHNNY HERBERT Car No.17 (SF3-06) Time: 1:21.379 Position: 14th How difficult was it to qualify in the spare car? 'It was annoying to have the problem on my first out lap. The car simply died on me so I had to run back to the pits and get into the spare car. I found the throttle pedal on the spare car quite limp which took some getting used to.'

Could you have gone quicker at the end of the session as the circuit was drying? 'I missed out on getting in another lap before the end of the session by a couple of seconds. I came up behind one of the Arrows heading in to the straight and got round him with the light still green. However as I crossed the line I looked up to see the red light. It was a shame because we made a set-up change before my final run and the car felt much better over the kerbs and I'm sure I could have improved my time.'

RUBENS BARRICHELLO Car No.16 (SF3-04) Time: 1:21.490 Position: 15th You must be frustrated by starting tomorrow's race from so far back? 'It was an eventful session. I was a hero for the first half an hour when I was quickest in the wet but by the end I finished 15th, so I haven't made things easy for the race. I caught traffic on my last flying lap which didn't help because my target was the top eight. We decided to go for just one long run at the end. In hindsight the strategy didn't work because just when I had the tyres working I found myself without a clear track.'

PAUL STEWART, Stewart-Ford Chief Operating Officer 'There are good and bad days in Formula One and today was a bad one for us, culminating in our low grid positions. The weather made it a bit of a lottery for everybody, and we were one of the teams that came out worse. Both Rubens and Johnny were held up on their last flying laps which prevented us from improving our qualifying performance.'

MARTIN WHITAKER, Director, Ford Racing, Europe 'We had obviously hoped for better today and the result is even harder to bear knowing this is our worst qualifying positions this year. Both drivers had a difficult afternoon and Johnny's wasn't helped by having to qualify in the spare car.'