Spanish GP Saturday Ferrari notes

Michael Schumacher: 1st, 1m 20.974, 11 laps, chassis 200
Rubens Barrichello: 3rd, 1m 21.416, 11 laps, chassis 199

Temperatures: air 25/22 °C, track 37/35 °C

Michael Schumacher scored his first pole position of the season, the twenty fourth of his career. It was Ferrari’s second consecutive pole this year, its 129th in total and the seventh at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Jean Todt
“I am very happy with this second pole of the season and Michael’s first. Qualifying in first and third positions confirms that our car is competitive, a fact we established during last week’s test. We will be fighting for victory in tomorrow’s race but we can expect a tough and hard fight with our closest rivals. Today’s performance on this demanding circuit proves the potential of our car, which is a tribute to the hard work carried out by the entire team, on both the chassis and engine side.”

Michael Schumacher
“It was very close today and if you got everything right then the lap would be good. Certainly it is nice to be on pole position for the first time this season. At the start I decided to do a run with two quick laps, but after that I switched to doing just one flying lap. The increase in wind and temperature made it a bit more difficult towards the end. I was not completely happy with the car, even though I had a clean run, so we made some adjustments but they did not work out the way I wanted. As for the race, the start will be important because it is easier to plan your tactics and control it in the lead. But we have proved this season we can also win from behind.”

Rubens Barrichello
“I feel that my car was better in the morning, so it is good to be in the top three, even though I think I could have gone quicker as I did not get the maximum out of the car. My first run was just not quick enough and I aborted my second one. I never got the car right for the whole lap. If I made it better in one section, it was worse in another. That is normal here, but I expected to find a better compromise. The race will be difficult here because you have to look after your tyres, but I did a good race simulation here last week and I know what to do. If I don’t pass the others at the start, I am confident I can stay with them.”