Spanish GP Saturday Ferrari notes

Barcelona, 29th May

Eddie Irvine: second, 1m 22.219, 12 laps Michael Schumacher: fourth, 1m 22.277, 11 laps

Jean Todt "We saw a great qualifying battle today. Eddie did a very good job, while Michael was unable to set up the car to his liking and had too much understeer. Tomorrow's race will be very tough and strategy will play an even more important role than usual."

Eddie Irvine "I am very happy to be on the front row of the grid. It is fantastic. The car has been well balanced all the weekend. Losing half an hour this morning might have cost me pole. We could make the car quick in the first section or quick in the final one, but we could not put a whole lap together. Also, on my best lap, I made a mistake in the middle section. I did all my runs early as I felt the track was getting slower. My strategy for the race? Pull away from everyone at the start and win!"

Michael Schumacher "My car was very well balanced in the morning, but for reasons which we must now investigate, it was not as good in qualifying. No matter what we tried, the lap times stayed pretty much the same. Now we must look at our data to get the car right for the race. Before this weekend, I would not have believed that we could be less than two tenths off the pole time. So I am quite optimistic that I can have a good race. Eddie found the better set-up today and did a very good job."

Chassis: Schumacher no. 194, Irvine no. 191 Temperatures: air 26C, track 44C