Ferrari ready to fight for pole
The Scuderia Ferrari has had a good day of free practices in Malaysia. Schumacher set the seventh best time in the second practice session and declared that the team can fight for Pole Position tomorrow. Ferrari confirmed today that Felipe Massa's 248 F1 has indeed been fitted with a new engine.
Jean Todt "I am happy to be here in Malaysia, a country which in recent years I have really learnt to love and that I find fascinating. As usual, Friday is mainly for comparing the two kinds of Bridgestone tyres we have available. Today this work was done mainly by Felipe, because, unfortunately, he had to fit a fresh engine on his car. The track results seem to have confirmed the considerable potential that was shown by the cars and the Bridgestone tyres in Bahrain and during the winter testing. We're competitive in race trim and we count on looking good in qualifying tomorrow as well in that I think that, as on the Sakhir circuit last week, it's going to be a close battle for pole. As usual here in Malaysia the weather conditions are tough for the cars, the drivers and for the people working in the pits."
Michael Schumacher "In general we're pleased with the way things went during free practice. Towards the end of the session we managed to improve the balance of the car. As far as times are concerned, apart from what the third drivers do, who do a different job compared to the others, I think that the situation is quite clear. I could have been a bit quicker with my new tyres when I went out on my first run, but I lost a lot of time in a corner of the third sector. The consistency of the Bridgestone tyres looks pretty good, which of course is very important. The actual time recorded is of less importance at this stage because the times improve as the weekend progresses. I reckon that we're competitive and that, like in Bahrain, here in Malaysia we can fight for pole position and for a win on Sunday."
Felipe Massa "I think it went very well. We worked for the race by doing quite a few long runs. The car went well both with used and new tyres and I am very pleased with our race pace. In my opinion we have a good car for the race. Qualifying will of course be a bit difficult for me because I have to pay the price for the engine change, but considering the pace we had during the long run, I think we're in good shape for a good result on Sunday."
Ross Brawn "I'd say that it was a good day during which we made a really extensive assessment of the two Bridgestone tyres we had available. The overall balance of the 248F1 is very good. There are a couple of details we need to sort out but we've got plenty of time to do it. The drivers were quite happy with the cars that looked very consistent."
