Bridgestone to fight from 2nd row
The Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro pair of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa will spearhead Bridgestone Motorsport’s British Grand Prix challenge tomorrow after qualifying third and fourth in this afternoon’s exciting final qualifying session.
Schumacher was on provisional pole until the very end of the session when both Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen got their final flying laps in to steal the front row positions from under his nose. Nevertheless, the team is confident that with their choice of Bridgestone tyre they are in with a shout for Sunday’s 60-lap race.
Panasonic Toyota Racing’s Ralf Schumacher also made it into the final shoot-out and he too looks set for a strong race after qualifying in seventh place. His teammate, Jarno Trulli, who has been running well so far this weekend, unfortunately did not set a qualifying time due to a mechanical problem. MF1 Racing’s Tiago Monteiro qualified 16th while the WilliamsF1 pair had a disappointing qualifying after struggling with the breezy conditions at what is again a very hot and sunny Silverstone.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager - Bridgestone Motorsport, said: “The track seemed to have become quite green again by this morning’s third practice session and most of the drivers struggled to get grip. However, conditions quickly improved again and were reasonable by the end of the session. It is still slower than the last test here at Silverstone but it is not affecting the performance of our tyres. Naturally we are disappointed that Ferrari just missed out on pole but they are on the second row and look in good shape for the race. Our tyres have been performing consistently in the practice sessions and I think our teams will benefit from that tomorrow. Ralf Schumacher certainly should be strong and able to gain positions from his seventh place on the grid. It was just a real shame for Jarno [Trulli] who had a mechanical problem. The Williams pair has been struggling a little with rear grip but I do think they will be stronger than their grid positions suggest. And Tiago Monteiro had a good run this afternoon too which was encouraging for the team.”
Bridgestone Team News Ross Brawn, Technical Director – Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro said: “Perhaps a little disappointed with final qualifying as I think we had a chance to get pole. But, with the strategy we’ve got for tomorrow I believe we can recover the situation. The track has been changing a lot this weekend but the car is very well balanced. The Bridgestone tyres are also very consistent and our times this morning on used tyres were very encouraging so we can look forward to the race tomorrow.”
