Following this afternoon’s first running of the revised Formula One qualifying format in unusually hot conditions for the Nurburgring, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro drivers Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher will start the European Grand Prix tomorrow from the fourth and fifth rows of the grid. Bridgestone’s teams made maximum use of their time in this morning’s two practice sessions working on race set ups as drivers are now only permitted one flying lap in qualifying before their cars go into parc ferme.

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport, said: “As the two morning sessions progressed, the track conditions and grip improved. Temperatures were quite a bit cooler this morning than this afternoon’s high temperatures and although the forecast is for hot weather again tomorrow, it is not quite as hot as Bahrain temperatures yet so our tyres should be able to cope. The teams spent their time this morning deciding on the best set up for the race tomorrow. Qualifying was not as strong as I had hoped for Ferrari but believe our tyres will perform well in the race. As we saw in Monaco last weekend it is possible to climb through the field and although Jordan and Minardi start from the back of the grid, I expect they too will be able to make the most of the characteristics of our tyres.”

Ross Brawn, Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, said: “We weren’t in a strong position to challenge for qualifying but we’ve got quite a good race set-up and a nice consistent tyre for the race. It’ll be very hot tomorrow, which will be significant. The drivers had a little bit of imbalance in qualifying which was probably caused by the change in the conditions between this morning and this afternoon but I’m sure we can dial that out within the changes we’re allowed to do. Unlike Monaco there is here some potential for strategy and overtaking. We’re optimistic for the race tomorrow and think we can do something. We’ll try for good starts, settle down and see if the race comes to us.”

2005 European Grand Prix - Main Page
2005 European Grand Prix - Team and Driver Qualifying Reports Page

Latest Formula 1 News from Bridgestone: