Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher will start from the third and fifth rows of the grid respectively in tomorrow’s British Grand Prix. The pair qualified in sixth and tenth places but will move up one position as McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen has had an engine change. Michael Schumacher was evidently disappointed not to have qualified higher up the grid and early indications suggest that his rear tyre pressures were too high. However, we can expect the Ferrari pair to be looking for as big a points haul as possible this weekend to keep them in touch in both the drivers’ and constructors’ points standings. The Jordan and Minardi runners meanwhile have their work cut out for them again. Tiago Monteiro also had an engine change this weekend so he chose not to qualify and completed only an installation lap this afternoon, knowing beforehand that he would start from the back of the grid. However, with the Jordan team’s headquarters located just minutes away from the Silverstone race track, both he and teammate Narain Karthikeyan will be hoping for a good race on Sunday for the Jordan fans.

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport, said: “Rubens did a good job today and he’ll start from the third row tomorrow which should give him a chance of a strong race. A little disappointed with Michael’s qualifying time but we know he should have good race performance and Ferrari has a strong race strategy. He should be able to improve his position and compete with the front runners in the field. We are expecting the weather to be a little warmer, making tyre consistency important. In the practices we have seen some consistent times from the Ferrari drivers so I am expecting them to be strong in the race. Jordan and Minardi will have to work hard as they start from the back of the grid but they too have been running consistently so I expect them to be in with a chance of improving on their grid positions.”

Ross Brawn, Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, said: “We weren’t really able to compete for pole today but we were looking to bridge the difference to have a reasonably good race tomorrow. Rubens is in a good position but it was a little disappointing for Michael. We need to look into what happened as I don’t think the car was quite what he expected or wanted. He lost a bit of time on his lap so we’ll see if we can dial in some improvements tonight within the limits of parc ferme regulations to see if we can give him a decent race tomorrow.”

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

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