Ferrari still expect it tough in the race

“Today, to get everything working correctly was very difficult, so I am very pleased with this result, especially as I had to abort my first run, when I was caught up in someone else’s accident,” said Barrichello. “We have improved the car a lot since the morning and the team did a good job. It was very enjoyable to take pole on a circuit where it is always very complicated to set up the car. We made just small fine tuning changes to the car during the session. I did not change the car for the second run. On the third run I made a change which I did not like, so we went back to the original settings for the final run, when I went still quicker, by improving in the final sector. I am looking forward to the race. Starting from pole, I have the best chance as the track is cleanest on that side.”

World champion Michael Schumacher had looked favourite for the pole going by the earlier sessions but he had to settle for second place behind Barrichello. Schumacher saved a set of tyres for tomorrow’s race but he was unable to match the pace of his Brazilian team mate. Schumacher will have to contend with the dirty side of the track and he will be more concerned about holding position than making a move on Barrichello at turn 1.

“Rubens did a good job and I could not match it today,” commented Michael. “There was no sense in trying for a final run, which is why we decided to save a set of tyres for tomorrow. I had a wobble on my final run but it was mainly in Turn 12 that I lost time. Starting on the dirty track certainly won’t help and the important thing will be to maintain position. It would be unrealistic to expect to make up a place from this position. I am sure it will be an exciting start.”

Jean Todt was delighted with the outcome of today’s session. Todt once again paid credit to the Bridgestone tyres that have been performing brilliantly so far this weekend. With the front row secured Jean is hoping maximum points will be scored in the race, but knows that its far from over and that the team needs to remain focused.

“I am very happy with today’s result,” said Todt. “For the seventh time this year we have taken pole position and it is also the fourth occasion on which we have got both cars on the front row. Our cars have appeared to be very competitive right from the start of the weekend, partly due to the great work done by Bridgestone, who have provided us with tyres which are very quick over one lap and also very consistent. Aware of how difficult it is to overtake here, we are obviously happy to have the best possible start positions for tomorrow’s race, during which we will be trying to reach our objectives. We know the race will be very long and it will be very hot. As usual, reliability will be very important.”

The rise in track temperatures was a bit of a worry for Ross Brawn as the Ferrari rivals began to close in on them. And if the track is hot tomorrow then he expects a close run race.

“Today we saw a good battle between our two drivers, with Rubens taking a great pole. We had not expected the temperatures to rise so much this afternoon and that seemed to close the gap a bit between us and our rivals. However, our car and tyres have been performing well all weekend. With temperatures staying like this for tomorrow, I think we will see a very close race. One can make up places with a good pit stop strategy, but making a good start will be crucial.”