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Last year's qualifying king
Juan Pablo Montoya (BMW WilliamsF1 Team) annexed pole position for the
first time this year with an inch-perfect performance at Hockenheim. The
Colombian headed team-mate Ralf Schumacher as the Williams-BMWs locked out
the front row for the third time in five races. Both drivers are gunning
to reduce Ferrari star Michael Schumacher's world championship advantage.
The German will start his home race from sixth on the grid, three places
behind team-mate Rubens Barrichello.
"It has taken a long time to get my first pole of the season," Montoya
said, "but I'm very pleased. The car is working well and I think it will
be in good shape for the race, too." Sam Michael (Chief Operations
Engineer, WilliamsF1) added : "Michelin once again provided us with a very
good tyre for the heat. We are obviously feeling confident going into
tomorrow's German Grand Prix."
It was another impressive day for Michelin and all but one of its partner
drivers will line up in the top 12. Jarno Trulli (Renault, third) was best
of the rest, from Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren-Mercedes, fifth), Olivier Panis
(Toyota, seventh), Fernando Alonso (Renault, eighth), Cristiano da Matta
(Toyota, 10th) and David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes, 10th). Da Matta did
well to retain control at the end of the lap, when he ran wide onto the
grass and ended up zig-zagging across the finishing line. It has been a
difficult day for Coulthard, who has qualified in the top six on only four
occasions this season. The Scot lost vital track time this morning when he
crashed at the Sachs Kurve during the final free practice session.
Jaguar star Mark Webber (11th) was on course for another strong qualifying
lap until he made a couple of mistakes in the final sector. New boy Justin
Wilson (15th) rounded off the Michelin challenge. After a stunning first
day with the team, when he set seventh fastest time, the Englishman had a
few minor problems during this morning's final free practice session.
Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin Motorsport Director, commented on several
topics.
MICHELIN CLINCHES SIXTH POLE OF THE SEASON
BMW WilliamsF1 Team/Michelin drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf
Schumacher dominated qualifying for the German Grand Prix -- the third
time in the past five races that they have locked out the front row of the
grid. It is the Colombian driver's first pole of the season and Michelin's
sixth. It was another dominant day for the Clermont-Ferrand company and
its partner teams: all but one Michelin driver will start in the top 11
for tomorrow's race. Jarno Trulli (Renault, fourth), Kimi Räikkönen
(McLaren-Mercedes, fifth), Olivier Panis (Toyota, seventh), Fernando
Alonso (Renault, eighth), Cristiano da Matta (Toyota, ninth), David
Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes, 10th), Mark Webber (Jaguar, 11th) and Justin
Wilson (Jaguar, 16th) will line up behind the pace-setting Williams-BMWs.
Michelin motorsport
director Pierre Dupasquier said: "This was another fantastic performance
by Michelin's partners. It is very rewarding to see them all looking so
strong. This has consistently been the pattern for the past five or six
grands prix."
SOME LIKE IT HOT
Drivers have coped with ultra-hot track temperatures during the first two
days of the German GP -- and the weather threatens to be even fiercer for
tomorrow's 67-lap race. Traditionally, such conditions can take their toll
on tyres, but Pierre Dupasquier is unconcerned.
He said: "It will be a
tough race tomorrow, but there are a number of reasons for that. The
conditions will make it physically hard for drivers, but they can handle
the heat and so can our tyres. I have no fears about wear rates I don't
expect they were a factor when teams were calculating their race
strategies. It is feasible that teams might stop two or three times -- but
if any of them wanted to stop only once our tyres would be durable enough
to cope."
DOUBLE DEUTSCH
Michelin is using two dry-weather compounds this weekend, and partner
teams have chosen to use both in the German Grand Prix.
Pierre Dupasquier said:
"They will perform slightly differently in the race -- and that will
depend on the heat and the manner i n which the track evolves during the
next 24 hours. Both, however, have proved to be very suitable for the
conditions we have encountered so far this weekend." |
