BULLETIN No 2
WEATHER CONDITIONS: VERY HOT AD SUNNY
(TRACK 24-45C/AIR 26-33C)
2001 POLE POSITION: Michael SCHUMACHER
(FERRARI), 1m13.780s
2001 RACE FASTEST LAP: Ralf SCHUMACHER
(WILLIAMS), 1m15.693s.
In sweltering conditions which saw
track temperatures briefly top the 45-deg mark, Juan Pablo Montoya took the fourth pole
position of his career for the BMW Williams team ahead of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari.
Michelin-shod cars took nine of the first 13 positions on the grid.
BMW WILLIAMSF1 TEAM (1st
Montoya/3rd R. Schumacher)
Technical: No major changes to the
cars today apart from set-up changes to Montoya for qualifying.
Sporting: Montoya very satisfied
after making set-up changes following free practice session which improved handling
balance and particularly under hard braking for first left hander after pits. Schumacher
spent the whole session chasing the right set-up.
Quotes: Schumacher: "I feel quite
satisfied being a close third, but I didn't get the car quite right today."
SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO(2nd
M. Schumacher/8th Barrichello)
Technical: No changes to cars from
yesterday.
Sporting: Schumacher admitted that he
had to press very hard and made minor mistakes on two of his runs, but still reckoned the
new car was quicker. Barrichello started the session knowing that his fastest qualifying
lap would be disallowed after he passed a red light on the exit of the pit lane in this
morning's free practice session.
Quotes: Schumacher: "I ran out of time to
do my last run. The new car is certainly quicker than the old one but we may not have
found its maximum potential yet."
WEST McLAREN MERCEDES(4th
Coulthard/5th Raikkonen)
Technical: No changes to car
specification for today.
Sporting: Coulthard had a generally
good day, being particularly satisfied with the balance of the MP4/17 with a full fuel
load. Raikkonen suffered a fuel pump problem in the morning so the spare car was switched
to him from DC's priority use as a precaution. He then suffered a slight hydraulic problem
on the first lap of qualifying in his race car, switched to the spare for a lap and then
went back into his repaired race car for the rest of the session.
Quotes: Ron Dennis: "I think we had a
promising day and there's still at least another half a second a lap to come from the car
and engine."
MILD SEVEN RENAULT F1 TEAM (6th
Trulli/7th Button)
Technical: No changes to car
specification for today.
Sporting: Trulli had traffic on every
lap after being obliged to abort his first run. Button happy with his performance but
reported that the car felt heavy to drive after a slight weight distribution change.
Quotes: Button: "We shifted some ballast
for the later runs, but managed to keep the balance. I'm pleased to be so close to the
McLarens and to be running so competitively."
SAUBER PETRONAS (9th
Heidfeld/12th
Technical: No changes to car
specification for today.
Sporting: Heidfeld had to use spare
C21 after his race car developed a water leak as it was being warmed up. Spent first two
runs perfecting balance and also had persistent problem with the brakes. Massa aiming for
top ten, but experimented with old tyres on the front and new on the rear for his final
run but wasn't able to improve.
Quotes: Heidfeld: "Considering everything
I'm very happy to be in the top ten, but I know I would have been quicker in my race
car."
PANASONIC
Technical: No changes to car
specification for today.
Sporting: Salo confident that he can
challenge for a few more points in the race while McNish said that the team improved the
car's balance during the morning, although he lost a few tenths on his final run.
Quotes: McNish: "The car feels
particularly good in race trim."
JAGUAR RACING (11th de la
Rosa/13th
Technical: No changes to car
specification today.
Sporting: Team generally satisfied
that the R3 performed promisingly today, although much helped by latest Michelin rubber.
Quotes: Niki Lauda: "The Michelin tyres
have been good, yes, but for the first time this season we have extracted a very good
set-up from the Jaguar R3."
DHL
Technical: No changes to car
specification today.
Sporting: Fisichella disappointed
although there was nothing specifically wrong with his EJ-12. Sato knocked his nose
section off during the morning's free practice and also had his best qualifying time
deleted after running past a red light during yesterday's free practice session.
Quotes: Fisichella: "I believe we got the
maximum out of the car but it is clear that our package just was not competitive enough
today."
LUCKY STRIKE BAR HONDA (15th
Villeneuve/17th Panis)
Technical: No changes to car specification for
today.
Sporting: Villeneuve said balance was
good and consistent, but Panis reckoned it was a bad day and far from what he had
expected.
Quotes: Panis: 15th and 17th
is not good enough and we have an engine problem here for sure."
ORANGE ARROWS (18th
Frentzen/21st Bernoldi)
Technical: No changes to car
specification for today.
Sporting: Both drivers struggling for
handling balance. Frentzen missed most of free practice session due to stalling his engine
going out of the pits. Bernoldi complaining of excessive understeer.
Quotes: Mike Coughlan: "We knew were in
for a fight today but to be so far down the grid is not good at all."
KL MINARDI ASIATECH (20th
Webber/22nd Yoong)
Technical: No changes to car specification for
today.
Sporting: Webber made some set-up
changes and the car was not too bad, but Yoong admitted that he was at his own personal
limit on this track.
Quotes: Webber: "I think for what we've
got we did quite a good job today."