BULLETIN No 2

SATURDAY 16/03/02 - FREE PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING

WEATHER CONDITIONS: HOT, HUMID AND BRIGHT (TRACK 29-40�C/AIR 27-31�C)

2001 POLE POSITION: Michael SCHUMACHER (FERRARI), 1m35.220s

2001 RACE FASTEST LAP: Mika HAKKINEN (McLAREN), 1m40.962.

Closely matched battle for pole position with Michael Schumacher eventually getting the upper hand for Bridgestone and Ferrari against key rivals Michelin and BMW Williams. Barrichello did good job displacing Ralf Schumacher for third fastest in the closing stages of the session.

SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO (1^st M. Schumacher/3^rd Barrichello)

Technical: No changes to the cars since yesterday.

Sporting: Schumacher had good run to 44^th career pole and 150^th pole for Ferrari team, also keeping intact his unbroken record of pole positions at Sepang. Barrichello said his car felt better during the untimed session on worn tyres but not so good initially on new rubber in the afternoon which initially caused too much understeer.

Quotes: Schumacher: "The race should be very interesting and exciting with the possibility that rain could be a factor."

BMW WILLIAMSF1 TEAM (2^nd Montoya.4^th R. Schumacher)

Technical: No changes to the cars since yesterday.

Sporting: Montoya struggled initially to string together quick times in each of the three sectors and reported that understeer in turns seven and eight was losing him crucial fractions. Ralf Schumacher started very well, but just didn't progress with the set-up as much as he'd hoped.

Quotes: Schumacher: "I just couldn't improve the car in the way I wanted, which was a bit disappointing."

WEST McLAREN MERCEDES (5^th Raikkonen/6^th Coulthard)

Technical: No changes to cars since yesterday.

Sporting: Coulthard lost time after spinning into the gravel during the morning then struggled with too much oversteer in the afternoon. Raikkonen also had oversteer and made a slight mistake on his second run.

Quotes: Martin Whitmarsh: "We didn't make up the required ground from this morning and paid the price."

SAUBER PETRONAS (7^th Heidfeld/14^th Massa)

Technical: No changes to cars since yesterday.

Sporting: Heidfeld very well satisfied with his performance although he briefly went the wrong way on chassis set-up and had to back-track to the original set-up. Massa had a brake problem and right-hand front tyre deflation on his race, then switched to the spare which had more understeer than his race car.

Quotes: Heidfeld: "Seventh fastest is the best we could expect and I am very happy."

MILD SEVEN RENAULT F1 TEAM (8^th Button /12^th Trulli)

Technical: No changes to cars since yesterday.

Sporting: Button quite happy with the handling of his car, posting his best time on his first run after which he had a slight engine problem and switched to the spare R202 which he felt was just as good. Trulli didn't find a good handling balance and hopes things will be better for the race.

Quotes: Button: "I lost power on my second run and switched to the spare. Without that I think I might have been seventh."

DHL JORDAN HONDA (9^th Fisichella/15^th Sato)

Technical: No changes to cars since yesterday.

Sporting: Fisichella very satisfied with the EJ-12's performance, making the point that it was the target to be in the top eight and that had been achieved. Sato still learning about driving in qualifying trim and admitted that he pushed a little too hard on his second and fourth run.

Quotes: Gary Anderson: "Today's result gives an honest representation of where we lie in the field at the moment."

PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING (10^th Salo/19^th McNish)

Technical: No changes to cars since yesterday.

Sporting: Salo had an excellent run but McNish had a differential problem on his first lap and took the spare car which did not handle as well.

Quotes: "I think it is possible that we may be able to race for points tomorrow."

ORANGE ARROWS (11^th Frentzen/16^th Bernoldi)

Technical: No changes to cars since yesterday.

Sporting: Positive progress with the handling of the new A23 for both drivers although Bernoldi went off the road in the T-car because the balance wasn't quite right.

Quotes: Frentzen: "I think we can be happy with the progress we have made since Australia. The car handles a lot better and I know we are now on the right path."

LUCKY STRIKE BAR HONDA(13^th Villeneuve/18^th Panis)

Technical: No changes to cars since yesterday

Sporting: Villeneuve picked up two-tenths during the course of the session but nothing more, complaining that the car was just not quick enough in a straight line or through the corners. Panis suffered a gearbox oil leak, so the gearbox was replaced at the start of the session but it then began jumping out of fourth gear and he switched to the T-car 12 minutes before the end of the session.

Quotes: Villeneuve: "We just have a poor aerodynamic package, which is difficult to believe after four years."

JAGUAR RACING(17^th De la Rosa/20^th Irvine)

Technical: Revised front wing tried on Irvine's car only.

Sporting: Irvine struggling with balance after switching back from revised front wing to original set-up. De la Rosa no real problems but ran standard specification throughout the session.

Quotes: Irvine: "The car just doesn't carry any speed into the corners. It's a good thing we've got the R2 available. We can't go on like this."

KL MINARDI ASIATECH (21^st Webber/22^nd Yoong)

Technical: No changes to the cars today.

Sporting: Steady progress throughout the session with no real problems, but still slower than the immediate opposition.

Quotes: Yoong: "We had a trouble-free day but we still need to find more speed."