23.11.2009, 19:04:53 cet

European GP ...

European GP - First day of practice

Nuerburgring, 5th May 2006


Jean Todt: "At the risk of sounding repetitive, I have to say this was just the usual Friday during which the team worked on the comparison of the two types of tyre brought here by Bridgestone and on defining the best settings on the car for the race. We acquired some interesting data, which will now be evaluated by the engineers to make all the necessary choices for the rest of the Grand Prix. From what we have seen so far, we can say that our chassis, engine and Bridgestone tyre package, should allow us to be competitive."

Michael Schumacher: "We had a good day and I am reasonably happy with the car. We are more or less where we expected to be. Looking at the times, the situation seems quite good. I opted for just one type of tyre for this first day of free practice, working only on this and the choice seemed to be the best one. Our main rivals also seem very strong, so I think it will be a very close fight. We are confident and from what we have seen, we are also competitive here. If we can put all the pieces of the jigsaw together then we can fight for the win."

Felipe Massa: "As usual, today was spent mainly comparing the two types of tyre Bridgestone has brought here for us and on finding the best set-up on the 248 F1. Michael and I split the work load, each trying a different type of tyre. Overall, I am reasonably happy with the way things went this afternoon and we now have a lot of data to study. We know we have a good potential and we have to try and improve the car for qualifying and most of all, for the race."

Ross Brawn: "Getting the car balanced was a bit tricky at first, but I think both race engineers did a good job with their drivers to improve the situation, to the extent that, come the end of the second hour, both Michael and Felipe were happy. The two drivers used different tyre types so as to get as much data as possible to work with from this afternoon onwards. Basically, the cars seem to be competitive and we are confident for the rest of the weekend."


Free practice - First session
Temperatures

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track

Michael Schumacher

4th

Felipe Massa

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Free practice - Second session
Temperatures

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Michael Schumacher

3rd

Felipe Massa

14th

Nürburgring, 6th May 2006

The Qualifying

Proving that pole position in Imola a fortnight ago was no fluke, Michael Schumacher again put his Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 248 F1 on the front row of the grid, although this time in second place, alongside pole sitter Fernando Alonso in the Renault. Felipe Massa on the other hand, actually improved on his San Marino performance by qualifying third at the Nurburgring, with Rubens Barrichello in the Honda making it an all-Brazilian second row in fourth place. Kimi Raikkonen is fifth for McLaren-Mercedes while in the other Honda, Jenson Button is sixth. It was an incident filled session in more ways than one: firstly, just before the end of the first 15 minute sector, an error in the timing system provoked the red flag icon to be shown on the timing screens and by the time the message was posted stating it was incorrect, it had affected the runs of some of the slower competitors. There was plenty of action in Race Control after the session: Christian Klien was badly delayed by Takuma Sato, but the Austrian's Red Bull team declined to lodge a protest as it would have no effect on his position. Giancarlo Fisichella and Jacques Villeneuve were also called up to explain what they got up to, as the Italian Renault man had gone into the BMW garage to complain very vociferously to the Canadian, whom he felt had held him up unnecessarily.
Although it has no effect on the two Ferrari drivers, both Williams are due to change their Cosworth engines and as they are currently 10th and 12th fastest at the end of the session, both Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg will have to move down the grid tomorrow.

Jean Todt: "It was a very closely contested qualifying session, which saw us come away with second and third places for Michael and Felipe respectively. Drivers, team, chassis, engine, Bridgestone tyres and Shell fuel and lubricants all worked well and this result should allow us to fight as front runners tomorrow. The decisive factors that will influence the final outcome are the same as ever: reliability, strategy and consistent tyre performance."

Michael Schumacher: "I am happy to be on the front row. We have been strong all weekend and so we can be optimistic about tomorrow's race. The fact that the Renault is on pole does not surprise me, but I think we have a great chance of fighting for the win. Naturally, strategy will be vitally important. I think we will see a very close race for the win and as you know, I like a fight."

Felipe Massa: "This third place is a good starting point and I am pleased with my performance today. Our package works very well at this track and so I am confident for tomorrow's race, when I hope to improve on my performance in Imola. I am not surprised to also be competitive here at the Nurburgring, because the 248 F1 has proved to be strong right from the start of the season. My quick lap was very good. With this qualifying format, you need to be very careful about choosing the right moment to go out on track and today, I waited for a moment in pit lane after changing tyres, in order to create a space between me and the cars that had gone out before me."

Ross Brawn: "I'm very pleased with the cars' performance and the balance that we had. We have made some genuine progress over the last few races and we saw that again here today. The Bridgestone tyres are very consistent which means we have a good tyre for the race and so I am optimistic for tomorrow. This afternoon, we had no problems, both drivers got clean laps, so it all points to a very exciting race tomorrow."

Temperatures

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Qualifying session
Q1

MS

FM

Q2

MS

FM

Q3

MS

FM

The Race

Second win of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, again with Michael Schumacher. This is the Scuderia's fifth victory in the European Grand Prix, the 185th from 728 Grand Prix starts. Michael Schumacher took his eighty sixth career win, the fifth at the Nurburgring. A first ever podium for Felipe Massa.

Jean Todt: "A great result after a very close fight. The sixteen points we got today are no miracle, but come from a perfect combination of many elements: two drivers of the calibre of Michael and Felipe, the team, the chassis, the engine, the high-performing Bridgestone tyres and the fundamental support from Shell, in terms of fuel and lubricants. This success, following on from the win in Imola, is further encouragement to give our all, already starting next weekend in Barcelona, as we try and reach the goals we set ourselves at the start of the season. There is still a very long way to go, but we intend doing all we can to be in the running right to the end of the Championship."

Michael Schumacher: "A great race, great strategy and a great performance from the whole team. I am happy for all of them and I think the result shows we are back, with car, engine, tyres and fuel all working superbly. At the start, I was in Alonso's slipstream and I thought I was safe in second place as I could not see anything in my mirrors, but then luckily, I realised that Felipe was coming alongside me very quickly, but I managed to stay ahead. Apart from that, my only moment was when I ran a bit wide in turn 6, before the first pit stop. I pushed too hard as I thought I could catch Fernando there. It's a very nice feeling winning my home grand prix. Unfortunately though, we have only made up two points on Fernando, but every point counts. I am also pleased for Felipe, getting his first F1 podium today and now I am looking forward to another good fight in Barcelona."

Felipe Massa: "I am very happy. Today, I stood on the podium for the first time and it was a really great feeling. I am also happy that this coincided with a win for Michael, as it shows the team is really in the fight for the title. We have to give it our all, race after race. I made a great start to such an extent that I found myself alongside Michael, but as he had the inside line at turn 1, he was able to stay ahead. The strategy worked very well and the Bridgestone tyre performance was fantastic. Only in the final stages, when I had taken on a used set, was I unable to push to the maximum. I got close to Alonso, but I had Kimi closing on me quickly. There were a few difficult moments, but I managed to keep third place, while also trying to get by Fernando. Now, I am tempted to keep my race suit on: the champagne smells nice!"

Ross Brawn: "We are very very happy. It was a challenging race, although we knew we had the pace to win if we made the correct decisions at some keys stages of the race. The team and the drivers did a perfect job. The Bridgestone tyres were very strong throughout the race and we got good performance from the whole package. Shell has done a great job with all the fluids in the car and that all came together and helped our performance today. It's clear we are going to face a tough challenge for the rest of the season, but this is a great way to start it."

Temperatures

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Michael Schumacher

1st

Felipe Massa

3rd

Nuerburgring, 7th May 2006

First Practice
Qualifying
The Race
Gallery

Second pole position of the season