Imola 2000: Team Qualifying Reports

[ Arrows | Benetton | BAR | Ferrari | Jaguar | Jordan | McLaren | Minardi | Prost | Sauber | Williams | Bridgestone ]


Arrows [start]

The Orange Arrows team of Pedro de la Rosa and Jos Verstappen will start the San Marino Grand Prix from 13th and 16th places respectively. Although both drivers are happy with the way their cars have improved over the weekend, they were both hoping for better grid positions. Pedro's best time was 1: 26.349 while Jos's was 1:26.845.

"What can I really say except the last lap was quickest and I had a problem with the right rear wheel," explained Jos. "It was a shame, otherwise I could have moved up a couple of places. It will be difficult for tomorrow because overtaking here is worse than in Brazil. We will do our best and see what we can do."

Pedro de la Rosa is not very happy at the outcome of todays events as he had hoped to finish in the top ten.
"I cannot say I am really happy, because when you are so close to the top ten and then miss on that last tenth I think we have to work very hard," he explained. "We are in a very competitive group and small differences in time make a hell of a lot of a difference in places on the grid. I am confident about the race with the tyres I have, and the car is very consistent."

"Like the drivers I was hoping for better grid positions, especially here, so I have to be disappointed with today," added Tom Walkinshaw. "However, the car's development is going in the right direction. Of course we have made a massive improvement over last year, but we are not satisfied with that, as top ten grid positions are our objectives. We'll get there, it just takes time and effort and we are not lacking the latter."


Benetton [start]

Giancarlo Fisichella headed to the San Marino Grand Prix with high hopes after his podium finish in Brazil and he had hoped for a good qualifying position for tomorrow's race. However, things didn't go as planned with the Benetton driver opting for the wrong tyres. He will start from a low 19th position.

"I am extremely disappointed," said an unhappy Fisichella. "We made the wrong choice with the tyres and we also struggled with the set-up. I had a mixture of under- and oversteer and a lack of traction, so the car was very difficult to drive."

Teammate Alexander Wurz will start a little higher up the grid, in eleventh place and after a difficult session that saw him struggling for grip, he is pleased with the day and he is hoping to score points in tomorrows race.

"This was quite a difficult session, we struggled with the grip on the car," stated the Austrian. "On my last lap I think I really got the maximum I could have got out of the car, so on the whole I am pleased with my qualifying position. We have done some good work on the race set-up so may be we can score some points tomorrow, but it will be tough."

"We made a mistake in choosing the medium tyres for Giancarlo and we have paid for it," added Flavio Briatore. "Alex did a very good job on a circuit that is tricky for us and can have a strong race tomorrow."

"A very good effort by Alex and his crew on a difficult circuit that we didn't fully get to grips with. Nevertheless they made the best of it and he has qualified just outside the top ten but in a position that can give him a strong points finish," concluded Pat Symonds. "With Giancarlo, I think we made the wrong choice of tyres by deciding to go with the medium ones and it has cost us dearly in Qualifying but may be it will pay dividends tomorrow."


British American Racing [start]

This afternoon's qualifying session for the San Marino Grand Prix concluded with BAR Honda drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta in ninth and fourteenth positions respectively.

Jacques Villeneuve was extremely encouraged by today's performance, particularly after the disappointments of yesterday. However, the Canadian felt that the speed of the car and engine was actually good enough to have made an even better position possible. Jacques was slowed on his fastest run by a yellow flag, brought out after Ralf Schumacher's BMW-Williams stopped at the side of the track, and memories of disqualification at Suzuka three years ago encouraged him to back off.

Ricardo Zonta has never been to Imola before and the Brazilian was pleased to secure a starting placed on the seventh row. He lost some time in the morning session, however, and felt that with more time to learn the circuit he would have been able to set a quicker lap.

Jacques Villeneuve
"Considering that we lost the whole of yesterday and started this morning from zero, you'd have to say that ninth is a good result. But the car was so quick today that we really should have had fifth place. Jock did a great job to improve the balance during the session, but I lost at least four tenths because of the yellow flag. The only running we have had here was this morning when it was cold, so when the sun came out, the conditions were like yesterday and we were playing catch-up again. In this position it is hard to choose the right strategy for tomorrow, but we are certainly quick enough to pass the cars in front."

Ricardo Zonta
"I am quite pleased with this result. Yesterday and this morning I was trying to stay off the kerb, but during qualifying I was trying to learn a different line around the track, using the kerbs much more. I did not have long enough to get the proper line, but I did manage to find some time. It is impossible to overtake here, but we have a good race set-up for tomorrow, so we will fill up the car with fuel and cruise round, making up positions whenever we can."

Takefumi Hosaka - Managing Director, Honda R&D
"Both drivers made a good effort today, especially Jacques who did an excellent job after his troubles on the first day. We had to change the engine on Ricardo's car this morning after some valve-motion problems and considering the time he lost, he also did very well in qualifying. Overall, however, we know that the car was quick enough to qualify higher, so we are a little disappointed that the problems have prevented us achieving a better grid position. Reliability is still the most important issue and without this we cannot progress."


Ferrari [start]

Michael Schumacher had a trouble-free practice session this morning, working on race and qualifying set-up, happy with the handling in both configurations. His teammate, Rubens Barrichello carried out a similar program, but could not better sixth quickest. The Brazilian was 1.3s off Schumacher's best, still not happy with the handling of his chassis.

Both Ferraris were running a modified engine, which has been fitted for qualifying but will not be used for the race.

Then for qualifying, the German snatched pole from Hakkinen, as the session was about to come to a close, only to have the flying Finn snatch it straight back. Schumacher blamed nobody but himself for not taking the pole for this race.

"I am very upset with myself because I made a bad mistake at Rivazza on my third run," explained Schumacher. "Up to that point it had been a very exciting lap and I was four tenths up. I could have easily been on pole today and I wanted to do it for all the tifosi and all the team who have worked so hard this weekend. All the same, I take some pleasure from being on the front row. We are looking good for the race and if I make a good start like in Brazil, then that will put us in a strong position."

Rubens Barrichello will start the race behind his teammate in fourth position. The Brazilian suffering problems in the earlier sessions, making it difficult to find the necessary balance. He is unconcerned about the problems, knowing the team will rectify them prior to the start of tomorrows race.

"I had problems in the morning session," he explained. "I was unable to find the right balance for the car and every time I went out on the track I had to work very hard. On my last run, I did a lap on the limit, although I had to lift off because of a yellow flag and I managed to get a good grid position. I am not worried about the race, because the team is capable of solving the set-up problems which I had today."

Jean Todt enjoyed the battle between his drivers and their rivals this afternoon and he believes tomorrows race will be interesting and very close.

"This was an exciting qualifying battle with our rivals," he said. "We were second, then on pole and finally second by a hair's breadth. We have managed to get one car on the front row and one on the second, which is a positive result. Tomorrow, the race will be very interesting and closely fought. For today, we are happy to have put on a good show for all our fans and the staff of the Gestione Sportiva who, as usual at Imola, are packed into their reserved grandstand."


Jaguar [start]

Eddie Irvine used soft tyres to set the quickest time for Jaguar and seventh on the grid while teammate Johnny Herbert went for the harder tyres and learned the hard way that they were slower when he could not better his 17th position.

Irvine repeated his Melbourne performance after laying fifth with 10 minutes to go, but did not improve on his final run and was bumped down by Barrichello and Frentzen. His quickest laps were spoiled by traffic, and the Ulsterman believes that with a clear run he could have taken fifth on the grid.

"We changed the engine after morning practice, which gave us a bit more driveability," said Eddie. "I thought we could have been fifth today but I'm not complaining too much, the car obviously works well round here. I am a bit disappointed though. In Brazil and Australia I got pretty much what I felt was the maximum out of the car. Here, there was two or three tenths at least in it. On my second lap I went completely off the road; on my third lap, when I set my best time, I also screwed up the corner where I went completely off the road. Then on my last lap, I got it right, but Ralf Schumacher had blown up and I had to back off a bit for yellow flags. I can't complain, but it's annoying when the potential is there to do a lot better. I'm sure it's going to be a very competitive year for us."

Meanwhile, Johnny had another disappointing session. He opted for the harder tyre compound and drove longer, four-lap stints hoping for more grip towards the end of each run. But the gamble didn't pay off, and he was off the pace throughout the session, eventually ending up in 17th spot with a time of 1:27.051.

"The end result is just not where I want to be," he explained. "We chose the harder tyre, because all the indications from yesterday and this morning were that when you do longer runs, it gets better. But it didn't happen. At the end I decided to go on one longer run. It's unbelievable, really. I was happy with the balance of the car, it was very good on the out lap on that last run. I thought, 'This is going to be good.' And by the end of my first split I was about 0.4s up. But the tyres gradually went off, and by the end of the lap I was only 0.2s up. I think with this tyre choice we'll be alright in the race. From everything I did this morning it should pay off handsomely."

"Eddie felt he could have gone quicker, because he did a mistake on his quickest lap," added Paul Stewart. "We're encouraged by his performance, but a little disappointed that he couldn't get what he felt he could achieve. Johnny went in a direction that he thought would be okay for qualifying, but it wasn't, and that's why he's as far back as he is."


Jordan [start]

In a tightly fought contest for grid positions for the San Marino Grand Prix, Benson and Hedges Jordan drivers Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli qualified sixth and eighth respectively. Although unable to find the extra fractions of seconds to keep the positions they had set in the morning practice, both Trulli and Frentzen (who will race in his 100th Grand Prix tomorrow) were pleased with the balance and running of their EJ10s, and optimistic about their race performance.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen
"This was a really tough session! It was really tight with everyone fighting for those thousandths of seconds. Ultimately we could not quite find that extra time. But at least I am in the top six and the car is running perfectly so we should have a good race tomorrow."

Jarno Trulli
"I did not expect such a tough qualifying session! The car balance was good but we just were not quick enough today. This was not helped by the fact that I had traffic in my penultimate run and then yellow flags in the final run. Still, we should expect to race well tomorrow."

Eddie Jordan
"That was an incredibly tightly fought session - this season is going to be fascinating! It was very exciting with the drivers battling out for fractions of seconds. Let's hope the race is as thrilling and that we can win some more points."


McLaren [start]

West McLaren Mercedes' driver Mika Hakkinen will start Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix from pole position with a time of 1:24.714, which he set in the last seconds of the one-hour qualifying session to claim his third pole in as many races this year. Team- mate David Coulthard will line up in third with a time of 1:25.014.

Mika Hakkinen
'I must admit that I was on the absolute limit during my final run. I really pushed in the last couple of corners because I felt I might be slightly down after the first two sectors. We have made a lot of progress with the car since yesterday's practice and I'm happy with the balance.'

David Coulthard
'There is no doubt that we had the potential to be quicker but unfortunately I made a small mistake at the second Rivazza, which cost me time on the uphill section afterwards. In the end I had to settle for third place on the grid but I'm looking forward to a competitive race.'

Ron Dennis
'Both Mika and David did a great job and we have worked well as a team throughout practice and the results speak for themselves. Mika's 24th pole position puts him amongst and ahead of some of the current and former great drivers. What better place to achieve it than Imola. But we have now enjoyed the moment and as always we are now focused on the race.'

Norbert Haug
'Mika and the team did an excellent job to score Mika's 24th pole position in the final seconds of the qualifying session. His fight for pole with Schumacher was an excellent display for the millions of television viewers and with David being third, the team is certainly in a good position for the race.'


Minardi [start]

Gaston Mazzacane out-qualified his teammate this afternoon, as both drivers struggled around the Imola circuit. Mazzacane believes the uphill sections of the San Marino track hampered his attempts at a better grid position for tomorrow's race. He will start from 20th on the grid.

"I thought we would be better placed after the Brazilian GP, but the circuit at Imola, with its various uphill sections, puts us at a disadvantage," Mazzacane explained. "We have worked very well on the set-up and I hope to get through the race tomorrow. For me this is definitely the main objective, in addition to checking out my pace in race conditions. I didn't make any mistakes today and I managed to end the session in time to lend the car to my team mate."

Marc Gene went off after a problem with the spare car, and because he destroyed the left side of his original racecar when he ran wide and into a tyre barrier this morning, he had to wait for Mazzacane to finish. He starts one place behind his teammate in 21st.

"Today has been a very difficult and unlucky Saturday because, had it not been for going off the track this morning, I would have clocked a good time," stated Gene. "In qualifying I didn't even make the first lap because of a problem with the T-car, and I had to end the session in Gaston's car with just fifteen minutes to go to the end of qualifying. So we did not have time to change the set-up and, even though the car was not going badly, it was not mine and I couldn't drive it as I wanted. I now have to put today behind me and concentrate on tomorrow because, together with my engineer, we have found a good race set-up."

"Today's qualifying session was extremely fraught," added Gabriele Rumi. "This morning Marc's incident, in which he damaged the chassis, forced the driver to use the T-car. Unfortunately, in the very first qualifying lap a problem arose on the car and consequently we only had one car to use for the whole of qualifying. Gaston immediately had to complete his qualifying without being able to adopt any particular strategy so as to allow Marc to qualify. Under these conditions we could not have expected to do any better."


Prost [start]

Not present at this time


Sauber [start]

Despite both Sauber drivers complaining of a lack of traction during the free practice session prior to qualifying today, Mika Salo set an impressive seventh fastest time, while Pedro Diniz was not far behind in 10th spot. The team was also deciding which tyres to use, the difference between the softer and harder tyres being very close.

Pedro Diniz finished up securing a top ten spot for the team, with Mika Salo back in 12th place.

"We improved the traction of my car as the day went on, and it felt fine this afternoon," commented Diniz. "I lost my third run because of traffic, but my fourth was really good. I'm very happy to have qualified in the top 10."

Mika Salo was very frustrated at the fact that he just couldn't seem to put a good lap together for qualifying. He explained that he was hitting the kerbs to hard and that combined with losing most of his time with traction problems at the last chicane, made it hard to keep the power down.

"I just couldn't put a good lap together this afternoon, which is very frustrating," he explained. "Yesterday I was afraid the traffic would be a problem in qualifying, but really I just didn't get the last chicane right. I kept hitting the kerbs too hard, which made it very difficult to get the power down. That just made worse the traction problem I was already having."

"This was a very good result for us today," added Peter Sauber. "Our aim is always to qualify at least one of our cars in the top 10, so I am happy to have the 10th and 12th places. Both car and driver must be very good to be only two tenths of a second away from Jarno Trulli's Jordan. It is a very good start to our European season to be so close to the works teams. Both RED BULL SAUBER C19s have been reliable all weekend, and I would like to thank the team for their focused and effective work, which cannot have been easy after all the pressure we have been under recently."


Williams [start]

Ralf Schumacher set an impressive fifth fastest time for Williams, but unfortunately he didn't get the chance to improve on that when his engine blew up whilst on a quicker lap on his final run. However this is the highest ever-starting position for the new BMW powered team.

This was a new unit, which had been fitted to replace the one from morning practice. He will start tomorrows race with eight world championship points already to his name after finishing third in Australia and fifth in Brazil and he hopes to add more to that tally.

"This feels such a great reward for all the work everyone at both BMW and WilliamsF1 has put in," Ralf stated. "We really are making a lot of progress. The car feels better round here than at any other time I've driven it. The chassis is working very well indeed and the engine is performing well too. I'm really so happy about this. For the race we still have a worry about reliability, but if the engine holds together I think another place on the podium is a good possibility."

"Ralf did a fantastic job today," said BMW Motorsport Director Gerhard Berger. "He achieved 100% of the potential of the car here. In the last race at Brazil I don't believe we got the best out of the car, either technically or in being out on the track at the right time. But here, Ralf timed his runs to perfection, worked with his engineers to find a good set-up, and we did a lot of useful work in this at Silverstone last week, and finally he drove a brilliant qualifying lap."

According to Sir Frank Williams, Ralf was at his best today as he made great use of a car that had been significantly improved. "We are delighted with progress generally," he added. "The whole partnership with BMW is becoming more slick as we get more used to working together and what you see here are the fruits of that."

Jenson Button continued to struggle with the demands of the circuits many kerbs and will start the race from 18th place. He reported no actual problems with his car for qualifying, only with mastering the peculiar demands of the track. However, he was forced to sit out most of the earlier practice session with a hydraulic problem. "I'm still struggling, to be honest," he admitted. "I hope to make more progress in the race tomorrow."

Berger was not surprised at the difficulties encountered by Jenson as he knew Imola was going to be a much tougher track for the young man to learn.

"He's had a difficult, character-building time here," he said. "I told him before he got here that it would be difficult. I still remember how hard it was in my early days here. You really need experience here above all else, to know exactly how much kerb to take, to know exactly how deep you can leave your braking and to know which kerbs to ride and which to show respect. This difficulty is especially apparent on a qualifying lap, where your margins need to be so fine. Jenson has had a fantastic start to his career in the first two races. It is only normal that you will see peaks and dips like this in a driver's first season. When we get to Silverstone I'm sure you will see him right back up there."


Bridgestone [start]

Not present at this time

San Marino Grand Prix Weekend