Ferrari Tops the Timesheets in Monte Carlo
By Ferrari Press Release
May 30 2004
Michael Schumacher was quickest for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro at the end of the first hour of free practice, with a time of 1.16.502, the only driver under the 1 minutes 17 barrier.
Second and third places went to the BAR-Honda drivers with Takuma Sato lapping in 1.17.279 and Jenson Button doing a 1.17.339. Fourth was Toyota's 'Friday only' driver Ricardo Zonta (1.17.426.) Fifth was the McLaren-Mercedes of David Coulthard (1.17.524) ahead of Fernando Alonso in 1.17.686. Rubens Barrichello recorded the 12th fastest time (1.18.621.) The session had to be red-flagged for a few minutes while Mark Webber’s Jaguar was lifted off the track after it caught fire. The driver was not hurt and in fact the Australian jumped out of the cockpit and grabbed a fire extinguisher from a track marshal to tackle the fire. This was just one of many incidents that are part of the character of action on the street track and the yellow flags had to come out quite often. Both Schumacher and Barrichello completed 14 laps, Michael using two sets of tyres and Rubens, who is not yet 100% happy with the handling of his car, just one set. As the track surface improves, this afternoon’s session will be vital for identifying tyre choice between the two types available from Bridgestone and fine tuning set-up on the F2004.
Michael Schumacher (Driver):
"It was an entertaining and interesting session as we have come to expect in Monaco. We worked well throughout the day, improving the car all the time as can be seen from the fact I was quickest at the end of both sessions. I think qualifying here will be very close so, although this is a positive sign, I don’t think today means so much and we will only see the real picture on Saturday. I like the new pits as they are a big step forward in terms of safety, for the drivers and everyone working there."
Rubens Barrichello (Driver):
"I had a big problem with the set-up this morning, but now we have made a very good improvement. As usual we concentrated more on the race than on qualifying. I have a bit of a cold, so I was not so comfortable in the car as it was hot and my breathing was difficult. The team did a superb job to improve the car and I am looking forward to Saturday."
Ross Brawn (Technical Director):
It was a typical first day at Monaco, where it is not so easy to follow what is going on at the track. We got through our programme for the day and now we have all the data we need to analyse this evening and make the most important decision, which is to choose what type of tyre to use for the rest of the weekend. The drivers are both happy with their cars and our set-up seems reasonable. The new pits are a big step forward and made it easier for us to operate and the organisers should be congratulated on what they have done in what we know our difficult conditions.
Jean Todt (General Director):
Here we are at the Monaco Grand Prix, a race that takes place on a track and against a backdrop that is unique in our sport. We should congratulate the organisers who have done a really good job with the new garages and pit lane, which make life much easier for the teams. As usual, the first day of the race weekend was spent evaluating the two types of tyre at our disposal. Here there is another parameter that has to be taken into account when analysing the data needed to make that choice, because the time gap to qualifying is over a day. For our part, we have sufficient data to give us a clear picture of what we can expect from our Bridgestone tyres. There is nothing to stop us thinking we will be competitive, but we know qualifying, which is more important here than elsewhere, will be very close. Grid position on a track where overtaking is almost impossible will play a key role in the final result.