Schumacher Set For A Strong Showing In The Rain
By Dale Calkins
September 10 2005
Michael Schumacher put in a solid lap today during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix to set the 7th fastest time. Schumacher will actually start 6th as Giancarlo Fisichella will take an engine penalty. Rubens Barrichello starts back in 12th.
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Schumacher Set For A Strong Showing In The Rain |
Dale Calkins |
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Michael
Schumacher Q: 7th - 1'47.476 Michael Schumacher was rather uncertain of how well he and Ferrari would do in the Belgium Grand Prix. Thanks to the rain and a strong qualifying run at Spa, he may be able to place on the podium, or maybe even take the victory. Schumacher sacrificed his qualifying run with a wet setup, in hopes that it will rain tomorrow for the Grand Prix. Michael starts 6th. Here is what the 7-Time World Champion had to say about his qualifying run in Belgium: "We said that we did not think there would be much of an improvement after Monza and so today’s performance is pretty much what we expected. We did the best we could and it seems that I will start from sixth place, which is okay, although I would have preferred to stay seventh on the clean side of the grid. If it stays dry, we can only hope to fight for points, so obviously I prefer if it rains as that would make the situation more open. Today, we ran the car with a bias towards a wet set-up, which is reflected in the lack of top speed." Rubens Barrichello Q: 12th - 1'48.550 Rubens Barrichello did not seem to be on the pace of Schumacher today as he was way back in 12th place. He too hopes that the rain will favor his Bridgestone tyres in the race. Here is what the Brazilian had to say after his session: "Given that we have opted for a very conservative race strategy, I do not think that twelfth on the grid today is too bad. We have to see what the weather will do tomorrow. Taking all the possibilities into account, I think I have a chance of scoring points tomorrow." Ross Brawn Technical Director Ferrari's Technical Director Ross Brawn, was not pleased with today's session and also believes the team will do well in the race. Here is what Ross had to say about the qualifying session: "I am slightly disappointed with this performance, as I thought we could make a little bit of a step up this afternoon, from what we saw in the morning. I suspect the track was a bit slippery. We would not complain if it is wet tomorrow. Rubens is a bit further back than we would have liked, but let us hope he can move up a bit if and when it rains tomorrow. We did take the possibility of rain into account in the way we set up the cars today, but they do not have a full wet set-up." |
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September 10, 2005 |
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