2006 European Grand Prix - Race 5/18

Raikkonen relieved Ide is replaced
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen sounded relieved to hear the news that Super Aguri will replace Yuji Ide from this weekend's European Grand Prix.

The Formula One newcomers have replaced struggling Japanese rookie Ide with France's Franck Montagny on advice from the sport's governing body.

Montagny, a former Renault test driver, will make his race debut in Sunday's European Grand Prix as the first Frenchman on the starting grid since Toyota's Olivier Panis retired in 2004.

Ide, 31, will take up Montagny's role as driver of the team's third car in Friday practice only.

Ide's Formula One career has been troubled from the start.

At the last race at Imola, he was reprimanded by the stewards for causing a spectacular accident that sent Midland's Dutch driver Christijan Albers barrel-rolling into the gravel on the opening lap.

He also hit a mechanic at a pitstop in the Bahrain season-opener. Several teams and drivers have voiced safety concerns about his driving and the reaction on Thursday was equally unflattering.

"In Monaco it could have been a bit disastrous," Raikkonen told reporters. "He's a nice guy but he was quite slow and then he was spinning quite often so you never knew if he was going to spin in front of you when you were close to him."

"Without judging Ide's driving, I don't think it will change a lot if he does more testing," said BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld.

"Sometimes he has really different lines to us. Maybe that's because they drive on the other side in Japan," added Red Bull's Austrian Christian Klien.

Ide, a runner-up in last year's Formula Nippon championship, had barely any testing under his belt and was never at ease in an uncompetitive car derived from a four-year-old Arrows
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Some serious bitching going on there. Got to love Klien's comment, makes you wonder how the 8 British F1 world champions managed it....
 
Raikkonen narrows future to three teams

McLaren's Formula One title contender Kimi Raikkonen says there are only three teams that can hope to sign him for 2007.

"In the end there are not many positions where I want to go and everybody knows them," said the Finn, championship runner-up to Renault's Fernando Alonso last year and to Ferrari's Michael Schumacher in 2003.

"There are only really three top teams so I don't think it's going to be a big surprise whatever I decide. But I don't know, we'll see."

Spaniard Alonso, the youngest champion at 24, has already signed to join Mercedes-powered McLaren next year while Raikkonen has been linked strongly to Ferrari, either as Schumacher's teammate or successor.

Renault are looking for a replacement for Alonso while Ferrari, waiting on a decision from Schumacher about whether he wants to continue or retire, insist they have not done any deal with Raikkonen despite making their admiration clear.

Of the other leading teams, Honda have a fixed line-up for 2007 while big-spending Toyota have struggled to match last year's form that took them to fourth place overall in the championship.

McLaren are also hoping to persuade the Finn to stay in a dream line-up reviving memories of the stormy pairing of Brazilian Ayrton Senna and French champion Alain Prost in the late 1980s.

Raikkonen said the decision would be his.

"I talk to my wife but she's not going to decide where I go," he said. "I'll speak to my managers about what we want to do and what's the best for us.

"There's only really been three teams over the last two years that have been capable (of winning the championship)...so I don't think it's going to be too difficult to decide between them.

"The money is not going to be much different wherever I go, so it's not going to decide," he added. "It's all going to come down to small things, small things will decide it.

"First of all you want to have the best car but you are never going to know what you are going to get next year. You just hope you make the right decision."
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Brawn still undecided on future

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn has said he is still undecided about whether he will continue at the Maranello team after his contract expires later this year - although he has made it clear that he does not want to work for another Formula One team.

Brawn has played a key role in Ferrari's recent run of world championship success with Michael Schumacher, and there have been suggestions that his future at the outfit depends heavily on whether the seven-time champion decides to stay on in F1 or not.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with this week's Autosport, Brawn said that a decision about his future would be taken this summer - although he saw little reason to want to leave.

"That a topic of discussion," he said when asked about his plans beyond this year. "I don't want to work for another F1 team and I think we'll discuss my future again. But I'm very happy here and I want Ferrari to succeed in the future."

He added: "There are still some formal discussions to take place and they'll happen during the summer."

Brawn has said that even if he does decide not to continue with Ferrari, he will not just turn his back on the team. He wants to ensure that the outfit are left in a strong enough position to enjoy success without him.

"It's only correct that we have an evolution for the future, be it next year, be it two years' time, be it three years or whatever. We will all stop one day and it's important that we have a proper plan for the future.

"Our president demands that we have a succession plan in every key position in Ferrari.

"Ferrari have plans identified for what it's going to do in the future. I'm not going to elaborate on them, before you ask, but we have plans and that's correct. Every team should have."

And although Brawn has said he is undecided about his future, he has dropped a hint that his enthusiasm for the job has been rekindled by the team's difficulties over the last 18 months.

"Strangely enough, 2004 was probably a time when I was thinking, 'I've done everything now', but the failure of 2005 did give me a lot of fresh incentive," he explained.

"Sometimes failure can regenerate enthusiasm. The feeling I had after Bahrain, after coming so close to winning and not doing so, took me several days to recover from. I thought that gave me a message.

"We were two or three metres short and when you're that close it hurts."
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KIMI RAIKKONEN EXCLUSIVE

It's not been a spectacular start to the season for Kimi Raikkonen, but with two podiums under his belt already, the Iceman is closer to his chief rival Fernando Alonso than he was this time last year.

He was robbed of victory in the 2005 European GP when a flat-spot-induced suspension failure took him out of the lead on the last lap. The McLaren star is hoping to last just that little bit longer this year...

Ted Kravitz: If I can take you back to last year, what do you remember about the race when your wheel fell off?

Kimi: I remember everything! Those things happen. It wasn’t nice that it happened here especially as it was the home race [for Mercedes], but every German race has been difficult for me so far!

Every time I’ve been leading and something happens. It is just an unlucky thing that’s happened, but hopefully here this year we’ll have better results.


Ted: How much of an improvement is this new engine you have this weekend?

Kimi: Actually I don’t know at the moment whether we’ve got the new spec or the old spec engine, because I haven’t been to meet the engineers yet, but if it’s the new spec, it will be slightly better, but I don’t know by how much.


Ted: Where do you feel McLaren are on pace compared to Renault?

Kimi: I think that if we get everything right, and the setup exactly right, then we can be really quick.

But it seems to be a bit difficult for us to find the right setup and the Renaults are really strong, so if we don’t get it right we can’t really challenge them.

It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s racing or testing they’re always a little bit ahead of us.

At the last test at Silverstone the car felt a little bit better with a different setup, so hopefully it will also work here.


Ted: Is that a problem, that you have to hit the sweet spot on the setup?

Kimi: Maybe the car isn’t as quick as it should be, so if you don’t get it absolutely right you can’t push the car 100% on the limit and so you’re not as quick as you could be with the right setup.

Then if you’re not in the quickest car it doesn’t look so good.

Last year it was slightly easier – the car was good, it was quite easy to get it right, but even when it wasn’t right, we could still fight for wins. It’s a bit different this year.

Not the first time, but we can only do the best we can.


Ted: Was Ferrari’s performance in Imola a flash in the pan?

Kimi: Well they were quick in the first race, too. It depends on the tyres what will happen.


Ted: What do you think about McClaren becoming England manager?

Kimi: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
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BMW oppose FIA's 'engine freeze'

Mario Theissen has confirmed BMW's opposition to the floated three or five-year 'engine freeze' for F1.

The German agreed that 'very constructive discussions' are taking place between the carmakers' 'GPMA' group and Bernie Ecclestone about a commercial agreement.

The bigger sticking point to a deal, then, is negotiations with the governing FIA about rules. The 'engine freeze' concept would see each manufacturer's V8 design homologated and tightly controlled for a period of up to five years.

BMW motor sport director Theissen told sport1.de: 'It is true that this (engine freeze) idea does not correspond with our beliefs.

'On the other hand, we see that excessive money and resources are wasted in Formula One, (so) we work with other engine manufacturers on the possibility of saving money without having to freeze engine technology for several years.'

He said the tighter regulation of private track testing would be a 'good starting point'.
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Thursday's press conference - Europe

Participating: Christijan Albers (MF1), Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), Christian Klien (Red Bull Racing), Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), Ralf Schumacher (Toyota).

Q. Christian, you missed this race last year; is it one that's difficult to learn or one you know quite well?

Christian Klien: Actually, I know it quite well. I think I did the most races here in all the lower categories and in all the lower categories that I raced here, I won the race, so I quite like the circuit and I hope that that helps me this weekend.

Q. What are your feelings about Red Bull at the moment; do you think they are where they should be?

CK: Yeah, for sure we should be further up. We had so many troubles in the last couple of months. We're still running about a month behind schedule because we had these cooling problems at the beginning of the season and we had a lot of reliability problems in the races. I think the car has the pace and if everything works well - like in Bahrain and Malaysia, we had the pace, we were there, but we just couldn't finish the races. We had some good tests in Barcelona and also last week in Silverstone, so we hope that we can get back on the road and get good results again.

Q. Your team mate says that good testing doesn't necessarily mean good races.

CK: Yeah, but it's important to have good tests as well. We've sorted out a few reliability problems and for sure that will help us in the races as well.

Q. So you feel this one should be better.

CK: I feel it should be better. We've had a lot of bad luck in the last couple of races, so all the bad luck is gone now and we should get some (good) luck back.

Q. Nick, you had problems with your back at Silverstone; is that all cleared up?

Nick Heidfeld: Yes, all cleared up.

Q. What did it feel like? How bad was it?

NH: I had muscle cramp while driving so I went home, saw a doctor, he found that I had a mobility problem with my hip, it was blocked so I had a bit of treatment and now it's fine.

Q. Tell us about the Nurburgring: do you regard it as your local circuit? You were on pole last year, raced to second but you've also been disqualified twice, in Formula One and F3000. You've had your ups and downs.

NH: Yeah, for me it's more the ups, really. If I look at the results I achieved here and the mistakes I made here, it was quite good. Of course, being disqualified here in F3000 was bad but at the same time I was on pole position, so I've always gone quite well here.

Q. So what are the chances this time? BMW looked very good in the first two or three races but it seems to have dropped off since.

NH: Imola was quite difficult for us. I struggled quite badly there, not getting the grip I thought I would get with new tyres. But I think the last couple of races have also shown how close together the field is. If you are just a few tenths quicker, you're up there. If you miss a few tenths you're out of the points so you have to get everything together perfectly and then you should fight for points.

Q. Christijan, any side effects from landing on your head a couple of weeks ago?

Christijan Albers: No, I'm still crazy. I'm still the same. No, I had no problems. Everything went quite well. We have a new chassis so we're going for it again this weekend, maximum attack. I feel good, no problems.

Q. Do you regard this as your home race?

CA: Yeah, for sure. Spa-Francorchamps fell away but it was quite good for the Dutch fans because it's quite close to Holland, of course. And Nurburgring is the second closest so I think I'm expecting a lot of Dutch fans which will be nice.

Q. Now there was a suggestion that there was a Dutch consortium, possibly of your sponsors, bidding to take over Midland. Can you tell us anything about that?

CA: I have no clue. I'm just a racing driver.

Q. Ralf, I believe you've been testing a new car at the Circuit Paul Ricard: how eager are you to get hold of that car as soon as possible?

Ralf Schumacher: I'm not. It's another little step but we knew that it would be a few tests before we launch it for its first race. That's the plan. Certainly as a race driver you always tend to want to have the newest machinery as quickly as possible but it's not possible and I must say that there are some steps, some improvements have been made with the new car but still, for this circuit, I don't see any problem at all. We will continue with the package we achieved a few good positions on and so I think we're on for another good one.

Q. You won here in 2003, but haven't finished the last couple of races. What are your feelings about this circuit?

RS: They did a lot of changes to the good, it's very safe, it's a nice circuit, especially for us. I've known it since my first steps in motor sport, so it's also great to be here.

Q. One or two changes in the team; how have they affected you?

RS: Not really. The structure has been very good, it has been developed with Mike as well anyway. It's a very strong team and there are good people in there, so it hasn't affected the team in any way.

Q. I believe you're on the 150th Grand Prix mark...

RS: Don't remind me!

Q. Is there a certain amount of frustration there?

RS: Well, certainly, it's pretty clear that I've not achieved what I was targeting when I started in Formula One. Still, it's amazing how quickly time goes by. At the same time, I hope I still have a few to go to put it right.

Q. Michael, four wins here at the Nurburgring in Formula One: what are the chances of repeating the Imola success?

Michael Schumacher: I believe that we are in position to fight for it. As we've seen, and mentioned several times, the competition is very close between at least three, if not more teams who certainly can win the race and it's only up to who can get the maximum out of the package. If we can do so, we have a chance; if we don't we don't.

Q. Michelin have suggested that this is a Michelin circuit. What do you have to say about that?

MS: We'll see.

Q. There were concerns about tyre temperatures going to Imola, more after Imola because it was perhaps warmer than expected. Similarly, it looks as if this weekend could be warmer than expected. Is the working range of the tyres, now it's so competitive that it has to be narrow, is that a concern of yours?

MS: We have had concerns. We have learned how to handle the tyres because it's certainly different this year to what we experienced in the past, but we believe we're on top of the situation and how to handle it.

Q. There is yet more speculation about your future; what's the situation?

MS: No change.

Q. A question for you all: Yuji Ide has been replaced by Franck Montagny following recommendations from the FIA that Ide should get more mileage in testing. What are your feelings about a new driver entering Formula One and then being stood down?

CA: I have to say it's quite difficult. One thing, for sure, is that's always easy to say that a new driver needs more mileage, but how does he get that mileage? That's also quite a big problem. We have quite a lot of top teams and it's quite difficult for young drivers to get to the top. Some of them stay quite long. I think everybody needs to have a chance. He needs to get some experience so he needs to go racing to get that experience and before that, you need to get some mileage. With all respect, last year I didn't do much mileage with Minardi. I did a lot of racing. It's up to the FIA to decide. I think sometimes we give it too much attention. All young drivers want to have a chance in a top team and it's not easy to get all the way up there.

NH: Without judging Ide's driving, I don't think it will change a lot if does more testing.

CK: Yes, a couple of times I was behind him. I didn't judge it. But it's interesting sometimes to see his lines. Sometimes he had really different lines to us. It's a problem if you're in a team with a lower budget. Obviously they don't do as much testing as the bigger teams and then you don't get the mileage in the car. That was difficult for him as well.

MS: No comment.

RS: No comment.

Questions From The Floor

Q. (Dan Knutson – National Speedsport News) Question for all five of you: you're race drivers who like to go fast. This year the cornering speeds are higher than ever. Are the cars more fun to drive than last year, and the second part of the question is, are we getting to the point now where the cornering speeds in some corners with limited run-off areas might be too high?

MS: In a way, you could argue that, that the run-off areas… One of the reasons to go to V8 engines was to reduce lap times and speeds and to make things safer, because Max's argument was to reduce speeds because the run-offs were made only for a certain speed. But with the development of Formula One, ten engineers make the rules and then there are hundreds of them working against them, so the nature is pretty clear. You always lose the game although the achievement is big. Imagine if we had V10s, how quick we would go. In this respect, I think a lot has been achieved. You're right in mid-cornering speed but then you have to think about the arrival speed because now, instead of doing 320, we're maybe doing 300, so there is significantly less speed down the straight, but then maybe higher cornering speed. All in all, I think the direction of Formula One is clear. From the future on, I think that's what is really needed to be able to make a big step. They're still fun to drive, they're just different.

RS: In general he's right. There might be a certain stage where a certain speed is not safe due to run-off areas or whatever. The FIA has gone in the right direction and there's more to come but this year, you can feel that in some places we are quicker and the cars, due to the new tyres, different tyres compared to last year, they are more fun to drive.

NH: Well, from a drivers' point of view I enjoy going quicker in the corners, definitely, but as Michael said, you have to look at safety at the same time, and probably we are a bit quicker in some apexes but there's not a huge difference, it's not like we are 15/20kph quicker, so you don't feel a huge difference. I have enjoyed driving both types of car, probably the V10 was a bit nicer out of slow speed corners, simply feeling more power, but on the other hand, unfortunately, we still have traction control, so you can't do so much as a driver, so hopefully we can abandon traction control.

CK: We were testing last week at Silverstone and the speed in the corners was quite a bit higher, and for sure, that's fun but then you have to think about the run-off areas as well. For example, Liuzzi had a big shunt in a high speed corner last week. It's nice for drivers to be quick there through the high speed corners, but then safety has to be a higher priority.

CA: I have to say that I think we're going in the right direction. The V10 was nicer for the drivers to drive but you have to get some speed out of the car somewhere.
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Monza Grand Prix Masters race officially cancelled

GP Masters organisers have officially confirmed the cancellation of their planned Monza round next month, because of the on-going noise legislation problems at the circuit.

The widely expected move has been made because of an on-going disagreement between the Monza Autodromo circuit and local court concerning noise pollution at the track.

A court recently upheld a complaint by residents regarding noise pollution at the circuit, however granted a 30-day exemption for September allowing the Formula One Grand Prix to been held.

It is the not the only racing series to have to cancel rounds at the circuit. The planned round of the Le Mans Series, originally scheduled for September has been cancelled, and an Italian F3000 race was cancelled in March at the eleventh hour.

However, organisers are bullish about making their debut in Italy in 2007.

GP Masters CEO Scott Poulter said: "This is a very disappointing conclusion given the anticipation amongst GP Masters and Italian fans alike.

"With three Italian drivers now contesting our series and of course' tifosi' favourite Nigel Mansell, Monza was always the logical next stop for us following the season curtain raiser in Qatar last weekend but forces outside of our control have decided otherwise.

"It's a great shame but we are very confident indeed of securing a date in Italy for 2007. In the meantime, we offer our profuse apologies to the many fans, media and commercial partners who had expressed their commitment towards hosting our event at Monza this year."

The news means the next round of the series for over 45-year-old ex-Formula One drivers will take place at Silverstone on August 13.
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Concern over F1 cornering speeds

Several Formula 1 drivers have admitted they have mixed feelings about the impressive cornering speeds being reached this year.

The FIA-mandated reduction in engine capacity from 3-litre V10s to 2.4-litre V8s has trimmed straight-line speeds by up to 10mph at most circuits.

But the cars are now significantly faster through corners as the reintroduction of tyre changing has allowed the use of softer, grippier rubber compounds.

Combined with only minor changes to the aerodynamic regulations, this has resulted in a big jump in cornering speeds.

During last week’s three-day test at Silverstone several drivers reported that Copse Corner is now taken flat-out in top gear and that speeds and G-forces are significantly higher than before through the daunting Becketts sequence.

Asked to comment on the rise in cornering speeds at Thursday’s press conference at the Nurburgring, Michael Schumacher said it was proof that the FIA always has an uphill battle in the face of the ingenuity and manpower of the teams’ engineers who quickly find alternative ways to recover lost speed.

However, he claimed the switch from V10s to V8s had succeeded in preventing an escalation in speeds and lap times.

“One of the reasons to go to V8 engines was to reduce lap times and speeds and to make things safer, because Max’s argument was to reduce speeds because the run-offs were made only for a certain speed,” Schumacher said.

“But with the development of Formula 1, ten engineers make the rules and then there are hundreds of them working against them, so the nature is pretty clear.

“You always lose the game, although the achievement is big.

“Imagine if we had V10s, how quick we would go. In this respect, I think a lot has been achieved.”

Schumacher’s brother Ralf said the softer tyres and higher cornering speeds made the cars “more fun to drive” but that “the FIA has gone in the right direction” by cutting engine power.

Midland’s Christijan Albers said he preferred the old V10 engines “but you have to get some speed out of the car somewhere”.

Red Bull Racing’s Christian Klien admitted he is concerned that speeds in the fastest corners are becoming excessive given the available run-off room.

“We were testing last week at Silverstone and the speed in the corners was quite a bit higher, and for sure that’s fun but then you have to think about the run-off areas as well,” said the Austrian.

“For example, [Vitantonio] Liuzzi had a big shunt in a high-speed corner [Becketts] last week.

“It’s nice for drivers to be quick there through the high-speed corners, but then safety has to be a higher priority.”

The FIA is understood to be monitoring increases in cornering speeds but has not yet indicated that it intends to take action.
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Drivers seeking qualifying change

Formula One drivers are due to hold talks with team bosses next week to discuss a revamp of qualifying, autosport.com has learned.

A high level source has revealed that the Grand Prix Drivers' Association have been invited to attend a team manager's meeting prior to the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona to discuss ways to change the final session of the new knockout qualifying format.

Team bosses and drivers are unhappy about the early part of that session, where the cars are forced to run around slowly in a bid to burn off fuel. There are concerns that the burn-off of fuel does not present an environmentally sound image for the sport and is not what F1 should be about.

It is believed that the drivers favour a complete overhaul of the final session, turning it into another low-fuel session in the shoot-out for pole position.

Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, told Gazzetta dello Sport: "We want to run on empty tanks also in the last part, where the top ten go for pole."

The low-fuel concept is also understood to be favoured by a number of teams, who have suggested that they lodge their intended fuel loads for the race prior to the final qualifying shoot-out session in a bid to ensure that strategy continues to play a major part.

It is not known, however, whether all the teams are in support - and unanimous agreement would be needed for a change to take place during the course of the season.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone told Gazzetta dello Sport: "We can have these ten drivers get on track one at a time for a single flying lap like last year. If all the teams agree, it can be done from the next GP already."
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Friday Free Practice 1.
Code: 
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Time[/b]
1	35	Alexander Wurz		Williams-Cosworth	1:32.079		
2	36	Anthony Davidson	Honda			1:32.399		
3	38	Robert Kubica		Sauber-BMW		1:32.852		
4	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			1:32.858		
5	37	Robert Doornbos		RBR-Ferrari		1:32.944		
6	12	Jenson Button		Honda			1:33.635		
7	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			1:34.213		
8	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	1:34.402		
9	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			1:34.995		
10	39	Adrian Sutil		MF1-Toyota		1:35.332		
11	40	Neel Jani		STR-Cosworth		1:35.365		
12	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		1:35.612		
13	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		1:35.985		
14	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		1:36.062		
15	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	1:37.817		
16	23	Franck Montagny		Super Aguri-Honda	1:37.933		
17	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault		
18	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault		
19	8	Jarno Trulli		Toyota		
20	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	
21	15	Christian Klien		RBR-Ferrari	
22	14	David Coulthard		RBR-Ferrari	
23	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth	
24	6	Felipe Massa		Ferrari		
25	9	Mark Webber		Williams-Cosworth	
26	10	Nico Rosberg		Williams-Cosworth	
27	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW	
28	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW

Sector Times - Free Practice 1

Code: 
[b]Sector 1[/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	35	Alexander Wurz		30.151	
2	36	Anthony Davidson	30.332	
3	37	Robert Doornbos		30.336	
4	38	Robert Kubica		30.492	
5	5	Michael Schumacher	30.544	
6	3	Kimi Räikkönen		30.548	
7	12	Jenson Button		30.643	
8	11	Rubens Barrichello	30.958	
9	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	31.038	
10	39	Adrian Sutil		31.156	
11	21	Scott Speed		31.242	
12	7	Ralf Schumacher		31.287	
13	19	Christijan Albers	31.343	
14	40	Neel Jani		31.376	
15	18	Tiago Monteiro		31.384	
16	22	Takuma Sato		31.974	
17	23	Franck Montagny		32.273	
18	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	1174.986	
19	1	Fernando Alonso		1175.990

Code: 
[b]Sector 2 [/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	35	Alexander Wurz		38.158	
2	36	Anthony Davidson	38.312	
3	5	Michael Schumacher	38.438	
4	38	Robert Kubica		38.637	
5	37	Robert Doornbos		38.791	
6	12	Jenson Button		38.821	
7	11	Rubens Barrichello	39.027	
8	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	39.333	
9	7	Ralf Schumacher		39.375	
10	3	Kimi Räikkönen		39.418	
11	40	Neel Jani		39.663	
12	39	Adrian Sutil		39.716	
13	21	Scott Speed		39.908	
14	18	Tiago Monteiro		39.958	
15	19	Christijan Albers	40.030	
16	22	Takuma Sato		40.790	
17	23	Franck Montagny		40.987	
18	15	Christian Klien		44.181	
19	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	47.602	
20	8	Jarno Trulli		48.162	
21	14	David Coulthard		48.655	
22	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	48.950	
23	1	Fernando Alonso		53.014

Code: 
[b]Sector 3 [/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	35	Alexander Wurz		23.604	
2	38	Robert Kubica		23.723	
3	36	Anthony Davidson	23.755	
4	37	Robert Doornbos		23.817	
5	5	Michael Schumacher	23.876	
6	12	Jenson Button		23.998	
7	39	Adrian Sutil		24.104	
8	3	Kimi Räikkönen		24.123	
9	11	Rubens Barrichello	24.178	
10	40	Neel Jani		24.219	
11	7	Ralf Schumacher		24.333	
12	21	Scott Speed		24.347	
13	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	24.508	
14	19	Christijan Albers	24.564	
15	23	Franck Montagny		24.673	
16	22	Takuma Sato		24.683	
17	18	Tiago Monteiro		24.686	
18	15	Christian Klien		31.489	
19	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	32.561	
20	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	33.080	
21	1	Fernando Alonso		33.507	
22	14	David Coulthard		35.679	
23	8	Jarno Trulli		37.572

Speed Trap

Code: 
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time		Speed[/b]
1	5	Michael Schumacher	11:59:03	291.8	
2	38	Robert Kubica		12:00:18	288.9		
3	36	Anthony Davidson	11:59:36	285.0		
4	37	Robert Doornbos		11:57:14	283.6	
5	40	Neel Jani		11:59:52	283.5	
6	35	Alexander Wurz		11:59:08	282.9	
7	18	Tiago Monteiro		11:59:22	280.7	
8	23	Franck Montagny		12:00:23	280.7	
9	21	Scott Speed		11:57:26	280.5	
10	11	Rubens Barrichello	11:56:41	280.5	
11	12	Jenson Button		11:54:33	280.2	
12	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	12:00:11	279.7	
13	39	Adrian Sutil		11:53:42	278.8	
14	22	Takuma Sato		11:59:28	278.2	
15	3	Kimi Räikkönen		11:56:27	277.9	
16	14	David Coulthard		11:55:22	277.4	
17	7	Ralf Schumacher		11:54:41	277.2	
18	19	Christijan Albers	11:52:11	276.1	
19	15	Christian Klien		11:50:24	272.1	
20	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	11:30:37	263.7	
21	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	11:45:37	263.4	
22	1	Fernando Alonso		11:27:35	249.2	
23	8	Jarno Trulli		11:31:42	233.7
 
Friday Free Practice 2.
Code: 
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Time[/b]
1	35	Alexander Wurz		Williams-Cosworth	1:32.675
2	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			1:33.579
3	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			1:33.619
4	37	Robert Doornbos		RBR-Ferrari		1:33.799
5	36	Anthony Davidson	Honda			1:33.870
6	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			1:33.883
7	12	Jenson Button		Honda			1:33.920
8	38	Robert Kubica		Sauber-BMW		1:33.991
9	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			1:34.030
10	39	Adrian Sutil		MF1-Toyota		1:34.179
11	10	Nico Rosberg		Williams-Cosworth	1:34.215
12	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		1:34.472
13	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	1:34.536
14	6	Felipe Massa		Ferrari			1:34.546
15	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			1:34.631
16	9	Mark Webber		Williams-Cosworth	1:34.825
17	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	1:34.968
18	15	Christian Klien		RBR-Ferrari		1:35.066
19	14	David Coulthard		RBR-Ferrari		1:35.241
20	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		1:35.308
21	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		1:35.406
22	40	Neel Jani		STR-Cosworth		1:35.479
23	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		1:35.669
24	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		1:35.688
25	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		1:35.902
26	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	1:36.255
27	23	Franck Montagny		Super Aguri-Honda	1:36.665
28	8	Jarno Trulli		Toyota

Sector Times - Free Practice 2

Code: 
[b]Sector 1[/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	35	Alexander Wurz		30.344	
2	10	Nico Rosberg		30.676	
3	37	Robert Doornbos		30.677	
4	7	Ralf Schumacher		30.751	
5	38	Robert Kubica		30.783	
6	39	Adrian Sutil		30.783	
7	1	Fernando Alonso		30.904	
8	5	Michael Schumacher	30.941	
9	12	Jenson Button		30.946	
10	36	Anthony Davidson	30.969	
11	19	Christijan Albers	30.983	
12	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	31.001	
13	3	Kimi Räikkönen		31.011	
14	6	Felipe Massa		31.129	
15	11	Rubens Barrichello	31.150	
16	18	Tiago Monteiro		31.228	
17	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	31.232	
18	15	Christian Klien		31.264	
19	9	Mark Webber		31.266	
20	40	Neel Jani		31.276	
21	21	Scott Speed		31.278	
22	17	Jacques Villeneuve	31.281	
23	16	Nick Heidfeld		31.323	
24	14	David Coulthard		31.368	
25	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	31.479	
26	22	Takuma Sato		31.662	
27	23	Franck Montagny		31.771	
28	8	Jarno Trulli		445.498

Code: 
[b]Sector 2 [/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	35	Alexander Wurz		38.356	
2	5	Michael Schumacher	38.705	
3	36	Anthony Davidson	38.775	
4	1	Fernando Alonso		38.779	
5	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	38.871	
6	7	Ralf Schumacher		38.906	
7	12	Jenson Button		38.984	
8	11	Rubens Barrichello	38.994	
9	10	Nico Rosberg		39.028	
10	39	Adrian Sutil		39.135	
11	6	Felipe Massa		39.157	
12	37	Robert Doornbos		39.179	
13	19	Christijan Albers	39.220	
14	3	Kimi Räikkönen		39.281	
15	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	39.288	
16	9	Mark Webber		39.298	
17	14	David Coulthard		39.329	
18	15	Christian Klien		39.377	
19	38	Robert Kubica		39.394	
20	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	39.471	
21	40	Neel Jani		39.638	
22	16	Nick Heidfeld		39.684	
23	21	Scott Speed		39.832	
24	17	Jacques Villeneuve	39.916	
25	22	Takuma Sato		40.024	
26	18	Tiago Monteiro		40.030	
27	23	Franck Montagny		40.235	
28	8	Jarno Trulli		42.206

Code: 
[b]Sector 3 [/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	5	Michael Schumacher	23.736	
2	38	Robert Kubica		23.814	
3	1	Fernando Alonso		23.862	
4	37	Robert Doornbos		23.943	
5	12	Jenson Button		23.948	
6	35	Alexander Wurz		23.975	
7	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	24.005	
8	36	Anthony Davidson	24.080	
9	3	Kimi Räikkönen		24.082	
10	15	Christian Klien		24.119	
11	10	Nico Rosberg		24.175	
12	6	Felipe Massa		24.193	
13	11	Rubens Barrichello	24.218	
14	39	Adrian Sutil		24.219	
15	7	Ralf Schumacher		24.226	
16	16	Nick Heidfeld		24.231	
17	9	Mark Webber		24.261	
18	19	Christijan Albers	24.269	
19	18	Tiago Monteiro		24.294	
20	17	Jacques Villeneuve	24.295	
21	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	24.323	
22	14	David Coulthard		24.348	
23	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	24.401	
24	21	Scott Speed		24.402	
25	40	Neel Jani		24.412	
26	22	Takuma Sato		24.455	
27	23	Franck Montagny		24.659	
28	8	Jarno Trulli		31.422

Speed Trap

Code: 
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time		Speed[/b]
1	5	Michael Schumacher	14:56:42	292.2	
2	6	Felipe Massa		14:08:33	291.7	
3	38	Robert Kubica		14:32:26	288.4	
4	1	Fernando Alonso		14:58:30	286.3	
5	36	Anthony Davidson	15:01:08	286.2	
6	16	Nick Heidfeld		14:33:34	286.0	
7	37	Robert Doornbos		14:48:36	285.8	
8	17	Jacques Villeneuve	14:58:28	284.7	
9	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	15:01:00	284.7	
10	40	Neel Jani		14:03:28	284.5	
11	14	David Coulthard		14:14:49	283.2	
12	15	Christian Klien		14:43:48	283.2	
13	3	Kimi Räikkönen		15:01:18	283.2	
14	10	Nico Rosberg		14:35:30	282.7	
15	35	Alexander Wurz		14:59:45	282.4	
16	9	Mark Webber		14:34:30	282.1	
17	12	Jenson Button		14:58:44	282.1	
18	21	Scott Speed		14:06:52	281.9	
19	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	14:45:27	281.5	
20	22	Takuma Sato		14:21:04	281.3	
21	11	Rubens Barrichello	15:01:10	281.3	
22	18	Tiago Monteiro		14:57:52	280.5	
23	19	Christijan Albers	14:53:28	280.3	
24	39	Adrian Sutil		14:03:14	280.3	
25	23	Franck Montagny		14:37:09	280.0	
26	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	14:57:44	280.0	
27	8	Jarno Trulli		14:30:57	279.5	
28	7	Ralf Schumacher		14:45:30	278.1
 
Europe Friday quotes: Renault

Fernando Alonso - 2nd: "We had our normal Friday: systems checks in the morning, then some runs to get a feel for the tyres and try and improve the balance. The grip level was very low, as is quite usual for a Friday. That makes the car a bit inconsistent to drive but we will make some changes tonight and, as the circuit grip improves tomorrow, I am sure things will come together. The pace looks quite good but the times are very close, and we need to do more running to get a clearer picture of who our rivals will be."

Giancarlo Fisichella - 9th: "The low grip was the main difficulty with the car today, but we still managed to make some good changes on the set-up: some worked, some didn't, but we collected plenty of information to analyse tonight. The consistency was good when I did a longer run this afternoon, so we need to look at how to find first lap performance tomorrow, and to improve the balance of the car to feel completely confident. So far, though, it doesn't look too bad."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "We were rather surprised at the poor grip levels we encountered today, which were lower than expected. In spite of this though, we completed some good tests and collected the data we need to improve the car set-up overnight.

"The balance was as normal in low grip conditions, that's to say unpredictable, but we are clear on what we need to do to improve the situation tomorrow. The Michelin tyres are working well, but we can see even from the Friday times that there are a number of cars which are very close in performance."

Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations: "The Nurburgring is a track we know well in this configuration, but not one at which we test outside the race weekend. As a result, our Friday programme was composed of the usual tuning to adapt the engine to the circuit's demands, putting information we learned last week during testing in Silverstone to good use.

"Fernando is running the B specification evolution engine for the first time this weekend, and it performed without any problems today, just like Fisico's similar unit which is on its second race weekend. Our positions at the end of the day seem encouraging, but we will treat them with our usual caution, given the numerous variables that make it difficult to draw any firm conclusions from the Friday times."
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Europe Friday quotes: McLaren

Kimi Raikkonen - 13th: "We have completed our programme as planned and have a good idea on which Michelin tyres we are going to select. The car's balance has not been great today and we have suffered a little from understeer but we are confident that we will find a solution and see further improvement in tomorrow's session."

Juan Pablo Montoya - 17th: "We struggled a little bit throughout both sessions with a lack of grip which tended to make the car too understeery, but even so we made progress throughout the session. Otherwise we are comfortable that we will be more competitive tomorrow going into qualifying and the race."

Ron Dennis: "An uneventful Friday practice. The grip levels today were very low making it difficult for both drivers to set-up their cars. Tomorrow should be a different story."

Norbert Haug: "We focused on running our planned programme and our times in race trim look not too bad."
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Europe Friday quotes: Ferrari

Michael Schumacher - 3rd: "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 - 14th: "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."

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."

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."
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Europe Friday quotes: Toyota

Ralf Schumacher - 6th: "It was good to be back at the Nurburgring and the weather here was surprisingly good considering how this region is always so unpredictable. Overall, today's preparations went relatively well. We finished our planned programme of set-up and tyre work on my car. We are still searching for grip and pushing to get more out of our package, and although the tyre performance is improving, it is difficult to say on Friday how the weekend will unfold."

Jarno Trulli - 28th: "This is like our home race because it is close to the factory, so we have hopes to perform even better because we have a lot of supporters and employees cheering us on. The practice sessions today turned out to be quite difficult because we had some issues with my car and therefore I could only complete a few laps. We could not solve the problem during practice in time for me to go out and do some meaningful running, but the team will take the car apart completely to find the source of this concern."

Dieter Gass - Chief Engineer Race and Test: "Unfortunately it was a difficult day for us as we had some vibrations on both cars in the first session, and the vibrations resumed on Jarno's car in the afternoon. We changed a lot of items on the car, yet the vibrations were still present.

"We will have to evaluate this issue even further in detail in preparation for tomorrow. This makes our tyre choice particularly difficult, which is already challenging at this track. Although Ralf finished his entire programme, we hope to gain better information during tomorrow's practice session before heading into qualifying."
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Europe Friday quotes: Williams

Alex Wurz - 1st: "This morning it was quite slippery and very dusty, resulting in low grip levels, but the circuit conditions improved and changed rapidly throughout the whole two sessions, which makes the set-up work quite difficult. Nevertheless, the more rubber went down, the better our package functioned, so I think that will play into our hands.

"I was pleased with my performance, especially with the first lap of the long runs, where I was really quick, and in the end I was the fastest overall! With regard to tyres, I am happy with the choice we have brought here from testing, but the better the choice to bring to the race weekend, the more difficult it is now to choose between the two compounds - it will be a very tight decision."

Nico Rosberg - 11th: "Today went quite alright. I put more laps than usual under my belt, and even if I know this track very well, having extra running time is helpful as driving here in a Formula One car is very different to my previous experience on this track. We have learnt several things from Alex and all three of us have tried a few variables on the set-up, which proved positive."

Mark Webber - 16th: "The pace is obviously there, we look okay here, but I am not happy with the car at the moment, so we have some more work to do tonight on the balance of the car and the tyre comparisons and get ourselves ready for tomorrow."

Sam Michael, Technical Director: "Today was productive, working on race set-up and choosing tyres. Alex did his usual job of thoroughly checking the tyre performance of the two Bridgestones available here. Both look good, so it'll be a difficult choice for the race. Alex also went through checks of the cooling systems and brakes without any problems.

"We did more running with Mark and Nico to give them extra track time, which will benefit them by the end of the weekend. Both drivers tried some planned set-up changes, so we'll pool all that data tonight and look at the direction we should take for the remainder of the weekend. So far everything is going to plan."

Simon Corbyn, Head of F1 Race Engineering, Cosworth Ltd: "Alex completed a solid Friday programme with his CA2006 Series 2 engine. He experienced no engine problems and it is good to see the Cosworth-powered Williams top the timesheets again. Mark and Nico also had no issues and completed their programmes as planned."
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