29/09/2006
NEWS STORY
Jean Todt: "Today's work schedule, as usual on a Friday, centred on evaluating the Bridgestone tyres on finding the best set-up. We must very thoroughly study the data we have gathered to prepare firstly for qualifying and, above all, for the race. A bad start to our Shanghai weekend: unfortunately, a problem was discovered on the engine in Felipe Massa's car and now it will have to be changed. All in all, we should be competitive, partly thanks to the usual support from our partners, first and foremost, Bridgestone and Shell. China is fascinating and we are happy with the warm welcome we have had from our fans here over the past few days. Ferrari has great plans in this country and that is not just a reference to this weekend, but above all to our plans for commercial development."
Felipe Massa: "There is little to say as this was not a good day for me. I did not go out on track this morning and then in my second run this afternoon, I had a problem with the engine and had to come back to the pits, where our engineers realised the unit would have to be changed. It's a shame, as the car seemed to be well balanced right from the start and I had been able to do some good times. Of course, dropping ten places on the grid will make my race much tougher but I believe I can still put on a good performance."
Michael Schumacher: "It's nice to be in China and I am particularly happy to see the enthusiasm the fans here seem to show for me. Compared to last year, we are much more competitive and we hope to be able to pay back the fans with a better result than back then. The fight with our closest rivals seems to be very tight, even if we have not yet had time to take a close look at all the data. It is difficult to make predictions on tyre performance given today's weather. I like driving at this track: it is very tough with a big variety of corner types."
Ross Brawn: "The day was spoilt by the problem with Felipe's engine, which will see him lose ten places on the grid. Now we have to look at the data and the engine itself to understand what happened. It is a real pity given our performance level is pretty good. The cars seemed to be well balanced and our overall situation seems quite positive. As every Friday, we worked on a comparison of the two types of Bridgestone tyre available to us. It is still too early to understand how the track will evolve for the race, especially given the track conditions we had today."
To check out our Shanghai practice gallery, click here