Ferrari Continue To Improve


By DCX
June 18 2005

The Ferrari team continued to improve their pace today during free practice for the United States Grand Prix. Both Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello put in top five times during the second practice session, which is a definite improvement for Fridays. Badoer Prepares Ferrari

Ferrari Continue To Improve

DCX
Michael Schumacher
FP 1: 10th - 1'13.242
FP 2: 4th - 1'11.758

Michael Schumacher and the Ferrari team continued to improve their pace today during free practice for the United States Grand Prix. Coming off a strong second place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix, Schumacher was out to prove that that finish was not caused by pure luck. Schumacher didn't have the best run in the first session, placing tenth, a typical result for Ferrari during practice. The second session saw Schumacher take the fourth position, not a typical result during practice and hopefully a sign that Ferrari has improved even more. Here is what the 7-Time World Champion had to say about his sessions:

“Everything went quite well today and we were able to cure a balance problem I had early in the morning session. We are looking good for a Friday, especially if you compare our performance with that in Canada a week ago. The track seems much smoother with the new surface, particularly in the area of the start-finish line. Now we must wait and see what we can do in qualifying, when it will be good that I will be making my run towards the end of the session. As for Ralf’s accident, I was just coming back to the pits when it happened, so the first thing I knew about it was seeing him get out of the car unaided and walk away. I am glad he is okay and also glad that the modifications we asked for to be made to the wall were carried out, after his accident there last year.”

Rubens Barrichello
FP 1: 11th - 1'13.245
FP 2: 3rd - 1'11.746

Rubens Barrichello's pace was quite similar to that of his teammate and definitely reflects an increase in performance from the Scuderia. Rubens' result was also very encouraging for himself and he now feels confident that Ferrari can do very well in the race. Here is what the Brazilian had to say after his promising first day:

“It has been a long time since we have had such a good Friday. I am happy with the set-up, with the balance of the car and the Bridgestone tyres. We look much more competitive than we have done at some of the other races. We still have quite a bit of work to do to ensure we maintain this level in qualifying. I like this track and the atmosphere is very relaxed here. We had no problems today and that meant we were able to get through all our programme. Michael and I are doing similar lap times, even though we are running slightly different set-up on our cars. We have done well here in the past and let’s hope that continues this weekend.”

Ross Brawn
Technical Director

Ferrari's Technical Director Ross Brawn was quite confident after seeing a much improved performance from Ferrari today in Indianapolis.

“We had a trouble-free practice today and we made good progress between the first and second sessions, making adjustments to the cars that seemed to work. We got through all our programme and made a good job of the tyre comparison task. We will have to study the data carefully now, but I think we know which of the two types of Bridgestone tyre we want to use. The softer tyre is obviously quicker, but it also seems consistent, so now we just have to do a projection to see what the wear figures are likely to be on Sunday afternoon.”

June 18, 2005

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