Chinese Grand Prix – Shanghai, 29th September 2006
Free practice - First session
Michael Schumacher: 4th 1.37.712 4 laps chassis 255
Felipe Massa: - - - chassis 256
Temperatures: air 27/26 °C, track 31/32 °C
Free practice – Second session
Felipe Massa: 4th 1.36.599 8 laps chassis 256
Michael Schumacher: 5th 1.36.641 12 laps chassis 255
Temperatures: air 26/24 °C, track 31/27 °C
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.”
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