2006 French Grand Prix - Free Practice
Tiago Monteiro (POR)
Chassis: M16-03, Car #18
First Timed Session Classification: 13th, 1:20.335 (+3.541)
7 laps completed
Second Timed Session Classification: 21st, 1:19.701 (+2.799)
19 laps completed
Quote: "It was a very hot day, which
made it very tough on the tyres. We had two very different
compounds and we really needed to give them a thorough evaluation,
plus we have a new front suspension geometry that we needed
to balance, so it was a much more technical day than usual.
We were focused on running through a fixed programme, so unfortunately,
I couldn't put in a proper lap time. The important thing,
though, is that we were able to do a solid day's work and
now have a good idea of which way to go with the tyres and
the set up. I'm pretty sure the speed will sort itself out
by tomorrow."
Christijan Albers (NED)
Chassis: M16-02, Car #19
First Timed Session Classification: 11th, 1:19.465 (+2.671)
7 laps completed
Second Timed Session Classification: 16th, 1:19.183 (+2.281)
21 laps completed
Quote: "It was a reasonable day's work,
with no real problems to speak of. But if we look at the performance
potential of the car, I think we can be even quicker tomorrow.
I expect us to find a lot more time between now and tomorrow's
qualifying session, and I'm optimistic that we should be able
to qualify as well as we did in Indianapolis - maybe even
better."
Adrian Sutil (GER)
Chassis: M16-04, T-Car
First Timed Session Classification: 5th, 1:18.777 (+1.983)
32 laps completed
Second Timed Session Classification: 7th, 1:18.049 (+1.147)
31 laps completed
Quote: "The temperatures were quite
high in the cockpit this afternoon, which made it physically
demanding to drive so many laps, but I'm happy with the work
we did today. I think we've found the right tyres, but we
still have to see which one will be best over a race distance.
But overall, it was a good day for me. I was able to push
the car closer and closer to the limit - even harder than
I drove it at Nurburgring. I expected the car to be quicker
than the last time, given the improvements the team has made,
and it was definitely much better to drive. It's always nice
to be classified in the top 10, so I'm very satisfied with
my P5 and P7 today. Now, I'm really looking forward to my
next opportunity to drive for the team again."
Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "All
of our drivers did a good job today, but Adrian was especially
impressive, considering it was only his second Friday drive.
As we've seen previously at Nurburgring, he is an exceptional
talent. Our times were quite good, but then again, everyone
was running a different programme and testing different strategies,
so we won't know where we really are until tomorrow. But I
think we should be OK."
James Key, Technical Director: "All
the cars proved good and reliable today, and the drivers did
an excellent job. We had to do our homework with the tyres,
because the track changed over the course of the afternoon
and the temperatures rose quite a bit. So the grip was rather
difficult to predict, and quite difficult to deal with. Bridgestone
brought a couple of tyres here that are a genuine compromise
between race and qualifying, so we have to think carefully
about which way to go. Adrian did an extremely good job today
to provide us with some useful data, while Christijan and
Tiago worked very hard to set up the cars with the new suspension,
which made the balance of the car quite different. We're still
working it out, but it seems to be heading in the right direction
at the moment."
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