2006 U.S. Grand Prix - Free Practice
Tiago Monteiro (POR)
Chassis: M16-04, Car #18
First Timed Session Classification: 11th, 1:15.091 (+3.008),
8 laps completed
Second Timed Session Classification: 7th, 1:13.387 (+1.374),
21 laps completed
Quote: "It looks very good on the timesheet, doesn't
it? We ran through our normal Friday programme, working calmly,
without too much pressure and not worrying about the times.
We worked in the direction we wanted, and when we found the
set-up we wanted, we switched to new tyres, which can go either
way - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This time,
the balance was amazing on new tyres. It felt like a different
car; there was so much grip. I only had one lap on the new
ones, as opposed to 20 laps on the old set, so obviously I
haven't used them as I should, and to be honest, I think there's
still more to come out of them. The whole team did a great
job today and it looks encouraging for tomorrow. Once again,
we need to keep cool, and work hard tonight to qualify well
tomorrow."
Christijan Albers (NED)
Chassis: M16-02, Car #19
First Timed Session Classification: 13th, 1:15.647 (+3.564),
10 laps completed
Second Timed Session Classification: 21st, 1:14.169 (+2.156),
19 laps completed
Quote: "I think we had a reasonable day. We just had
some bad luck at the end of the session with traffic and I
couldn't put in a good lap, so it's difficult to say how the
car is. But I think everything is moving in the right direction
and tomorrow we should be able to improve by a lot."
Giorgio Mondini (SUI)
Chassis: M16-01, T-Car
First Timed Session Classification: 7th, 1:14.654, (+2.571)
33 laps completed
Second Timed Session Classification: 5th, 1:13.327 (+1.314),
33 laps completed
Quote: "It was a good morning, and an excellent afternoon.
We were able to do even more than what we planned to do, actually,
and ran a full programme without any problems. We improved
the car in each session and the balance kept getting better
with every run. The last three sets of tyres were aimed at
improving our pace, and we found a dramatic difference in
performance. I don't think the progression came from me driving
faster; it was purely the progression of the car. We found
about a second between the first and last runs of the day,
which is great. We worked in the right direction and tyres
are working well. Overall it was a very good day. The guys
did an excellent job setting up the car, and it was very nice
to drive."
Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "We
are trying to improve race by race, and obviously we're getting
a little bit closer. Today was the first time we've been in
the top 5 and also the first time we've had two drivers in
the top 10, so the progress is clear, especially considering
the kind of fuel loads we were on. It looks promising for
tomorrow, but we will have to work hard to achieve these results
in qualifying, and not just in practice."
Dominic Harlow, Chief Race and Test Engineer:
"We found some better track conditions for the first
two sessions here than we were expecting and that enabled
us to get on with a lot of work, particularly on our third
car. We carried out all of our normal tyre evaluations and
Giorgio put in a very productive 66 laps over the course of
the day. He also put in a very good time at the end, which
is quite encouraging. The two race cars had trouble-free days
dialling in their set-ups. Christijan had a little bit of
traffic there at the end of the day, which prevented him from
being up with the other two drivers, but we're fairly positive
with that and looking forward to tomorrow's qualifying."
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