MF1 RACING
2006 Monaco GP - Free Practice
Tiago Monteiro (POR)
Chassis: M16-03, Car #18
First Timed Session Classification: 21st, 1:19.730 (+3.018),
17 laps completed
Second Timed Session Classification: 12th, 1:17.439 (+1.532),
30 laps completed
Quote: "We've been working on the same
set of tyres all morning and adapting the car to those old
ones, and then later, when we switched to a new set, we weren't
sure what would happen. But I got a clear run at the track
and the grip improved tremendously, which was a big surprise.
In some places, there's still a lot more to come and I think
we can squeeze some more speed out of those tyres. I'm really
pleased with the job I've done with my engineers, because
every time we had a problem we managed to sort it out and
make good improvements. Now we have a day and a half to work
on it. There's still more to gain, and the other teams are
going to be working hard, as well, so we can't afford to sleep.
We've got to work hard until Saturday morning to improve even
more and get the race set-up right."
Christijan Albers (NED)
Chassis: M16-04, Car #19
First Timed Session Classification: 24th, 1:20.552 (+3.840),
17 laps completed
Second Timed Session Classification: 24th, 1:18.430 (+2.523),
24 laps completed
Quote: "We had a rough morning today,
no question. We played around with the car set-up but just
couldn't find the right combination. But this afternoon, when
we switched to the new tyre, it was a completely different
car, so obviously that was the way to go. Looking at Tiago's
times this morning after he switched, we saw that he was much
better everywhere, so we suspected that it was the tyres but
we still wanted to carry out a full evaluation. It's a shame
that I had a brake pedal issue that we couldn't solve during
the session, but I'm sure my mechanics will be able to fix
it overnight. The important thing is that we found a lot more
grip in the afternoon and I'm sure we'll be ready to hit back
on Saturday."
Giorgio Mondini (SUI)
Chassis: M16-02, T-Car
First Timed Session Classification: 20th, 1:19.669 (+2.957),
29 laps completed
Second Timed Session Classification: 14th, 1:17.497 (+1.590),
30 laps completed
Quote: "The car was really, really good
today. With a few more runs, I think I might even have been
able to get the time down even more. The fact that both Tiago
and I are on the pace means this performance was not an illusion;
the car really has potential. If we keep working hard, I think
we can drop our times even lower and be within 2 seconds of
the pole time, which will hopefully put us into the second
qualifying session for the first time this year. I don't want
to speak too early, but this might end up being our best weekend
of the year."
Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "We'll
see what happens in qualifying, but we did some reasonable
times today. The gap to the front was only 1.5 seconds, the
smallest we've managed this season, so clearly we're improving.
Christijan was having some issues with his brake pedal today,
so he wasn't able to get the maximum out of the car. But I
think all three drivers did a very good job today."
James Key, Technical Director: "As
always, we never know what to expect in Monaco. The track
condition was fairly poor this morning but consistently improved
throughout the day. Giorgio did a very good job of comparing
the tyres and general set-up work, and I think he's pretty
much confirmed which tyre we'd like to go with on Saturday,
but we'll have to see. Like I said, it's Monaco - who knows
what could happen? Christijan struggled with tyres and a brake
feel issue all day, although the two other cars were good,
so we'll investigate it and replace parts before Saturday.
Tiago did a very solid job, and had a good run at the end
of the session. If we can just dial a bit more understeer
out of the cars, we should be in good shape for qualifying
on Saturday."
|
