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Barrichello Strong In China
By Dale Calkins October 14 2005
Rubens Barrichello was on the pace during Free practice for the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai circuit today. Michael Schumacher was slightly off the pace and further down the timing sheets than his Ferrari team mate.
Barrichello Strong In China

Barrichello Strong In China

Dale Calkins
Michael Schumacher
FP 1: 5th - 1'35.494
FP 2: 14th - 1'35.567

Michael Schumacher predicted a poor showing in China for himself and he seems to have been correct. He was on the pace in free practice 1 while placing 5th, but the second session saw just routine running and a 14th place result. Here is what the 7-Time World Champion had to say about his sessions:

"Obviously with these last few races all coming in quick succession, there was no reason to expect a big change in our performance level. But I have to say that, after today, I think we look in slightly better shape than we did at the last race. Maybe we are at a similar level to the one we had in Brazil. We got through our work in a methodical fashion today and the time differences between the two sessions is mainly down to the difference in using new or used tyres."

Rubens Barrichello
FP 1: 2nd - 1'35.303
FP 2: 6th - 1'34.618

Rubens Barrichello won the Chinese Grand Prix last season and if Ferrari can improve over the weekend, he may do it again. Barrichello remained high on the sheets through both practice sessions, but Ferrari still has quite a bit of work to do if they are to give Barrichello a winning car. Here is what the Brazilian had to say after his first day:

"This was quite a good day with plenty of good laps completed on both types of tyre. I am reasonably happy with my set-up, so now we must wait and see how competitive we really are compared to the others. But I feel I can approach the rest of the weekend with optimism after a solid day’s work today."

Ross Brawn
Technical Director

Ferrari's Technical Director Ross Brawn is pleased with Ferrari's results but knows Ferrari must still improve. Here is what Ross had to say:

"We seem to have found a good balance on the car and both drivers are reasonably happy with their cars. At the moment, Michael appears to be a bit slower than Rubens, so we need to understand why that is. The tyres are showing good consistency and I think tyre choice will come down to which type of tyre will give the best first lap performance and how the wear figures look. We are quite pleased with the way the tyres are behaving on this very smooth surface, because the last time we experienced this type of surface was in Turkey where we struggled. It seems better this time."

October 14, 2005

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