Friday September 10th, 1999

Williams

Ralf Schumacher: "Today we worked both on the qualifying and the race set-ups and I must say that I am quite happy with the car. Of course, it is only Friday, and, as everybody knows, the free practice session doesn't mean that much in terms of comparison with the other teams. We had a very good test here last week so I am not that surprised with today's result. We knew from the beginning of the year that our cars were performing well with regards to aerodynamics, even if on the straight, where you need more power, we are not so quick. Anyway, I am not saying that tomorrow we will be in pole position, but that we could reasonably be placed well up in the top ten."

Alessandro Zanardi: "Seeing two Williams cars in first and third positions - well, it isn't that bad! It's clear that my result today shows a much better situation than has happened so far this season but I can't say that I am completely satisfied with my car because I am still struggling with a problem that has to be identified."

Patrick Head, Williams technical director: "Obviously a good result, but it's Friday and we've had a test here last week so we are pretty homed in on set-up for the race. We know that the times will be generally quicker tomorrow but it's nice to have both drivers up there, even if it's only for a free practice session. I don't think we expect to maintain those position tomorrow but we hope to be in the upper end of the top ten."

Prost

Jarno Trulli: "A very good day. We have worked well on the development of the car, just as we did in three days testing here last week, with the EV02 engines which were less competitive than the EV04 which we used today. Tomorrow we should improve our times again with the 'high exhaust' version of the EV05. The extra 10 horsepower is welcome, especially at Monza. It could be our best qualifying session of the season. Today I would have improved without two problems. My right front tyre was punctured and I broke a front brake disc which unbalanced the car."

Olivier Panis: "The test we did here last week has borne fruit. We did a lot of work on the set-ups of the cars in different configurations and we were able today to show the results of all that work. I am happy with my first session of the weekend as we have developed the car well and it is well-balanced. Unfortunately, I was not able to complete the session and to improve my performances due to an electrical problem. I really intend to attack and to try and qualifying well tomorrow and to score some points on Sunday."

Alain Prost: "I must say that we are satisfied with the behaviour of the cars in terms of both chassis and engine performance. The two last tests we did here at Monza gave us the chance to consider a number of things which we have put into practice today. We are satisfied with the different evolutions carried out on the cars in the last few weeks. We have improved a lot. We have been expecting this type of performance today. This circuit resembles Hockenheim where we are usually more competitive. We must be careful as the times are very close and will be again in qualifying. It is as possible to end up qualifying on the third row as on the fifth or sixth; the gaps are so small. We remain concentrated on tomorrow's session as it is certainly one of our best opportunities of the season to qualify well."

Sauber

Jean Alesi: "This morning my car was a bit too pitch sensitive, but the engine felt strong. Unfortunately, it broke this afternoon, just as I was getting ready to go quicker."

McLaren

Mika Hakkinen: "Despite the fact that we had a very positive test here last week, the set up always changes and that is what we have been working on today. We tried to find the best balance for the car and we had a good day even though the times might not make it look that way."

David Coulthard: "We worked on the car progressively throughout the session in order to find the limits and in some cases we pushed them a bit too far. The track constantly changed as more rubber went down and the surface became grippier. I am happy how we responded to this situation and the progress we made - I think everything is looking good for tomorrow."

Ron Dennis: "Irrespective of our successful test, we still spent today concentrating on the race set up. The times therefore, as always, only represent differing tyres and fuel loads."

Norbert Haug: "Both Mika and David used one set of tyres each and I think the team found a good base for the race. Today's practice order will certainly change tomorrow and I am sure Ferrari will not be on the eighth row. I expect them battling for pole with us."

BAR

Jacques Villeneuve: "Today was a bit of a waste as I only got half the available track time to practice. Luckily I have good engineers so we were starting from good base settings using the work we've done at other similar circuits. I did a good quick lap right at the end of the afternoon, so in spite of the lack of work today we are looking OK, but with more time to work on the settings we could have been much quicker."

Ricardo Zonta: "This morning the rear of the car was very nervous under braking, and also under acceleration on the exits to the corners, plus the brakes were overheating, so it was difficult to start with. This afternoon we made some changes which probably went a little too far the other way, because that gave me too much understeer. I think for Saturday we will go back a little on this afternoon's settings, and then I am sure I will be able to move closer to Jacques."

Craig Pollock, Chairman & CEO, British American Racing: "It was a fantastic turnaround from this morning for both the team and Jacques. He had only an hour's track time and yet was able to post a fairly good opening time. Too bad for Ricardo who hasn't yet found a good set-up, but once he does he should be able to move up closer to Jacques. We are all hoping for a trouble-free Saturday."

Stewart

Rubens Barrichello: "Although I'm down the time sheets a bit, I'm happy with the way the car feels at the moment. I think there are lot of people playing with fuel loads. I would take Hakkinen's time (1:25.103) as the real measure of my position relative to everyone else. Assuming he is on a similar fuel load, and I believe he is, I am only three tenths behind his time. We went through the normal Friday set-up routine, a few tweaks here and there to improve the aerodynamic efficiency and the ride of the car over the kerbs. The overall balance of the car is a lot better than it was at the test last week. I'm sure there is more to come tomorrow."

Johnny Herbert: "To be honest I thought I could be higher up. We proved last week in the test that the car can work well at Monza. I was reasonably happy with the morning session but I lost the balance of the car towards the end. I can?t put it down to any set-up change I made, it was more due to the track conditions which is a little mystifying. We are losing time with a little instability under braking, particularly on initial entry to the corners, so that?s an area we can work on. Being able to brake deeper going in is very important at Monza but you have to strike the right brake balance with the car."

Paul Stewart, Stewart-Ford Chief Operating Officer: "We probably didn't make as much impression as we expected today. A lot of our work centred on improving the groundwork we laid at last week's test. We had a trouble-free day so from that perspective it was an encouraging start to the race weekend. Obviously we still need to find some improvement in the performance of the car before qualifying."

Martin Whitaker, Director, Ford Racing, Europe: "We covered a lot of kilometres today and experienced no problems while we were working on optimising the package for the race. Both cars were running Series 3 engines and fresh Series 4 engines will be fitted for tomorrow."

Ferrari

Eddie Irvine: "We concentrated on the race programme today, working on different fuel loads. I tried different set-ups, but I have not yet managed to find one that suits me. I think the track is more slippery than last week. Once we have studied today's data, we should have a better understanding of the situation. Tomorrow morning we will also look at our qualifying performance. I reckon that when the car is running lighter and is on new tyres, it will be better balanced."

Mika Salo: "Today we tried different set-ups to those we ran here during last week's test here. But the car did not react in the same way. The main problem appears to be too much oversteer. We have tried various different configurations but have not managed to get rid of it. So now we must sit down and think about it and come up with a solution for tomorrow."

Jean Todt: "As usual on a Friday it is difficult to get a true idea of the cars' performance levels. Whatever the situation, I think that today's fastest time is a long way off what we will see in qualifying tomorrow. We worked towards the race. However, at the moment, we have not found the reference points we had here during last week's test. In tomorrow's free practice session, we will continue working on race set-up and then also look at qualifying trim."