Schuey pleased to keep his rivals close
Although it is rare for five-time world champion Michael Schumacher to finish a qualifying session in ninth place, it is quite exceptional that he should declare this as a satisfactory performance
Yet that is what happened in first qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix today (Friday), as he kept nearest world championship rival Juan Pablo Montoya of Williams-BMW in his sights, and put McLaren-Mercedes' Kimi Raikkonen behind him as the single-lap qualifying shook up the order on a dusty Hungaroring track.
"All in all, the result is not too bad," said Schumacher, who got the worst of the track conditions by going first today. "Especially in terms of the battle for the title. In fact, my main rivals are pretty close to me. Therefore, ninth spot can still be good for tomorrow.
"I am confident for the rest of the weekend. I think that, overall, the situation is better than the one we experienced in Hockenheim."
Schumacher was encouraged by the pace of team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who was fifth fastest from running fifth on the track today.
"We did not exploit all of the car's available potential, but a place in the top five today puts me in a good position to fight for a front row place on the grid tomorrow," said Barrichello. "We still need to work on the car's set-up."
Share Or Save This Story
Why Aston Martin is a better destination on the F1 driver market than it seems
What is it like being a Williams F1 simulator driver?
Marquez expects rivals to risk more in hunt for MotoGP title
MotoGP title challenger Bezzecchi pessimistic for British GP
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments