Villeneuve: Bridgestone Tyres Not Competitive

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve says his Bridgestone tyres are not competitive and he is hoping for rain in tomorrow's final qualifying for the European Grand Prix.

The BAR driver, who had already complained about his tyres following a test at the Silverstone circuit last week, will be the first man to go out in tomorrow's grid-deciding session after he spun off the track on his flying lap, forcing the session to be stopped.

"Webber, da Matta and myself were the unlucky ones today as we were the first cars out on a wet track," said Villeneuve. "When I did my lap we were only allowed to change to wet tyres but the later runners were able to put on extreme wets. Halfway round, the wheels weren't even touching the ground; I was just floating like a boat.

"I'll be the first one to go out for qualifying tomorrow, which is never a good thing, so now we have to just keep working on the car as best we can and hope that the weather turns the same way as it did today.

"Our tyres aren't competitive here so that's the best we can hope for tomorrow."

Jenson Button was luckier than his teammate, the Briton completing his flying lap while the track was dry. He finished in 11th position.

"My lap had some potential but I made a mistake in the last sector; I hit the kerb too hard, then the bollard and broke the front wing," said Button. "It's disappointing because I did the same thing this morning so I'm not particularly pleased with myself.

"I was lucky in the sense that it was only spitting with rain when I did my lap, whereas it was starting to come down hard by the time the last six or seven runners went out. I was pleased to see the rain though because I think we're going to need that. Hopefully it will be wet for final qualifying tomorrow."