Montoya Laments Lack of Speed

Juan Pablo Montoya says his Williams team don't have enough pace to be competitive after a disappointing qualifying for the European Grand Prix.

The Colombian driver will start from eighth position on a track where the Williams team scored a one-two last season. He finished over a second slower than pole setter Michael Schumacher, in a Ferrari.

Montoya said the Grove-based outfit have been unable to keep up with the development pace of their rivals.

"I was one of the first cars out in the pre-qualifying session and that held us up a bit, but it looks like we are just not quick enough at the moment," said Montoya. "I have been struggling a bit with the balance so far this weekend and it looked like in qualifying I had got it right, finally, but still, we lack of speed.

"Several teams seem to have improved their car quite a lot and we haven't improved enough. We'll see how the race goes, let's hope to get some good points out of here."

The Colombian's teammate Ralf Schumacher, winner last year, was only ninth fastest.

"Ninth place is not where I expected to be, really," admitted the German. "It was quite difficult to get the balance right for qualifying and I decided to go for something different, but it didn't work out particularly well.

"We tried our best but it's clear that we are struggling at the moment, since our car hasn't developed enough. At present we lack performance but I am sure we will definitely come back soon. With a good strategy I am confident I'll be able to collect some points in tomorrow's race."