Ralf: Still Some Work to Do

The Williams team claimed they still have work to do before they manage to extract the best out of their BMW-powered FW24 car at the Magny-Cours circuit.

German Ralf Schumacher was the quickest of the drivers from the Grove-based squad, posting the fifth fastest time of the day behind the two McLaren and Ferrari drivers. Schumacher, who last year scored his first ever pole position at Magny-Cours, had a trouble-free day but claimed they still have work ahead.

"Today everything went according to plan and we completed the scheduled work, trying out a few things," explained Schumacher. "At present we are still not sure about our tyre choice. All in all the car is not so bad but there's still some work ahead of us."

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, the man who has started from pole position in the last four races, was only 10th quickest after losing time in the second session. Montoya damaged his Williams after going off the track at the first corner, and had to wait in the garage for his car to be repaired.

"It's been quite a difficult day," he said. "At present I am still struggling with the balance of my car a little almost everywhere on the track. Due to the quite slippery nature of this circuit I spun and went off into the gravel during the afternoon session, which caused me to lose some track time.

"We are now concentrating on the job of improving the car for qualifying."