Balance Problems Hamper Williams Duo

Williams drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya blamed the poor balance of their FW25 cars for their slow pace in first qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona.

"Obviously the first qualifying session was not satisfying for me," admitted Schumacher at the end of the session, where he posted a disappointing 11th quickest time. "I was struggling with the balance of the car and made a few mistakes. In one corner I nearly lost the car. Though, I am not too worried.

"In qualifying we have not yet seen the full potential of the FW25. Now we will go ahead to further improve the set-up for tomorrow's practice sessions and final qualifying."

Colombian Montoya also struggled with balance problems, setting the 14th fastest time nearly 1.5 seconds off the pace of World Champion Michael Schumacher in the new Ferrari F2003-GA.

"We knew that this was going to be a difficult weekend for us and this afternoon's times show that we are still struggling in finding the right balance for our car on this track," said Montoya.

"I had some oversteer on my qualifying lap which severely affected my performance. Let's work on it now and hopefully sort it out for tomorrow."