Brawn praises Bridgestone

This time last year Ferrari and Bridgestone were left red-faced after Schumacher was overtaken by race winner Fernando Alonso. In a bid to exorcise the demons from last year, the Japanese manufacturer pulled out all the stops to produce a competitive tyre this weekend, and Brawn is happy that it has achieved just that.

"Both drivers worked really effectively with their engineers to get their cars well balance," Brawn said of Saturday's qualifying session. "The F2004 is a very good car but much of the credit for this result must go to the new Bridgestone tyres, which worked very well and constitute a good step forward. Having struggled at this track last year, today's result is something of a reward."

Schumacher acknowledged that today's result was a significant step forward from last year, but the German admitted that Sunday's race will still be a tough challenge.

"Compared to last year it's significantly better. We have worked very hard for this result and gave a big push in testing at Jerez, where it was very hot and a great preparation for here. That's why we are here - a great effort from everybody.

"The new Bridgestone tyre possibly gave us an advantage and along with Shell, they have given us a big push, helping us to pick up performance.

"Even though it is cooler than usual here, tomorrow will be a tough race as this track requires a lot of work at the wheel, the cars slide a lot and the bumps make it unpredictable. It is hard work, but that is what we train for and I am looking forward to it. The fact that we can win the Constructors' title tomorrow will have no affect on the way we tackle this race."