Brawn Praises Bridgestone's Performance

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn claimed their Bridgestone tyres were the reason for the Italian squad's superiority during today's qualifying for the United States Grand Prix.

World Champion Michael Schumacher and Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello secured an all-Ferrari front row at the Indianapolis circuit, boosting their chances of scoring their 14th win in 16th races this season.

German Schumacher finished more than half a second ahead of third-placed David Coulthard in the first of the Michelin-shod cars, and Brawn claimed the Bridgestone rubber made the difference today.

"The key to today was Bridgestone - the result is due to the tyres which were very good," said Brawn. "Bridgestone has done a super job and brought a compound which is working extremely well. We had a back-up tyre which we could have used as well, but the one we have chosen looks good.

"Michael could have gone a little bit quicker but for a yellow flag on what would have been his best lap but overall it was fairly straightforward today."

BAR's Jacques Villeneuve was seventh quickest for Bridgestone, with Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella and Sauber's Nick Heidfeld completing a good day for the Japanese tyre manufacturer after posting the ninth and tenth quickest times respectively.