It Could Have been Better, Claim Williams Drivers

Both Juan Pablo Montoya and teammate Ralf Schumacher claimed they could have ended higher up the grid for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Colombian Montoya was the quickest of the Williams duo, finishing the session more than two tenths of a second behind pole setter Michael Schumacher with the Ferrari. Montoya, who was Schumacher's main challenger during most of the hour-long session, was disappointed to miss out on the top spot.

"It's a bit disappointing that I could not put all my three best sectors together, as otherwise I would be on pole position now," said Montoya. "But I am obviously happy to start this Grand Prix from the first row, as this gives us the potential to take some points for the team.

"I like this track and there are several spots where overtaking is possible. Ferrari seem to have quite a bit more downforce, even if today my car was very good to drive, especially in the second sector. We changed quite a lot on the car from yesterday and I was very happy with the outcome."

Ralf Schumacher also claimed he could have gone faster in today's session, but the German had to settle for fourth place, more than half a second behind teammate Montoya.

"I could have achieved a better position today, but unluckily I could not get one very good lap together," said Schumacher. "It's a pity, as this Saturday had started very well, but in qualifying I had a couple of problems with the set-up of the car.

"It's a shame that I was pushed down from the third position just in the last seconds. Nevertheless, tomorrow we should be in a position to put Ferrari under pressure and gain access to the podium."