Villeneuve: We did Better than Expected

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve admitted after Saturday's qualifying for the German Grand Prix that the 12th quickest time was better than he was expecting after the results achieved last week at Monza during testing.

Villeneuve, who recently announced he would be staying with the British American Racing team, finished today's session more than two seconds off pole. However, the 1997 World Champion admitted his performance was better than what he expected.

"We weren't quick in testing at Monza last week and to be honest we came here knowing we weren't going to be that competitive," said Villeneuve. "Somehow though, we ended up being better than we thought today.

We're within a tenth of Jordan this time rather than being half a second behind so that means that we've done some good work. It's always better for us in the race but it's going to be tough for us to get into the points from where we are."

Teammate Olivier Panis was slightly slower than Villeneuve, the Frenchman setting the 13th quickest time. Panis, as well as World Champion Michael Schumacher, believed the Bridgestone tyres were no match for the Michelins today.

"Tyres are a major factor ­ the cars running Michelin were much quicker and more competitive today so that doesn't help," Panis said. "I also lost a little time at the end because of the yellow flags and maybe that could have been my best lap. We all need to stay focused now to improve for the race ­ I'm sure we can do better tomorrow."