Williams Drivers Confident ahead of Race

Williams pair Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya have more than half the grid between them, but both drivers are confident they can finish in the points in this afternoon's Japanese Grand Prix.

Montoya, who was out first in the pre-qualifying session, was unable to set a competitive time and ended up 18th, with only the Minardi drivers behind him. The Colombian, however, was able to improve his position in the qualifying session and finished 13th on the grid.

"I had a quite bad pre-qualifying, mainly due to the fact that the pressure of my tyres wasn't ideal," Montoya explained. "I therefore had to take some risks in final qualifying and we decided to go out on dry tyres. This choice paid off, because I could slightly improve my position from first qualifying. We have a good race car and I am confident we can collect some points."

Schumacher, who returned to racing last month after missing six Grands Prix due to injury, had a better morning, ending the first qualifying session in third, and then making it one better during the main qualifying session, placing himself on the front row, alongside his brother, World Champion Michael Schumacher.

"Under these unpredictable conditions, with the track quickly changing, it was no easy qualifying," Ralf said. "I took advantage of my poor race result in China and the consequent late starting position in pre-qualifying today, and managed to run on a dry and improving track during both the qualifying sessions. I am very happy with this result also because I know we have a good race car and strong chances to collect some valuable points."

But the team's technical director, Sam Michael, remained caution and said the changing conditions in the morning sessions make it hard to judge Williams's true competitiveness.

"With the modified weekend format and the fact that we had no free practice here under dry conditions, tyre choice and set up were difficult but it's the same for all teams," Michael explained. "In qualifying we had quite variable conditions which made the grid interesting. Only in the race this afternoon we will find out what everyone's true pace is."

Michael also confirmed the team made a mistake on Montoya's car, stating: "Both drivers did a good job in qualifying. In prequalifying we made a mistake with the tyre pressure on Juan's car, that's why he was slow."