Formula One: Stewart Ford Notes and Quotes, German Grand Prix
31 July 1999
Hockenheim, Friday 30th July, 1999 STEWART-FORD NOTES & QUOTES German Grand Prix: Free Practice Weather: Sunny (Ambient temperature 28 deg C, track temperature 38 deg C) Rubens Barrichello set the fifth fastest time in today's free practice for the German Grand Prix. Team mate Johnny Herbert finished in 18th after experiencing a series of problems. RUBENS BARRICHELLO Car No.16 (SF3-04) Time: 1:46.418 Position: fifth 31 laps What area of the car do you have to improve? 'I worked through various settings to try and improve the car's traction and the rear stability under braking. I see those characteristics of the car as being crucial for this weekend.' Are you confident for tomorrow's qualifying? 'I'm still along way from an optimum qualifying set-up. I don't feel as if we have quite got the balance right. I will sit down with my engineers and discover where we can improve because I feel I can make up time, particularly in the Complex, which will be the key to a good grid position.' JOHNNY HERBERT Car No.17 (SF3-05) Time: 1:47.985 Position: 18th 20 laps Why were you restricted to just 20 laps today? 'In the first session my car had a broken exhaust and then in the afternoon we grappled with a handling problem which meant that it wasn't worth running towards the end.' How do you explain your lowly position on the time sheets? 'The car bore no relation to the car I drove at the Monza test in low downforce trim. It was nervous at the rear and very twitchy even in a straight line. It was impossible to make it work effectively. A lot of the day was wasted.' PAUL STEWART, SGP Chief Operating Officer 'We have a problem with Johnny's car which we have not sourced yet but it appears it was damper related. As a result he was unable to make a lot of progress today. Rubens worked through a set-up programme to try and find a direction for the race. Both drivers feel there is some work ahead before qualifying tomorrow.' MARTIN WHITAKER, Director, Ford Racing, Europe 'We experienced no problems with the engines today. After successful running on the dyno at Cosworth Racing's Northampton base the new Series 4 engine will make its debut in both cars tomorrow.'