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Formula One: Malaysian GP qualifying: BMW Williams F1 Team

21 October 2000

Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING
         21st October 2000

Weather: Overcast and humid.
Average air temperature 32°C. Average track temperature 39°C

Ralf Schumacher and Jenson Button will start from 8th and 16th
positions respectively for the 2000 Malaysian Grand Prix. Jenson
struggled with some hydraulic problems during the free practice
session, which prevented him from completing many laps and gaining
more experience on the Sepang track.

Ralf Schumacher 
    Position: 
    8th   
Chassis:
         FW22 06
Fastest Lap:
         1:38.739
"I had expected a position between fifth and eighth and unluckily I am
at the bottom of my forecast. I could have been fifth but in my last
flying lap I made a mistake in turn fourteen. On this track we've been
struggling from the start to find the right set-up. If I manage a good
start on Sunday, I can still run for some points."

Jenson Button 
    Position: 
    16th  
Chassis:
         FW22 04
Fastest Lap:
         1:39.563
"Disappointing qualifying session for me. I hoped I could start the last
race of this season with the BMW WilliamsF1 Team from a much
better position. I set my best time on the first run and after that I just
couldn't get a good lap together. In my last attempt I found some
traffic and also had a problem with Verstappen. I didn't run enough
this morning and we didn't achieve enough mileage to get the car
set-up correctly. I can only hope that it will end up like in Germany,
where I started twenty second and finished fourth."

 Patrick Head (Technical Director WilliamsF1)
"Unfortunately Jenson rather paid the penalty for the technical
problem he had this morning and in truth his car wasn't very good in
the afternoon. He's got quite a difficult race ahead of him. Ralf's at the
wrong end of a very close group, there was always the potential to be
at the front end of it but we didn't make it. It's a very long and tough
race tomorrow and I think we've got to do our homework to make
sure we're in good condition for fifty six laps."

Gerhard Berger (BMW Motorsport Director)
"This time Ralf could not exploit the new tyres in his last two runs. On
one run he lost some time in the first sector and in his last run he
couldn't find the right rhythm. Jenson has suffered from the fact that
in the morning free practice session he could only run 12 laps, due to
a hydraulic problem. He is very good in becoming familiar with the
new tracks, but for finding the right set-up, good mileage is basic."