BMW WilliamsF1 Team-German GP-First Qualifying

German Grand Prix  -  FIRST QUALIFYING                      1st August 2003

Weather: Sunny, dry. Temp: 29°C  Air,  38°C Track

Hockenheim (GER). The German Grand Prix weekend started in the best possible
way, with Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya achieving respectively the
fastest and the second fastest times in the First Qualifying session. This
is also the best Friday result so far this season for the BMW WilliamsF1
Team.

Ralf Schumacher:    1st
Chassis: FW25 07  (Spare car FW 04)
Best time: 1.14,427 min
"I am quite surprised to be at the front, since I took it quite easy on my
qualifying lap. My car was simply perfect, brilliantly balanced and the
tyres behaved very well too. I can only be happy with this result, also
because it shows that we have solved a few problems we had in this morning¹s
Free Practice. Now I am looking forward to a good qualifying and a good
race, especially because the weather forecast is predicting hot conditions,
which will suit our package."

Juan Pablo Montoya:    2nd
Chassis: FW25 06 
Best time: 1.14,673 min
"I am pleased with my first qualifying lap, as my car had a good balance
after we sorted out the small problems we had this morning. I could have
done slightly better if I hadn¹t braked too early into the hairpin but all
in all I am happy with this afternoon¹s performance. Moreover, we are well
set both for tomorrow¹s qualifying and I believe we look good for the race
too."

Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):
"We have had a good day today with both cars being at the front. Of course,
it is only the first qualifying but still it gives an idea of the pace. This
morning we did a lot of our set up work for the race, and we are confident
for what looks to be hot weather coming up for the weekend. Again the
designers have brought more improvement to the cars with new parts."
 
Gerhard Berger (BMW Motorsport Director):
"This is a perfect result for a Friday. I believe on this track we are well
prepared in every aspect for a strong race on Sunday. We have to remember
that the old circuit is quite different from the new one. It is no longer
about only having a powerful engine, but rather about having a good package,
such as chassis, tyres and obviously driver. On this circuit we are clearly
well set, just like we were in the past few races."

Current pictures are available for download at: www.press.bmw.com