Formula One: Stewart-Ford Qualifying Report, San Marino

2 May 1999

Rubens Barrichello qualified in sixth place for the San Marino Grand Prix after being fifth for most of the session.

Johnny Herbert will start tomorrow's race from 12th on the grid. The Stewart-Ford driver was sixth in this morning's practice but wasn't able to repeat his performance for qualifying.

Despite the hottest weather the team has experienced this year, the two cars ran faultlessly throughout the day.

RUBENS BARRICHELLO Car No.16 (SF3-04)
Time: 1.27:409 Position: 6th

''I was quite aggressive on my last lap which was full of incidents. I hit the kerb quite hard at Rivazza and then the lap was further spoiled by a slower car. The best I could have managed today was a 1.27:3 which would have moved me up one place. Provided I make a good start and we run reliably I expect to be in the points and hopefully finish on the podium.'

JOHNNY HERBERT Car No.17 (SF3-03)
Time: 1.28:246 Position: 12th

'I was not able to reproduce the times I did this morning which is difficult to understand because the car felt fine. I will say though that I know a bit more about the car's characteristics - I guess I just didn't use that information very well this afternoon. I'm expecting a strong race. It's just going to be a little more difficult from the grid position I'm in.'

PAUL STEWART, Deputy Chairman, SGP

'The third row of the grid at Imola is not a bad place to be starting from for Rubens. It would have been more satisfying to have both cars near the front of the grid. We were expecting that to be the case after what Rubens and Johnny achieved this morning. But it didn't work out for Johnny in qualifying. Nonetheless we have shown that our performance level has not dropped off since Brazil.'

MARTIN WHITAKER, Director, Ford Racing, Europe

'Another solid performance from the Stewart-Ford team - once again illustrating the progress made since last season. We have been working hard to develop both driveability and reliability of the engine. Both drivers have commented on the improved driving performance of the engine and we hope for reliability in the race tomorrow.'

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