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Indianapolis Motor Speedway 04

SAP United States Grand Prix

20/06/2004

19/06/2004

BMW WilliamsF1 Qualifying Report

BMW WilliamsF1 Qualifying Report

Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher will start for the first time this season side by side from the third row of the grid for tomorrow's US Grand Prix, having qualified fifth and sixth respectively.

Juan Pablo Montoya:
"I am a little bit disappointed with this result, because I believe there's more in the car than fifth position. In my pre-qualifying and qualifying laps the balance of my car wasn't perfect and this cost both Ralf and myself a better grid position. . But all in all I believe we have a good race car and starting from the third row is still promising. I would really like to give all the Colombian fans which have come here to support me, something to cheer about."

Ralf Schumacher:
"It was a decent qualifying, nothing special really, I would say I drove a reasonable lap. It looked a bit better for us in pre-qualifying, but still I had some problems with the balance of my car, which has been the case all weekend. The continuously changing wind and the dust are obviously not helping the situation, but then it's the same for everyone. Let's wait and see what the race brings."

Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1):
"You can always hope for a better result, but what we have got is not a bad position from which to start the race. Both cars have a good race set-up and we are confident that we can race competitively here. The rear wing levels at Indy are always a compromise between the infield section where high downforce is needed and the straight where low drag is required."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"The result of the qualifying remained open until the very last driver had completed his lap. Our drivers will now start side by side from the third row. Both were not a hundred percent happy with the balance of their cars, but still they feel well prepared for the race. We have not experienced any reliability problems so far. As usual in Indy, the crowd for the Saturday practice sessions is very impressive. I think we can look forward to a great race day."