Ferrari believes the F2005, shod with new Bridgestone rubber, will be a frontrunner in the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello are impressed with the new car’s abilities under braking and in high-speed corners.
Ferrari believes the F2005, shod with new Bridgestone rubber, will be a frontrunner in the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello are impressed with the new car’s abilities under braking and in high-speed corners.
“I am happy about the team’s decision to use the new car already at the next race,” Schumacher said recently. “Already at my first test with it, it gave me a good feeling.”
The seven-time world champion first drove the F2005 at Mugello last week. He completed 81 laps and set a best time of 1:21,233.
“I was able to do a lot of laps”, Schumacher added. “During the day the F2005 continued to get better and at the end of the day we had gathered a lot of valuable data. I am looking forward to the first entry of the F2005.”
The new car is quicker (than the F2004 M),” Barrichello said. “It is particularly amazing to drive through the high speed corners. It is better on the braking and in almost every area. My first impressions were really positive and the car brought a smile to my face. With the F2005 we can really fight the opposition.”
“We were very competitive in Bahrain last year, winning the race by half a lap, so we should have a much better race there than we did in Malaysia,” the Brazilian said, but added: “It is hard to overtake at Sakhir because the track is very slippery off the racing line. It is a busy track with a mix of tight and high-speed corners”.
Bridgestone tested a number of tyre specifications at Mugello and were pleased with Ferrari’s decision to take the new car to Bahrain, a Bridgestone Motorsport spokesman said.
“We have been working hard with Ferrari to accelerate our tyre development programme for Bahrain and look forward to an improved performance at the grand prix next weekend. We anticipate that, following further testing in the coming weeks, the car/tyre package will continue to gain in performance,” he added.
Ferrari will take two F2005s to Bahrain. The F2004 M, which was used in Australia and Malaysia, will be on hand as the back up car.
Meanwhile, Juan-Pablo Montoya may be forced to miss the Bahrain Grand Prix after injuring his shoulder playing tennis at the weekend.
“Juan Pablo slipped and fell on his shoulder and has a hairline crack and a tiny bit of tissue damage,” McLaren-Mercedes spokesperson Ellen Kolby said. “In the next couple of days he’s going to undergo some further scans. The injury is very minor.”
Should Montoya be unable to race, the team will probably have ask third driver Pedro de la Rosa to substitute the Colombian. If that happens, it is uncertain whether the team would run an MP4/20 or last year’s MP4/19B for the tall Alex Wurz to complete the Friday tyre tests. The Austrian is reportedly too big for the standard MP4/20’s cockpit.
