Michelin snatches pole again.

Michelin, the French tyre supplier, is back on pole this weekend. It's Michelins 16th pole position of the season. Rival Bridgestone's first driver, Michael Schumacher, is 7th on the start grid. Bridgestone is seeking for a little rain in Sao Paulo during the race.

Michelin:
Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin Motorsport Director “This has been another very satisfying session for us. Our tyres have worked very well, as they have all season in a wide variety of conditions, and things look promising for the race. The local weather forecasters predict a 60 per cent chance of rain tomorrow and it is possible that some teams have based their strategies around that. Rain won’t worry us in the slightest, but it could add an extra element of uncertainty.”

Nick Shorrock, Director of F1 activities “Lap times might have remained fairly consistent since cars first ventured out yesterday morning, but the circuit has certainly evolved – that much is reflected in the reduced rate of tyre wear we have seen. Michelin’s ‘prime’ and ‘option’ tyres are very suitable for the conditions here at Interlagos and both will be used tomorrow.”

Pat Symonds, Renault Executive Engineering Director “The stage is set for an interesting race as the championship draws towards its conclusion. Both our Michelin tyre options worked extremely well and it wasn’t easy to make a choice, but we know we have a compound that will work well in the wide variety of temperatures that can occur here in Brazil. It was very good in qualifying and – more than that – we know it will be a good race tyre.”

Bridgestone:
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager “Michael did a very good job and we are pleased with his lap time taking into account that he was third out for qualifying. He qualified seventh and I’m sure he’ll be strong in the race tomorrow. Rubens’ qualifying run was not an accurate reflection of his performance potential but he should be strong as well tomorrow. I expect both Ferrari drivers to advance through the field. Tiago Monteiro has put himself in a good position on the grid and both Narain Karthikeyan and Christijan Albers did their best today. Robert Doornbos had an unfortunate spin and will start at the back but judging from his earlier runs this weekend, he too should move up. There is also the possibility of rain which could really change the picture.”

Ross Brawn, Ferrari Technical Director “Michael’s performance was pretty good considering his early position in the running order for qualifying. Unfortunately we had some problems with Rubens’ car, which wasn’t as good in the afternoon as it was this morning. We will now have to investigate to see why it happened and hope he can have a good race. It’s a shame as Rubens could have been much stronger in qualifying.”