23.10.2004 "I really like the track, which may be why I have performed well here all weekend, and now I hope to have a good race here tomorrow to finish the weekend" Minardi F1 qualifying report from Interlagos

The second day of practice for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, final round of the 2004 Formula One World Championship, again took place in warm, dry conditions at the Autodromo José Carlos Pace.

Minardi Cosworth drivers Gianmaria Bruni and Zsolt Baumgartner continued their preparations for qualifying and the race during the two practice sessions before turning their attention to the afternoon qualifying session.

Baumgartner secured 19th place on the grid with a solid lap of the challenging 4.309-km track, while a problem that developed on Bruni’s car during his pre-qualifying run could not be rectified in the time available and the young Roman was therefore not able to take part in qualifying. He will therefore start tomorrow’s race in 20th position.

ZSOLT BAUMGARTNER  Best lap: 1:13.550  Position: 19th

“Generally, it has been a good day. I was quite competitive compared with my team mate all morning and I was very happy in qualifying that I could be that close to the Jordan with just half-a-tenth of a second between us.

"I really like the track, which may be why I have performed well here all weekend, and now I hope to have a good race here tomorrow to finish the weekend. I particularly want to thank the team for all their effort.

"We tried a lot of things on the car and they worked really hard to make all the changes. They pushed really hard, so I did as well, and now I will try to reward them with a good race tomorrow.”

GIANMARIA BRUNI  Best lap: No time  Position: 20th

“I had a good run in the pre-qualifying session and set the fastest-ever lap for a Minardi around Interlagos. On the ‘in’ lap, however, I experienced a problem with the car and, as a result, decided not to take part in the qualifying session.

"Even so, I’m sure tomorrow is going to be a good race and I will try to get the best result I can in the final event of the year.”

PAUL STODDART  Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth

“This weekend has been a busy one for Minardi and I am pleased with the fact that we were able to exceed last year’s pole position time throughout the course of the day. Zsolt put in a solid performance in today’s qualifying, while Gimmi will start from the pit lane tomorrow, as he did not record a time.

"The tyres provided to the team this weekend seem to be working particularly well here at Interlagos, and it is therefore an opportune moment to thank Bridgestone for the support they have given us all season.

“The weather forecast for tomorrow could prove interesting, as we all remember the fantastic race Minardi had when the team was last here in Sao Paulo.”

Chassis allocation – 2004 Grand Prix of Brazil: Bruni (No 20) PS04B/02, Baumgartner (No 21) PS04B/04, Spare car (Baumgartner)  PS04B/03