Michael Schumacher ended Friday practice the fifth fastest driver in Interlagos today with his Mercedes team seemingly pretty competitive at this end of season finale.
“We had quite a good day here in Interlagos and were able to work through our schedule consistently, even if the track was pretty slippery,” said the seven-time world champion. “The lap times are traditionally very tight here so let’s see what we can do in qualifying tomorrow. For the rest of the weekend, the weather forecast is for rain, so maybe we will see some surprises as we reach the end of the season.”
Team-mate Nico Rosberg was finished the day eighth fastest but is wary of the forecast rain tomorrow. “The conditions out there were quite difficult today as the track was a bit slippery,” he said. “However our times were quite good and not too far away from the top cars. We learned a lot on high and low fuel levels during the sessions. As the weather forecast is rain, it’s difficult to make a prediction for tomorrow. Maybe if it rains, it will be a bit easier to surprise the top teams.”
Team principal Ross Brawn agreed that it had been a productive day in Brazil. “We had two very good practice sessions today on the last Friday of the 2011 season,” he said. “Both sessions ran well and we achieved the work that we had planned. As always, there is still progress to be made tomorrow ahead of qualifying. A positive day with good work from Michael, Nico and the team.”