By Spyker MF1 media
October 21 2006

Official comments and quotes from the Spyker MF1 team after the Friday Free Practice sessions, the Saturday Free Practice session, and the Qualifying sessions for the Brazilian Grand Prix and Interlagos.

2006 Brazilian Grand Prix – Free Practice

Friday 20th October 2006

Tiago Monteiro (POR)
Chassis: M16-03, Car #18
First timed session: NO TIME, 1 Lap completed
Second timed session: 15th, 1:14.468, +1.921, 18 Laps completed
Quote: “I think today was a good performance for the whole team. Considering how much fuel we had on board it was really promising. We managed to find good car balance having made improvements throughout the afternoon session, earlier the car had been pretty difficult to handle but the set-up now suits my style of driving. It could rain tonight and we may have a different track tomorrow. We will keep our eyes open for changing conditions but its always very positive to have a start to the weekend like this.”

Christijan Albers (NED)
Chassis: M16-02, Car #19
First timed session: NO TIME, 1 Lap completed
Second timed session: 22nd, 1:15.086, +2.539, 21 Laps completed
Quote: “It was quite a useful day as I think we know what tyres we will choose for tomorrow. It is a short track so we encountered quite a lot of traffic but it doesn’t matter as its only a Friday. We will see how it goes tomorrow but at this time it doesn’t look too bad.”

Ernesto Viso (VEN)
Chassis: M16-01, Car #39
First timed session: 13th, 1:16.737, +2.973, 32 Laps completed
Second timed session: 20th, 1:14.972, +2.425, 26 Laps completed
Quote: “I was very excited to be at the Brazilian Grand Prix as a third driver especially with the Spyker MF1 Team and I think we did a good job. It’s basically my first ever time in F1 and at this track and I think we made a lot of good progress with the set-up and the tyre programme. I hope we can communicate over the winter and with some support maybe look at expanding my F1 experience next year.”

Dominic Harlow, Head of race and test engineering
Quote: “Today was quite a normal Friday but that’s not to say it was necessarily very good. We still have a lot of work to do with the set-up of the cars. The bumps and the generally fairly low grip have caused a lot of problems for the drivers. I think we are going in the right direction with tyres looking towards qualifying tomorrow and the race. We had a lot of fun working with Ernesto and he did a great job for us today.”

Colin Kolles, Team Principal
Quote: “The day seemed to go how we expected. It will be interesting to see whether the weather changes as it could play a very important role over the weekend. I think with the progress we have made recently that we stand a good chance of being in the right place to maximise our performance this weekend. I was happy to see Ernesto Viso in the 3rd car and I think he handled his responsibilities very well and we will make good use of the vital information he provided. I am looking forward to see whether our performance improvement continues through qualifying and the race.”

2006 Brazilian Grand Prix - Final Practice and Qualifying

Saturday 21st October 2006

Recent wet and overcast conditions at the Interlagos circuit cleared today for a warm and sunny Saturday track programme. Spyker MF1 Team failed to match the brighter outlook as they experienced a problematic qualifying session.

Having enjoyed some promising performance so far this weekend Tiago Monteiro was expecting a strong grid position. Unfortunately he spun early in qualifying resulting in his car becoming stranded for the remainder of the session. This incident means he will start the Brazilian Grand Prix from 22nd on the grid.

Christijan Albers had more success and was again able to out-qualify one of the Red Bull cars. Although struggling for grip he ended the first session in 18th position. With some recent encouraging race performance the Dutch driver, who will be driving for Spyker F1 in 2007, is looking forward to ending the season on a high.

The Brazilian Grand Prix marks the final race in the team's engine supply partnership with Toyota Motorsport. In what has been an extremely positive partnership for two seasons the team has enjoyed fantastic reliability and a very efficient relationship. 2006 has seen Tiago Monteiro use fewer engines than any other driver in the Formula One World Championship. The Spyker MF1 Team wishes all at Toyota Motorsport the very best of luck for the future.

Tiago Monteiro (POR), Car #18
Chassis: M16-03
Third Timed Practice Session: 18th, 1:13.832, +2.389, 15 Laps completed
Qualifying: NO TIME, 22ND
Quote: "The day didn't start very well with a two thousand dollar fine for crossing the pit lane exit. When I got out of the car the President of Spyker, Victor Muller told me that if I made it to the second session that he would cover it! Unfortunately I made one of the most stupid mistakes of my F1 career, obviously I was pushing hard as it was qualifying but I hit the curb on high speed corner 7 and spun the car causing it to stall. Its really frustrating as Christijan was only 3 tenths off P16 so I think we could have made it."

Christijan Albers (NED), Car #19
Chassis: M16-02
Third Timed Practice Session: 21st, 1:14.108, +2.665, 19 Laps completed
Qualifying: 18th , 1:13.138, 7 Laps completed
Quote: "I think we did the maximum we could do today, but it could have been better. We were good on the first run, but on the second, quicker lap we could have been even stronger but we lost a lot of grip in the final three corners. It was a bit of shame because the combination of the tyres and other issues meant we could have been much higher up the grid. I think we are still competitive against our rivals so we will see what happens in the race."

Colin Kolles, Team Principal
Quote: "Today was an interesting day for everybody in the team. Tiago made a very uncharacteristic mistake and Christijan looked like he made the best out of a difficult lap. We will see what happens during the race tomorrow but the world will be watching what looks set to be a thrilling finale to the World Championship, I hope that we can find a positive performance to take us into what will be a busy and important winter break."

Dominic Harlow, Head of Race and Test Engineering
Quote: "It was a disappointing final qualifying session, we needed to be very close but came out at the wrong end of our rival group. Spyker MF1 is a team very much looking to the future at the moment, tomorrow is a long race and anything could happen. Both drivers have worked out a good strategy considering our position in qualifying and we look to see what transpires at the front of the field and with the weather conditions."

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