“We managed to make significant improvements to the car’s set-up during the day and the car feels good,” said Michael. “It is handling well on this track and I feel confident about the work we have done today. I think the modifications to the Bus Stop chicane work well. We used to take it flat out, using the kerbs and risking damage to the suspension and tyres, just before going flat through Eau Rouge. To my mind the modifications are therefore good from a safety point of view.”

Team mate Rubens Barrichello had set the pace in the shortened morning session but ended the day in fourth place not quite on the pace of either the McLaren’s or Schumacher. A 1.48.321 was the Brazilian’s best effort today but he too like Michael is confident that things will improve. Barrichello’s session came to an end when he spun out in the final minutes of the session but it was a driver error stated Rubens.

“This morning we lost half an hour of practice because of the fog, but the car is handling pretty well and so I am quite confident about tomorrow’s qualifying,” commented Barrichello. “I went off the track towards the end of the second part of the session. There was nothing wrong with the car, so I guess I was just pushing a bit over the limit.”

Sporting Director Jean Todt is as usual confident that the results will be the right one this weekend but he knows from today’s times that the battle is going to be a tough one if the times are a true indication of the speed of the McLaren’s. Tyres will play an important role and today it looked like Michelin had an advantage over the Bridgestones.

“As usual on Friday, our work was centred on Sunday’s race, which takes place on what is a lovely circuit,” said Todt. “From the results of today’s free practice, we can see that some of our rivals are looking very strong. Tomorrow, we can expect a very close fight for the top positions on the grid. As is always the case, tyres will play a vital role. As far as we are concerned, we are confident we can qualify well.”

Ross Brawn will be studying the data gathered today before making a concrete decision on what tyres will be used for the remainder of the race, although the team has seen a distinct advantage between the compounds so the decision will not be that hard to make. Brawn was happy that both driver set quick laps while carrying heavy fuel loads and is confident the tyres for the race will be consistent.

“Today we carried out the usual tyre comparison with the two types available,” concluded Brawn. “I think we have a pretty clear idea which is the best one, but nevertheless we will carefully study the data we have acquired. The drivers said they were happy with the balance of their cars, which performed well considering the fuel load they were carrying. On this track, consistent tyre performance during the race is very important and if temperatures stay similar to today’s then we think we are in good shape.”