The final race weekend of the European season got underway today at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. Michael and Nico completed a total of 131 laps during the two practicesessions Following Michael's gearbox problem in Spa, the ratios were changed beforeP1 in accordance with the regulations The gearbox ran without incident today and will be inspected thoroughlythis evening before qualifying and the race As ever in Monza, the field was closely matched, with the top ten cars inP2 separated by little more than 0.8sDrivers Car No. Chassis No. Practice OnePractice Two Nico Rosberg 8 F1 W03 / 07 26 laps 1:25.762 P341 laps 1:25.446 P5 Michael Schumacher 7 F1 W03 / 09 26 laps 1:25.422 P138 laps 1:26.094 P10
Weather Dry and sunny Temperatures Air: 23-29C Track: 28-42C
Nico RosbergThat was definitely a better start for us than in Spa. We were able tocomplete a lot of laps today and it seems that we have a good pace on highand low fuel levels. As always, it's difficult to say where we are comparedto the others but I hope we can score some good points this weekend. It wasgreat fun to drive on this amazing track, and I always like the specialatmosphere here. Yesterday I went out on the old Monza track with a scooterwhich is great to see.
Michael SchumacherI am quite happy with the practice sessions as we achieved a lot ofreasonable work with regards to long runs which was our main focus today. Wehave a different aero package for Monza which seems to work well so it seemsto be looking better than in the last races. During the sessions, we madeprogress as well so I am curious to have a look at the data we collected andlearn the full picture. It's always nice to be back in Monza as I am stillso warmly welcomed by all the tifosi. As I said earlier, I would like to saythank you for that and hope we can put on a good show tomorrow and in therace on Sunday.Ross Brawn We've had a pretty good day and both Nico and Michael were reasonably happywith the balance of the car by the end of the second session this afternoon.We completed our planned programme, and have all the information and datathat we needed on the different tyres and fuel levels, so now we will have alook and make our plans for tomorrow.Norbert HaugA positive start to the weekend on this traditional high-speed track. Nicoand Michael posted consistent lap times during their long runs in race trimon both Pirelli tyres. We seem to have a reasonable base to work fromtomorrow.
