Albers: Good time, but work to do.

Christijan Albers admitted that the Midland team still has work to do ahead of qualifying, despite outpacing Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher during the Friday practice sessions in Montreal.

The Dutch driver put in an impressive performance in Canada twelve months ago when he secured 15th on the grid in his Minardi, and continued that form in two tricky hour long sessions as he battled with a nervous car on a circuit lacking grip to claim the 14th quickest time - just behind Jenson Button and a place ahead of Schumacher.

23.06.2006 Montreal, Canada, Tiago Monteiro (POR), Midland MF1 Racing, Toyota M16, crashes in practi
23.06.2006 Montreal, Canada, Tiago Monteiro (POR), Midland MF1 Racing,…
© XPB.CC

Christijan Albers admitted that the Midland team still has work to do ahead of qualifying, despite outpacing Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher during the Friday practice sessions in Montreal.

The Dutch driver put in an impressive performance in Canada twelve months ago when he secured 15th on the grid in his Minardi, and continued that form in two tricky hour long sessions as he battled with a nervous car on a circuit lacking grip to claim the 14th quickest time - just behind Jenson Button and a place ahead of Schumacher.

"The lap time doesn't look too bad, but we're really going to have to work hard to improve the balance of the car," he admitted. "The car is still too nervous and quite difficult to drive but in spite of this, I was still able to post some consistent lap times. The motivation level of the team is really high and everyone is working hard to find a solution, so I'm optimistic that we will be able to deliver a better result."

A spin in the opening session was the only real problem for Albers, but the same couldn't be said for team-mate Tiago Montiero, who became the first driver to put his car into the wall at the final corner.

The Portuguese driver lost a wheel after brushing the wall on his final lap of the opening session, although the team was able to repair the car in time for the second session - when he admitted that the work he was doing meant his 28th quickest time was far from an indication of his true pace.

"This morning, we only did one run and I ended up touching the wall on the last corner - the infamous 'Wall of Champions', which has taken out quite a few drivers in the past," he said. "I wasn't hurt at all, the car wasn't too badly damaged and my crew did a great job to repair it in two hours. That's the positive side of it, anyway!

"In the afternoon, we stayed on the same tyres because we figured there wouldn't be much to gain from switching to a new set, so that's why it didn't look too good on the time sheet. We focused mostly on balance, in order to see if we could run with the softer tyres, which seem quicker but don't last very long, so we need to work on that. We'll now be running in better conditions with new tyres, so I'm expecting to see a big improvement."

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