The promise demonstrated by Jordan Ford in this morning’s free practice was not realised in qualifying, with Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralph Firman limited to 16th and 19th positions on the grid.  Fisichella and Firman were satisfied with the car’s balance in the free practice session, during which track conditions were wet, however in this afternoon’s dry qualifying session, both drivers locked up the brakes at the first corner, impairing performance for the remainder of the lap.

As with many other runners on the same tyres, the Jordan boys found that they were less competitive in the dry conditions than they had been in the rain. The bad weather which arrived in Montreal yesterday stayed through the night and right through this morning’s free practice. So the only dry running on offer came in the fifteen minute warm-up prior to the grid deciding session and for the one lap shoot-out.

The front row of the grid will be an all Williams affair with Ralf Schumacher on pole for the second consecutive race, with Juan Pablo Montoya alongside him. Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari and Fernando Alonso’s Renault share the second row, while behind them are the second Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello and the Jaguar of Mark Webber.

Giancarlo Fisichella was the first Jordan Ford on track but his lap was effectively over at the first corner, where he locked up the front wheels. Flat spotted tyres are not ideal on a qualifying lap and the Italian paid the penalty. Ralph Firman ran fourth from last after his good showing on Friday, but the rookie made virtually the same mistake as his team-mate.

But race day is what matters, and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has often thrown up unusual results, even in the dry conditions predicted for Sunday afternoon. Strategies and Safety Cars might make for an exciting grand prix.

Some of that excitement could be provided by Kimi Raikkonen. The championship leader got it wrong in a big way at Turn 2, wiping the rear wing off his McLaren and failing to post a time. Starting at the back of the grid, he will be trying his hardest to get into the points and protect his title lead from a better placed Michael Schumacher.

FREE PRACTICE
Giancarlo Fisichella 3rd      1:25.240  30 laps
Ralph Firman 12th   1:26.690 38 laps

WARM-UP
Giancarlo Fisichella 13th   1:18.328 8 laps
Ralph Firman  20th  1:20.594 6 laps

QUALIFYING

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA 16th 1:18.036
CHASSIS NUMBER EJ13-04
“Obviously it’s been a very frustrating qualifying session.  I went into turn one and locked up the front tyres in a big way and lost the line.  Then it happened again just under the bridge and I went into the grass, losing quite a lot of time.  I am very disappointed because maybe with a good lap I had the possibility to be in the top 10.  Anyway the race is a long one, so we’ll see.”

RALPH FIRMAN 19th 1:18.692
CHASSIS NUMBER EJ13-03
“That was disappointing. I had a good day yesterday but clearly today was not so good. I locked up the wheels at the first corner and then had a flat spot on the tyre all the way round the circuit.  We’ll have to try our best in the race and wait and see what happens.”

GARY ANDERSON
DIRECTOR OF RACE AND TEST ENGINEERING
“Both drivers made mistakes at the first corner and when you do that you lose everything because you’re under pressure trying to play catch-up for the rest of the lap. When you flat spot the front tyres the brakes don’t work right afterwards so it’s not good to do it at the beginning of the lap.  I don’t really know what to say other than it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to.   We’ll see what happens tomorrow with fuel strategies and just do the best we can.”

T-car chassis EJ13-02 (set up for Giancarlo Fisichella)