Ferrari not happy with qualifying result
The two Ferrari F60 will start the Australian Grand Prix from seventh and ninth places, for Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen respectively. The two Ferrari men did a total of 21 laps divided as follows: 8 in Q1, 6 in Q2 and 7 in Q3.
"We cannot be happy with this result," commented Stefano Domenicali. "We knew that, apart from one team that today seems to be out of reach of the rest, in terms of pure performance, there were various teams that could aspire to being near the front of the grid. Today, we had confirmation of what was said in the winter, that the performance difference between a large group of cars is minimal and the slightest drop off and you will finish down the order. That's what happened today, particularly in Q3, where we did not live up to our potential. We have to work out why that happened and at the same time, prepare as well as possible for a race that is bound to be very difficult and uncertain."
Felipe Massa: "We reckoned it would be possible but very difficult to get into the top five and this turned out to be the case: we ended up seventh, which is definitely not very satisfying but it represents the best we could do this afternoon. Now we must concentrate on tomorrow's race, which will be extremely tough. The first round of the season here in Australia is always a step into the unknown, especially as the track is slippery and accidents are a strong possibility. We will try to get to the finish and to pick up as many points as possible."
Kimi Raikkonen: "This morning, a hydraulic problem meant I pretty much missed out on the third free practice session: a shame, but better that this should happen on Saturday than Sunday. The car was r from ideal for qualifying but I think we are in pretty good shape for the race. A points finish is possible even if we could have been further up the grid. From what we have seen today, clearly we lack a bit of performance compared to the quickest guys, but the race will be very long and we will see what we can manage to do."
Luca Baldisserri: "We need to work out why, in Q3, we didn't manage to go as well as in Q2, while allowing for the amount of fuel we had on board. Tomorrow the race will definitely be very difficult. We will have to make the most of any opportunities, beginning with the start. Actually, on the grid, we are the highest placed cars running KERS, an element that might allow us to make up some places. Then we have to bear in mind that, on this track, the Safety Car usually plays a part and so anything could happen. Reliability will be key. This morning, we had a hydraulic problem on Kimi's car which saw him stop out on track at the start of FP3 and clearly that was not the best way to prepare for qualifying. We must pay close attention to every detail and try and get the cars to the finish line, with the aim of picking up points."
