5th and last grid position for Ferrari
Mixed feelings for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro at the end of the longest ever Formula 1 qualifying session. On the one hand, there is satisfaction at Kimi Raikkonen securing fifth place at the end of a very good session, while there is regret for what happened with Giancarlo Fisichella, who was left stuck out on track at the start of Q1.
“Tomorrow we face a race that will be very important in the battle for third place and it’s a shame we will not be tackling it with both our cars in the top half of the grid, given that our main rivals are quite a way back. However, we also have to keep an eye on Toyota who are not too far behind in the classification.”
Giancarlo Fisichella, chassis 280:
Qualifying Q1: 20° 1.40.703, 3 laps
“When qualifying started the conditions were almost impossible. I ended up spinning even though I wasn’t going that quickly, but I was at a point where the track was flooded. As I turned the wheel, I hit the engine cut-out switch and that was my qualifying over with. A shame, because the car goes well in the wet, as could be seen from Kimi’s performance. I hope he manages to bring home a good number of points, but for me that will be tough as I’m starting from the back row. At the moment, everything seems to be going wrong: I am very unhappy, because I so much want to show my worth in a major team like Ferrari. I hope that, starting tomorrow, some luck comes my way, as it has not done so far.”
Kimi Raikkonen, chassis 279: Qualifying Q3: 5° 1.20.168, 9 laps
“Overall, I’m pleased with this result. On the extreme wet tyres, we were very competitive and I actually think that if the conditions had stayed bad enough for these tyres, I could have done better than fifth place. However, on the intermediate tyres the car was no longer as easy to drive, because it is harder to get them working at their best. If it rains tomorrow, it will be very tough, because here, you see almost nothing if you are behind another car and the conditions become really difficult. I think that today, it was the right decision to delay qualifying: at least it meant we were able to drive in acceptable conditions, rather than just trying to stay on the track. The F60 worked well: we know we lack grip, but this is the problem we have carried with us since the start of the season.”
Chris Dyer: “A bitter sweet qualifying for us. Once again, Kimi produced a fantastic performance to take a good fifth place, while Giancarlo, having felt comfortable in the wet this morning, was unfortunate in that his spin occurred when track conditions were at their worst. We have gone for a strategy choice that should allow us to have a good race whatever the weather. Well done to the team who remained concentrated throughout the entire qualifying session.”
