2nd place for Massa, Schumi gets penalty
As Michael Schumacher overtook 3 drivers under red flag during the third free practice session this morning, he was punished by the stewards with the same penalty Fernando Alonso got: 2 seconds added to each time during qualifying. Felipe Massa qualified 2nd and team mate Schumacher 12th.
Jean Todt "Obviously, this qualifying session did not go the way we might have expected. Felipe fought for pole position right to the end and managed to put his Ferrari on the front row of the grid after a great qualifying performance. It is clear that the Ferrari package, made up of the 248 F1 and the Bridgestone tyres is very competitive, but Michael's penalty for what happened in this morning's free practice made it more or less impossible for him to get through to the final part of qualifying. Thanks to some fantastic laps, Michael did the best he could, which equates to eleventh place on the grid. I do not wish to comment on the Stewards' decision: everyone can draw their own conclusions. On a track where overtaking is particularly difficult, the decisive factors will be the same as ever: reliability, strategy, tyre performance, teamwork and the performance of the drivers. It's possible that the tyres will play an even more important role than usual. Obviously, we will only find out about this in the race. For our part, we will do our utmost to produce the best result possible.
Felipe Massa "It was a good qualifying and it is always important to start from the front row. Maybe I could have been on pole, but I had a bit of traffic even from the moment I came out of pit lane on my out lap for my second timed run. That meant my tyres were not up to temperature, especially going into the first corner. Apart from that, I am happy with the package I have. We have worked well over the past two days, fine tuning the car and trying to get the most out of the Bridgestone tyres. I think that even on old tyres, I will be able to maintain a good pace and I will be out to get the best result possible."
Michael Schumacher "I prefer not to go into a long explanation of what happened this morning. Everyone can form their own opinion, looking at the replay. I would rather just concentrate on preparing for tomorrow's race as well as possible in these unfortunate circumstances. Eleventh place was the best I could hope for, taking into account the penalty given me by the Stewards. At least it means I start from the clean side of the track. I hope to make a good start and move up a few places and I will be trying to make the best of it tomorrow."
Ross Brawn "Naturally, we are very disappointed about what happened and by that I am referring of course to events involving Michael in this morning's free practice. It's true he made a mistake, but I leave it to you to decide if the penalty was fair. It's a shame because we had a great potential and we were unable to exploit it. Felipe drove a really good qualifying and probably lost pole because of a little bit of traffic as he was coming out of pit lane to start his final run. Track conditions improved and the tyres have begun to behave as we had expected, which is encouraging. The 248 F1 are well balanced and we will try and make the most of this situation. The race will be very tough and we have to think carefully about the strategic decisions we have to make before and during the race."
