Ferrari not quick enough
It was a very disappointing qualifying session for the Scuderia Ferrari as Felipe Massa could only place his F2007 14th on the grid and team mate Kimi Raikkonen will start from 4th position. According to the Finn, the Ferrari's just weren't fast enough today to think about beating their closest rivals.
Jean Todt: "A very disappointing qualifying for us, with one driver fourth and the other fourteenth. Felipe, who made a small mistake on his first run in Q2, then lost precious time because of a misunderstanding about refuelling between the pit wall and the garage. Then, on tyres that were definitely not at the ideal temperature, he was unable to improve his time and thus finished outside the top ten. For his part, Kimi could have reasonably hoped to have finished third, but just missed his target and ended up fourth. We know that anything can happen in the race, but we also have to be realistic and accept that we will have to fight our way up the order, especially in Felipe's case. However, as usual, the final verdict only comes on Sunday afternoon."
Kimi Raikkonen: "To be honest, we were not quick enough today to think about beating our closest rivals, but I think we have a good race pace, which means we can be more competitive than we looked in qualifying. The car is very good over a long run, so I am still confident. Starting from the dirty side of the track is definitely not an advantage, even if usually we make good starts. On both my runs in Q3 I did a good lap, but I had too much understeer in the final two or three turns, where I lost valuable time. It's a problem we have had all weekend and we have not managed to solve it over the first timed lap."
Felipe Massa: " What happened in Q2 is very frustrating. I made a mistake at the final corner on my first run, but then, when I came back to the pits, there was a misunderstanding over refueling and they let me go without fuel. That's why I stopped and had to be pushed back to our area by the mechanics. I went back out again, but the tyres were very cold and I was not able to do a time good enough to stay in the top ten. Tomorrow, I expect a very difficult race, as this is one of the worst places to start from a long way back. I will try and do my best and to get the car home as high up the order as possible. From what we have seen today, I don't think I could have been on the front row, but third place would have been a realistic target. Now we have to look at ways of using strategy to improve our situation. It's a shame starting this far back given that the car has a very good race pace."
Luca Baldisserri: "We made a serious mistake in our management of the second qualifying session for Felipe, not refueling him at the end of his first run. Then, Felipe found himself on tyres that were too cold and he was unable to improve, ending up outside the top ten. We decided to run the softer tyres with Kimi in Q3 but we did not manage to get the best out of them which led to a performance drop off in the final sector and that's what stopped him from taking third spot. We have to be honest and say that would have been the best we could have hoped for in this session. Tomorrow, we are expecting a very tough race, especially in Felipe's case. We will try and pick up as many points as possible."
