San Marino Grand Prix – Imola, 22nd April 2006
Qualifying session
Q1: MS 8th 1.24.598 5 laps FM 12th 1.24.884 5 laps
Q2: MS 1st 1.22.579 3 laps FM 4th 1.23.595 3 laps
Q3: MS 1st 1.22.795 14 laps FM 4th 1.23.702 14 laps
Temperatures: air 26 °C, track 36 °C
Second pole position of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro,
following on from the one in Sakhir, both of them courtesy
of Michael Schumacher. This is the sixth time that a Ferrari
starts the San Marino Grand Prix from pole. Michael took the
sixty sixth pole of his career: an outright record.
Jean Todt: “A marvellous qualifying
with a great performance from Michael. Felipe did well, but
he was unable to exploit the full potential of the car in
the final part of the session. When all elements of the package
– drivers, team, chassis, car and tyres – all
work at their best, then the results follow. Today we have
made a major step forward and it was nice to do so in front
of our fans and our employees, packed into their own grandstand
here. But the crucial step comes tomorrow. Everything is in
place for us to do well, but we know there are many important
factors to take into consideration, first and foremost strategy
and reliability. All we can say is that, for the moment, Ferrari
and its technical partners, especially Bridgestone and Shell,
are working in the right direction.”
Michael Schumacher: “We have worked
very hard in recent weeks, so it’s wonderful to see
it all come right for us. But to be honest, I am not surprised
that we have done well. It is very nice to be back on pole
again and of course, the fact it is my 66th and so a new record
is something very special for me. At the moment, I am concentrating
totally on this weekend so I think I will only really appreciate
fully what I have done at a later time. Yesterday, I said
I was aiming for pole and the win. Today we have reached the
first target and I hope I can make the second one tomorrow.
I am convinced we have a good chance of winning.”
Felipe Massa: “To be honest, I’m
not happy. On both my laps with new tyres I had traffic and
did not make the most of what I had to work with. The car,
the engine and the Bridgestone tyres were certainly worth
a place in the top three. Fourth is definitely not a disaster,
but I cannot be happy with it. All the same, I am optimistic
for the race. We have what we need to get a good result.”
Ross Brawn: “Very pleased with this
result. Everything went well today in terms of our programme.
The Bridgestone tyres worked particularly well and I think
we can have a strong race and we can look to tomorrow with
confidence. Michael’s time was fantastic. It’s
a shame that Felipe never got a clean lap in the final part
of qualifying, because of traffic. He still did a good time,
given the circumstances. The cars were well balanced and there
is cause for optimism for tomorrow.”
|
