German Grand Prix – Hockenheim,
Qualifying session
Session Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Q1 FM 1st 1.14.412 3 MS 2nd 1.14.904 3
Q2 MS 1st 1.13.778 3 FM 2nd 1.14.094 3
Q3 MS 2nd 1.14.205 12 FM 3rd 1.14.569 12
Chassis: MS 254 FM 252
Temperatures: air 29 °C track 41/42 °C
Jean Todt: “It was a very closely
contested qualifying, especially in the final part when the
drivers were fighting not only for pole but also to get the
best track position from which to produce a quick lap. We
are satisfied with this result, which sees us with one driver
on the front row and the other on the second. Both Michael
and Felipe produced a great performance and both the 248 F1
and the Bridgestone tyres were up to the task in hand. Now
we come to the most important part of the weekend, which is
of course the race. The factors that will decide the finishing
order are the usual ones: reliability, tyre performance, team
work, strategy and of course the performance of those at the
wheel. With seven races to go to the end of the championship
and with the gap we need to close up in both championships,
it is clear what are our objectives. I hope with all my heart
that we can reach them, both tomorrow and come the end of
the season.”
Michael Schumacher: “We know we can
count on a very strong car-engine-Bridgestone tyre which should
give us a good race pace, so we can be confident for tomorrow.
We had no problems at all and things have gone well all weekend.
The track will still rubber in a bit more, especially as it
rained yesterday. My somewhat aggressive entry into the pits?
Nothing strange, I was just in a hurry, but I had a bit of
graining which prevented me from pulling off the manoeuvre
the way I wanted, but in the end nothing happened and that
was also the case when it comes to the incident with Fernando
in Q3. In certain situations, for example when you are changing
tyres at the same time as your team-mate, you cannot see everything
clearly and you have to rely on the team as to when to pull
away from the pit stop. Even though I have not had that much
success in this race in the past, Hockenheim is one of my
favourite dates on the calendar and I’m looking forward
to racing tomorrow in front of so many of my fans.”
Felipe Massa: “Third place is definitely
not bad, but I felt I could have done better. I had expected
to be fighting for pole, after the car felt very strong on
old tyres in this morning’s free practice. But at least
the good pace I showed in race trim this morning means I can
be optimistic for tomorrow. We have a very strong car-engine-Bridgestone
tyre package and I hope everything turns out the way we expect
it to, but the competition is very close so it will be a tough
race.”
Ross Brawn: “We are happy with this
qualifying result, although obviously we would have preferred
to be on pole. However, with this format, the result of the
third part of the session inevitably reflects the different
strategies chosen by the teams. We think our cars proved to
be very competitive, as can be seen from the times set in
Q1 and Q2 and the Bridgestone tyres also worked well. Track
conditions are steadily improving and they even changed during
the qualifying hour. We are reasonably confident about tomorrow’s
race.”
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