British Grand Prix – Silverstone
Qualifying session
Q1 FM 3rd 1.21.647 3 MS 6th 1.22.090 4
Q2 MS 5th 1.20.659 3 FM 8th 1.20.846 3
Q3 MS 3rd 1.20.574 15 FM 4th 1.20.764 15 Chassis: MS 254
FM 250
Temperatures: air 26/27 °C track 37 °C
Jean Todt: “At the end of a very closely
fought qualifying, we have ended up with two Ferraris on the
second row. It shows that our car-engine-Bridgestone tyre
package is competitive even when compared to our rivals and
we expect that to be the case in tomorrow’s race. The
decisive factors will be the usual ones: reliability, strategy,
consistent tyre performance. We have all the right elements
in place to do well – the technical package, the talent
of the drivers, the competence of the team and the Bridgestone
tyres. Now we have to go head to head with the others to see
if we are up to the task of winning. We will get the answer
tomorrow afternoon.”
Michael Schumacher: “Of course you
always hope to be on pole and so it’s normal to be disappointed
with third place, even if, at this track, it’s better
to start from third than second. I did not expect such a gap
to the pole time, but now we have to see what these tenths
really mean, given that we don’t know what fuel load
our rivals have on board. I have to say that so far, it’s
not been an easy weekend. Track conditions mean it’s
been difficult to find the right balance on the car and the
wind also added to the difficulties. The track is much more
slippery now than when the test was held here a few weeks
ago; at least that is what I’m told. But I am still
pretty optimistic about tomorrow’s race, as we know
we can count on a package that can win, as long as we make
the most of our potential and our strategy.”
Felipe Massa: “I am pleased with the
way things went this afternoon. It was definitely a good qualifying
session. Of course, starting from the front row would have
been better, but we still have every chance to attack off
the second row. Let’s wait and see what happens. What
we want is to finish ahead of those who start from the front
row of the grid. The entire team is working hard to close
down the gap in both championships and we are doing our best.”
Ross Brawn: “Perhaps the final result
is a little bit disappointing, because we thought there was
a chance of getting on pole. Having said that, I think that
thanks to our strategy, we can try and recover the situation.
The cars were very well balanced and from what we can see,
the Bridgestone tyres perform very consistently over a long
run. The times we set this morning on old tyres are encouraging.
We can look to tomorrow’s race with confidence. Track
conditions are changing rapidly and I think we have found
the right settings on the car to be competitive.”
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