Brazilian Grand Prix – Interlagos, 21st October 2006
Qualifying session Session
Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Q1 FM 1st 1.10.643 3 MS 2nd 1.11.565 3
Q2 MS 1st 1.10.313 3 FM 2nd 1.10.775 3
Q3 FM 1st 1.10.680 13 MS 10th - 1 Chassis: MS 255 FM 256
Temperatures: air 20/21 °C track 31/34 °C Seventh
pole of the 2006 season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, following
on from those in Sakhir, Imola, Indianapolis, Magny-Cours,
Istanbul and Suzuka, the third for Felipe Massa. This is pole
number 186 in Ferrari’s history, the fifth in this Grand
Prix.
Jean Todt: “This was a bitter-sweet
qualifying session for us. On the one hand we can be delighted
with a great pole position for Felipe, which came about due
to his talent and the clear superiority of the 248 F1- Bridgestone
tyre package. On the other hand there is a great disappointment
for Michael who was reduced to the role of spectator, sitting
in the cockpit of his car in the garage, for the final part
of the session, sidelined with what appears to be a fuel pressure
problem. Without wishing to sound presumptuous, there is good
reason to think we could have had two cars on the front row
of the grid tomorrow. However, we find ourselves with one
car on pole and the other relegated to the fifth row. Nevertheless,
we know that anything can happen in racing, and one way and
another, we experienced that ourselves various times this
year. All we can do tomorrow is try and get both our cars
out in front of all the others at the finish line.”
Felipe Massa: “It’s a dream
for me to be on pole here at Interlagos, wearing the colours
of my country while sitting in a Ferrari. I will never forget
this day! I am very happy and I want to thank the team for
having provided me with a perfect car. Tomorrow, I will do
my utmost to win. I know it will be a tough race but everything
is in place for me to achieve that goal. I am sorry for Michael
who was really unlucky, just like in Suzuka. But I still believe
we can get both our cars ahead of the others, which is vital
if we are to win the Constructors’ championship. My
last lap? It was fantastic!”
Michael Schumacher: “Of course I am
disappointed, but these things can happen. At the start of
Q3, the car had a fuel pressure problem and all I could do
was cruise round slowly back to the pits. Now we have to find
out how it happened and try and make the best of this situation.
Sure, it’s a big handicap starting from tenth place.
The only good part of today is that Felipe is on pole which
must be very satisfying for him here at his home race. I hope
that tomorrow he can win the race.”
Ross Brawn: “A great performance from
Felipe. He had a great car and the Bridgestone tyres were
performing very well, but he produced a performance over and
above expectations and in Q3 he did a handful of really incredible
laps. We are very frustrated about the problem that kept Michael
in the garage for the final part of qualifying. It seems to
be linked to fuel pressure, but now we need to find out exactly
what happened. It’s a shame as we could have had two
Ferraris on the front row. But in my opinion we could still
pull off a onetwo tomorrow. The cars are performing strongly,
the Bridgestone tyres mean we can do consistent lap times
and the weather forecast for slightly higher temperatures
should all work in our favour. And let’s not forget
that in the past, Michael has managed to win races starting
even further back on the grid.”
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