French Grand Prix – Magny-Cours,
Qualifying session
Session Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Q1 RAI 2nd 1.14.872 3 MAS 3rd 1.15.303 3
Q2 MAS 2nd 1.14.822 3 RAI 3rd 1.14.828 3
Q3 MAS 1st 1.15.034 12 RAI 3rd 1.15.257 13
Chassis: F. Massa 260, K. Raikkonen 262
Weather: air temperature 22 °C, track temperature 32/34
°C, Sunny.
Fifth pole for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro from eight qualifying
sessions run so far this season, set for the fourth time by
Felipe Massa. This is the sixteenth time that a Ferrari driver
will start the French Grand Prix from pole position, the 191st
in the history of the Prancing Horse in Formula 1. For Felipe
it was his seventh career pole.
Jean Todt: “This was a very close
qualifying session, which ended with our two cars securing
first and third places, with Felipe and Kimi respectively.
Our cars have shown themselves to be competitive right from
the start of this Magny-Cours weekend and this was confirmed
for the first time today. However, we are well aware that
while this year, the qualifying result seems to be even more
important than usual in determining the final result, today’s
achievement is only the first step. The longer and more important
one comes tomorrow afternoon. It will be a closely contested
race, given how well matched are the teams. As usual in the
race, the key factors will be strategy, reliability, as well
as the work of the team and the drivers.”
Felipe Massa: “I am very happy with
this pole. On my first run in Q3 I did a good lap, while on
the second, maybe I went a little bit over the limit in terms
of getting the best out of the tyres and could not recover
from that. Obviously, I hope that the run of wins obtained
by drivers starting from pole continues tomorrow! It could
rain, but I think we have a car that is good in any conditions.
It is great to be back fighting at the front. Already at the
Silverstone test last week, we saw that the car had improved,
had more grip even on the opening lap and here we have found
a good balance from the start of the weekend. In free practice
and in the first two qualifying sessions, I never put together
a clean lap, but I did manage it in Q3.”
Kimi Raikkonen: “Of course I would
have preferred to be in front of everyone, but third place
is not so bad. We will have to see how the race evolves and
the various strategies will work out. I am confident, because
I know I have a car that is competitive over a race distance.
On my final run in Q3, I made a mistake that probably cost
me a place on the front row. I have a good feeling with the
F2007, which is very well balanced and has been since the
start of the weekend. It will be a very tough race and I will
give it my best shot to bring home as many points as possible.”
Luca Baldisserri: “It was a very exciting
hour of qualifying, with a fine duel between ourselves and
our main rivals. We are back to having a car on pole position
after a period in which we experienced some difficulties in
this part of the Grand Prix weekend. It is the result of all
the work done these past weeks, both in the factory in developing
the cars and on the track in testing. We know however that
the race is the most important part of the weekend. The two
F2007 are well balanced and everything is in place for us
to do well. It is an important race because we have to reverse
the trend in both classifications if we want to keep our hopes
alive.”
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