Spanish Grand Prix – Barcelona, 12th May 2007
Qualifying session
Session Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Q1 MAS 2nd 1.21.375 3 RAI 6th 1.21.802 3
Q2 MAS 1st 1.20.597 3 RAI 3rd 1.20.741 3
Q3 MAS 1st 1.21.421 11 RAI 3rd 1.21.723 11
Chassis: F. Massa 260, K. Raikkonen 262
Weather: air temperature 28 °C, track temperature 39/40
°C, Sunny.
Fourth race of the season and fourth pole position for Scuderia
Ferrari Marlboro, for a third time courtesy of Felipe Massa.
It is the twelfth time that a Ferrari driver will start the
Spanish Grand Prix from pole position and the 190th in the
history of the Prancing Horse in Formula 1. For Felipe, it
is the sixth pole of his career.
Jean Todt:
“As has always been the case in this opening phase of
the championship, we once again witnessed a very closely contested
qualifying session. Thanks to a fantastic lap from Felipe,
we have maintained a 100% record for pole this season and
our great overall performance was confirmed with a third place
for Kimi. We realize today is only the first hurdle out of
the way as we aim for victory, while the hardest part is yet
to come tomorrow afternoon. As usual, we will have to put
all the elements together to meet our objectives: the start,
the strategy, team work and reliability. Barcelona is the
first race in Europe and we are here with various new elements
on the car, as indeed have all the other teams. Also making
an important contribution are our technical partners, first
and foremost Shell.”
Felipe Massa:
“I really got a great lap! This third consecutive pole
shows that our car is really competitive. My first run was
not perfect, but on the second I managed to get things right
without making the slightest mistake. Tomorrow’s race
will be very close and I hope that with a huge crowd like
we saw today in the grandstands, the spectators will see a
real spectacle. I hope to make a good start and make the most
of pole. Along with the team we are working very well and
I am very motivated and also confident about the race.”
Kimi Raikkonen:
“It seems that taking third place in qualifying is now
becoming a habit. It’s not a bad position, but obviously
you always hope to be in front of everyone. On my second attempt,
I was going very well but I lost time in the final sector,
where the rear of the car was sliding a bit. I hope I will
be able to make up some places, but I know it won’t
be easy. My feeling for the car is improving: there is still
work to do, but it’s going in the right direction.”
Luca Baldisserri:
“We struggled a little bit again this morning in the
third free practice session, especially in doing a quick single
lap. We made some choices in terms of set-up and strategy
that we hope will work out for us tomorrow afternoon. The
two types of Bridgestone tyre are pretty similar in terms
of consistency of performance, but of course the softer one
has the edge on the first lap. We could see different tyre
use strategies to those we have so far with this season with
the new rule format. What is certain is that it will be a
very tight race. The two cars had not particular technical
problems and we will do all we can to bring them home with
the best result possible.”
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