Belgian Grand Prix – Spa-Francorchamps,
Qualifying session
Session Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Q1 MAS 2nd 1.46.060 3 RAI 3rd 1.46.242 3
Q2 RAI 1st 1.45.070 3 MAS 3rd 1.45.173 3
Q3 RAI 1st 1.45.994 9 MAS 2nd 1.46.011 9
Chassis: F. Massa 263, K. Raikkonen 262 Weather: air temperature
16/17 °C, track temperature 24 °C, partially cloudy.
Eighth pole for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro out of fourteen
qualifying sessions held so far this season, set for the third
time by Kimi Raikkonen. This is the thirteenth time that a
Ferrari driver will start the Belgian Grand Prix from the
number one slot. Kimi took his career pole total to 14, while
the Scuderia now has a total of 194 to its name.
Jean Todt: “It was a very exciting
and closely contested qualifying session in which, for the
first time this season, two Ferraris took the top two places,
separated by a very small time difference on what is probably
the nicest circuit on the Formula 1 calendar. They say a good
day coming can be seen from the morning and already yesterday,
we saw that we could be competitive and today confirmed that
impression. This result was, in part, also due to Shell’s
technical contribution. Having said that, we have only taken
a small step so far this weekend. The most important one comes
tomorrow when the deciding factors will be the same as ever
– strategy, reliability and the work of the team and
the driver. Today’s great result is particularly satisfying
for me and for various reasons, I would be very happy to see
it repeated tomorrow.”
Kimi Raikkonen: “Obviously, I am happy
with this pole position, obtained on one of my favourite tracks
and also happy with the overall result for the team. On my
first run in Q3, the car was very good but I felt something
was not quite right with the rear end on my in lap. Apparently
everything was okay and so we decided to continue with the
second run. Even if it wasn’t perfect, it was still
good enough to improve and take pole. The balance of the car
was good right from this morning. Usually, we are quicker
in the race than in qualifying. Tomorrow we will try and do
our best to get a good result.”
Felipe Massa: “It was a good qualifying.
My second quick lap in Q3 was perfect right up to the final
corner, where I locked my wheels and might have lost just
enough time to cost me pole. But second place is a good one
to start from for the race. I hope to have a good race tomorrow.
Here, we are back to being competitive at the highest level
and we have a package that can allow us to fight for the win.”
Luca Baldisserri: “It’s great to be back with
an all red front row on the grid. Today we were competitive
but we are aware that tomorrow we can expect a long hard race
against very strong opposition. We have a very good package
and significant help from our technical partners, starting
with Shell.”
|
