MF1 RACING
2006 Monaco GP - Qualifying
MF1 Racing came within 0.275 of a second from reaching the
second qualifying session today, with Christijan Albers posting
the team's fastest lap of the weekend in a valiant attempt
to break out of the third bracket and move up the grid.
Despite the disappointment of barely missing that target,
the team is pleased with the progress made over the weekend
and remains optimistic for a good result in tomorrow's race.
Tiago Monteiro (POR), #18 (Chassis: M16-03)
Third Timed Session Classification: 14th, 1:15.809 (+1.986),
26 laps completed
Qualifying Classification: 18th, 1:15.993 (+2.095 from Pole
Position), 8 laps completed
Quote: "What can I say? The car has been great all weekend
but unfortunately, I was blocked in three corners while attempting
my fastest lap and I lost about half a second, so I'm pretty
upset about that. The first run was good, considering the
track conditions. My second lap was going to be even better,
but as I said, I was blocked. It's frustrating for the whole
team, because everyone worked so hard to get our pace up to
where it is. We've shown so much potential and so much genuine
improvement this weekend, there's no reason why we should
be 17th and 18th. We really should have been in the second
session. In any event, I have to thank my team for giving
me such a well-balanced car all weekend, which is very positive
and will be even more important come tomorrow."
Christijan Albers (NED), #19 (Chassis: M16-02)
Third Timed Session Classification: 15th, 1:16.066 (+2.243),
26 laps completed
Qualifying Classification: 17th, 1:15.598 (+1.7 from Pole
Position), 8 laps completed
Quote: "First of all, I have to thank all the guys in
crew for keeping their faith in me and working hard to sort
out all the problems we've had the last two races. Now we're
focusing on moving forward - we're not looking backwards anymore.
I'd also like to thank Toyota for the power they've given
us here. I think tomorrow will be a difficult race, but today
we had a lot of fun because we're quite competitive here.
It was a shame that I struggled in the first two practices
on Thursday, but we kept our heads cool, we learned about
our tyres, and we made the right choice today. That's why
our performance continues to get stronger, so thanks again
to everybody."
Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "We
can see that the gap to the front is continuing to close.
I think we've had a good weekend so far. We have a good race
set-up for both cars and the drivers are doing a fine job
for us. Even though it would have been nice to get into the
second qualifying session, we are still positive and confident
for the race ahead."
James Key, Technical Director: "Obviously,
we're a little disappointed, because the form was there this
morning. We wanted to get into Q2, and there was a good chance
of doing that today. Both drivers did very well. Christijan
gave the best performance he's given so far this weekend and
was only a few tenths away from getting into the next session.
Tiago was very close, as well. He lost half a second to traffic
on his quickest lap. But that's the nature of the circuit
and the way things work here. I'm sure other people could
also say the same thing, but we could have got into Q2. The
pace was there, but luck was against us a little bit. We've
got to come away from this pleased with our performance level.
The gap was the closest it's ever been to the guys ahead,
and its further evidence that our continuing developments
and improvements are being realised at the track."
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