2006 Italian Grand Prix - Final Practice & Qualifying
MF1 Racing drivers Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro posted
the 18th and 20th fastest times, respectively, in qualifying
for the Italian Grand Prix.
A red flag at the start of the first session and a yellow
flag toward the end reduced both drivers' efforts to a single
flying lap. Monteiro's pace was further compromised by technical
gremlins, which the team is currently attempting to solve.
Despite the disappointment of being eliminated in the first
qualifying session, the team will rely on a solid race strategy
and the substantial amount of data gained in last week's test
to mount a strong challenge in tomorrow's race.
Tiago Monteiro (POR), Car #18 (Chassis: M16-03)
Third Timed Practice Session: 20th, 1:24.541 (+2.876), 14
laps completed
Qualifying: 20th, 1:23.920 (+2.436 from Pole Position lap),
5 laps completed
Quote: "I'm very disappointed with our
qualifying performance today. We got hit by a couple of braking
problems that we're working on solving at the moment. The
balance and set-up are fine, and I was able to drive clean
laps, but these little issues require further investigation.
It's crucial that we get on top of them by tomorrow if we
are to have any chance of having a good race."
Christijan Albers (NED), Car #19 (Chassis: M16-02)
Third Timed Practice Session: 19th, 1:24.186 (+2.521), 17
laps completed
Qualifying: 18th, 1:23.116 (+1.112 from Pole Position lap),
5 laps completed
Quote: "I was expecting this to be a
tough weekend, because everybody knows that top speed is not
our strongest characteristic. But surprisingly, we're doing
OK. True, we're 18th, which is nothing to celebrate, but if
you look at the times, we are quite competitive. Going into
tomorrow, we still have some new sets of tyres and we'll use
them to maximum advantage in the race. We worked on our race
set-up while we were here testing last week, so I think we
will be fine tomorrow. I am very pleased with the hard work
that the team has put in. All the mechanics, engineers, and
people from Toyota have done a good job, so now it's up to
Tiago and me to deliver the best result we can."
Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "Our times are better
than expected, actually. Considering that this is a track
where you need a lot of engine power and low drag to be quick,
the gap to the front is not that large. In that first session,
Christijan was ahead of one Williams, and not very far from
the Red Bulls and Toyotas. Based on this, we are reasonably
pleased with our progress and optimistic of having a good
race tomorrow."
James Key, Technical Director: "It
was a difficult Q1 because of the red flag at the beginning,
and the yellow flags at the end meant that Christijan and
Tiago only got one flying lap in, whereas typically they do
two to four. So that compromised us a bit. Tiago also had
some problems that cropped up in qualifying but were not evident
in the morning's practice session, so we're going to have
to look at the data to see what was occurring there. In spite
of this, both drivers gave it their best shot and we're pleased
with their performances. It was never going to be our strongest
circuit, primarily because there's a lot of straight-line
running in Monza, and that has been one of our weakest points
all year. So we didn't expect great things when we came here,
but nonetheless, it's disappointing not to get at least one
car into Q2. On the positive side, we know we have a good
tyre for the race tomorrow, so we'll plan accordingly and
try to make the most of it."
Johnny Herbert, Sporting Relations Manager:
"I thought we did OK, all things considered. Both drivers
drove clean laps and came very close to cracking the second
session. It was a shame that Tiago had a technical glitch
that held him back, but I think that's probably the best job
our guys could have done, because this is certainly one of
the worst circuits of the season for us. But we've got a good
strategy for the race tomorrow, and you never know - if luck
runs our way, we might be able to come away with a strong
result, which would be nice."
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