European GP, Saturday,
"It was a good lap, a very good lap" crackled Fernando
Alonso's radio this afternoon at the Nürburgring as the
Spaniard learned from his race engineer Rod Nelson that he
had secured his first pole position of the 2006 season for
tomorrow's European Grand Prix.
The championship leader's time of 1:28.819 in the final part
of qualifying will mean he starts tomorrow's Grand Prix from
the best possible position, ahead of the Ferraris of Schumacher
and Massa.
In marked contrast, Giancarlo Fisichella's afternoon was thwarted
by a fellow competitor, as he was delayed through the final
part of his flying lap in the second knockout session. The
incident cost the Italian several tenths of a second in lap-time,
which would have been enough to put him into the third qualifying
session. Instead, he finished thirteenth and was knocked out.
The only consolation is that the application of penalties
to cars in front will see him start from eleventh position
tomorrow, free to determine his fuel load for the opening
stint.
FA GF
Heat 1 1:31.138 1:31.574
Heat 2 1:30.336 1:31.197
Heat 3 1:29.819 n/a
Fernando Alonso, Pole position
I had a very good lap today. We tried something a little bit
different with our approach to qualifying, and it seemed to
work well, so I am really pleased to be on pole for the first
time this year. At previous races we have had problems with
traffic or the fuel load, but today everything went smoothly
and that made it much easier for me. I am looking forward
to the race now, because I think it will be a good one. The
Ferraris look very competitive, so let's see what tomorrow
afternoon brings.
Giancarlo Fisichella, 13th position (will start 11th)
All I can say is that I am really angry – as people
probably saw from the TV this afternoon. For me, Villeneuve's
behaviour was unacceptable. As drivers, we know that if you
are on the out-lap, you give way to the guys coming past on
their quick lap. But Villeneuve didn't move over, and held
me up all the way through the final sector and I lost a lot
of time. I had the pace to get into the final part of qualifying
quite easily but instead, we have to make some compromises
on our race strategy. Hopefully, though, I can make up positions
tomorrow.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
It is great to be on pole position again, and particularly
in the knowledge that we have an excellent race tyre and a
sound strategy. Fernando used two sets of tyres for the final
part of qualifying, and if his first lap was impressive, the
second was stunning. We are expecting strong competition tomorrow,
but it is shaping up to be a great race. As for Giancarlo,
he was unfortunate not to get through to the final part of
qualifying, because he certainly had the pace to do so. However,
an incident with Villeneuve in Q2 ruined his chances. Nevertheless,
he will start 11th after penalties have been applied, with
a free fuel load. Bearing in mind his great performance after
starting from the pit-lane at this circuit last year [NB:
6th position], I am sure we can work something out to help
him gain some positions.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations
Fernando's pole position this afternoon is the best possible
start to the weekend. We came here knowing a good grid position
was important, and an exceptional lap from Fernando gave us
just that. Giancarlo was frustrated to miss out on the final
part of qualifying once again, particularly as he knew he
had the performance today and because we had taken a more
aggressive approach. However, in such a close field, the slightest
incident can cost four or five positions, and that's exactly
what happened. In terms of the two engines, everything ran
smoothly once again, and the B specification unit is performing
in line with our expectations.
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