Kimi Raikkonen - Pole
Michael Schumacher - 2ndA good weekend for us so far. I'm pleased to be on pole position, and it wasn't even a particularly good lap as I had two big moments in Ascari. I was not here at the test last week, but the team, Pedro and Gary did a fantastic job, and we have a very good tyre from Michelin. The race tomorrow will be tough, but we will certainly give it our best shot. I'm confident that Michelin is well prepared for the race. The car has been working well, and I want to remain at the front and look forward to achieving that.
Nick Heidfeld - 3rdThe car worked well, running strongly and consistently and this is a good position to be in. But, it would have been nice to be on pole here at home in front of the tifosi and it was very close losing it by just two thousandths of a second, but tomorrow is the more important date. I am
also happy for Nick, as it is nice to see another German on the qualifying ?podium.?
Fernando? Of course it is better than if he was next to me or in front of me! It does not look too bad for the championship and it would be nice if tomorrow?s result was like today?s or hopefully even a little bit better.
Felipe Massa - 4thThis was pretty unexpected. The recent test was not bad, but we didn?t know how we would go once we got here. I think this is my best qualifying lap of the year, although I lost time in the second sector. We opted for low downforce and it suits our car. Before we were quick in practice, but could not carry it over to qualifying. We have seen a change of trend in the last two races as we have been able to take this speed over to qualifying. I had a well balanced car and we made a good tyre choice, which was not easy as both types of tyres we have are good. The race will be difficult, but as I am starting third my aim is to finish third! As a new team we are very, very happy.
Fernando Alonso - 5thFourth place is not so bad, but it?s a shame I was unable to exploit the full potential available to me. In fact, on Q3 on my last run, I came up behind Alonso who was also setting out on his quick lap. I lost at least three tenths! It?s a shame, because I felt capable of putting it on the front row. But, having said that, I think that our strategy and our package we can expect a good result, which will be vital in the fight for the two titles.
Jenson Button - 6thIt was a day when I was lucky and unlucky. Obviously, the puncture cost me a chance to fight for the pole, with the damage it caused to the rear of the car. But equally, we had this problem at a circuit where we are competitive, and we can make up positions in the race. Things got very tight towards the end of Q3, and I had to really push to the limit on my out-lap to make sure I crossed the line in time. In the end, I did it with two seconds to spare. To qualify fifth after our problems is a strong start, and we know that our race pace is extremely competitive. Overall, once the damage has been fixed overnight, I think we can have a very strong race.
Robert Kubica - 7thI'm really pleased with how qualifying has gone today. We were a little bit apprehensive because we didn't get to run any new tyres in free practice this morning and when I went out in qualifying one there was a red flag, so we still hadn't run any new tyres by the end of that session. I got through Q1 and Q2 though and in Q3 the long run pace was very good, which bodes well for tomorrow. On one lap we still couldn't get a strong lap out of the car until my last qualy run when I put it 6th on the grid. I'm happy. I got everything I could out of the car and the most important thing is that we know we are competitive for the race, so a similar story to Turkey really.
Pedro de la Rosa - 8thThis was another good qualifying for us. In all my three F1 race qualifyings I was in the top ten times, but I ruined my last lap time. At the first Lesmo I went wide and with the tyres dirty I was sliding a lot in the second Lesmo. I'm pretty optimistic for the race as I believe we have chosen the right tyres.
Team quotesA very good qualifying for Kimi, the team and me. I was lucky not to have any traffic in my runs and I'm relieved as I just made it into the final session on my last run, and it was a bit too close for comfort. The balance of the car was excellent even with the lower downforce configuration that we ran today. I'm looking forward to a strong race tomorrow.
McLaren - Ron Dennis
Ferrari - Jean TodtA strong performance by Kimi and the team. I'm pleased with the progress we have made since the test last week and continued throughout the weekend. We will see what happens in the race tomorrow but are confident that both Kimi and Pedro's race strategies will help to deliver a positive result.
BMW Sauber - Mario TheissenQualifying was as close fought as it was exciting. The top six are all within half a second, which bears witness to how evenly matched it is, although we have to bear in mind the unknowns in terms of the various fuel loads. Michael drove a great lap, losing out on pole by just two thousandths. But what matters is his position relative to his rival in the title fight. A shame for Felipe, who could have been on the front row but for his encounter with traffic on his final run. We are perfectly aware just how important is the outcome of this race in terms of the fight for both titles. For our part, we know we can count on having a very competitive car and on the support of our technical partners, first and foremost,
Bridgestone and Shell. The decisive factors tomorrow? The usual ones, which means reliability, tyre performance, strategy, team work and the bravura of the drivers.
Renault - Pat SymondsThat was a great qualifying for our team with the best result so far this season. For the first time one of our cars, with Nick driving, has made it onto the second row of the grid. Everything worked out perfectly for Nick. Unfortunately Robert made a mistake in the second sector on his final fast lap. Despite this, starting seventh is also a good position for him. It was very positive that in the second and third parts of qualifying we were equally as good with and without fuel. Compliments to the team here in Monza and also to everyone else working in Hinwil and Munich.
Honda - Gil de FerranA difficult qualifying session, but one which showed everything that is good about the Renault team. We reacted quickly to Fernando's puncture, ensured the car was safe ? and some quick work by the pit crew meant he was able to cross the line for his last flying lap with just two seconds to spare. In spite of quite severe damage to the aerodynamics at the rear of the car, Fernando was able to put in an exceptional lap to qualify fifth. Giancarlo seemed to struggle with an inconsistent handling balance in the final session, and tenth place is a little disappointing. However, the excellent consistency of the Michelin tyres this weekend meant we were not obliged to make any compromises on our optimum race strategy to generate qualifying performance. Without his puncture and the damage it caused, Fernando clearly had enough pace in the car to take pole. This is a race where we may well see some variation in strategies, so even starting from the third and fifth rows, I think we can have a very good race.
Toyota - Pascal VasselonToday was a much better day. Both cars ran well this morning and, as predicted, were handling well despite our lack of running so far this weekend. In qualifying both drivers did a great job to comfortably make it through to the last qualifying round and get the most out of the car in Q3. We suspect there are a variety of strategies at play for tomorrow with tyres and fuel. Our car is working well in race trim and we look forward to a good race.
Williams - Sam MichaelIt is obviously very frustrating to watch the other cars running around in Q3 without taking part ourselves. That was our second worst qualifying session of the year so we can't be happy about that. The positions were very tight and despite the fact that neither of our cars made it past Q2, Jarno was only 0.7 seconds off the quickest car. But we have clearly been less competitive than we expected, especially compared to this morning when we were in a similar position on used tyres. So we will have to look into what happened during qualifying. Ralf was struggling with stability under braking which is a key performance factor in Monza, but Jarno's balance was better so we have no clear explanation as to why we struggled. The only saving grace is that we are free to choose our strategy for tomorrow. Now we will have to analyse what will be the best approach but we will have a busy evening ahead as we prepare for the race.
Red Bull - Christian HornerIt?s a bit disappointing not to have the cars further up the grid because we have been competitive here testing and in practice. Nico got the best out of the car in qualifying, but unusually for Mark, he didn?t make it through Q1. The car looks consistent on long runs, so we?ll be looking to try and capitalise on strategy tomorrow and pick up some points.
Fourteenth and sixteenth unfortunately represents where we're at on this type of circuit. It's a shame Christian was unable to take part in the second session due to his spin. But, we'll focus on our strategy for tomorrow, should have a consistent race pace and our target will be to race with the Toyotas and Williams ahead.
