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Felipe
Massa's name will go down in the history books as the
first Formula 1 driver to secure a pole position at the
brand new Valencia street circuit. The Scuderia Ferrari
Marlboro man was on great form, battling not only the
other nineteen drivers, but also unusual weather with a
few drops of rain falling, to record his fourth pole
position of the season, the thirteenth of his career and
to push the Scuderia past the double century mark, with
this it's 201st pole in Formula 1.
Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen will start from fourth
spot, blaming the fact he locked up his wheels a couple
of times for not doing better. Sharing the front row
with Felipe is current championship leader, Lewis
Hamilton for McLaren-Mercedes, while inside Kimi on row
2, we find the BMW-Sauber of Robert Kubica. The other
Finn, in the other McLaren, Heikki Kovalainen is fifth
ahead of the Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso of Sebastian
Vettel, for whom this was his best ever F1 qualifying
result.
Tomorrow's first ever Grand Prix at this interesting new
facility could prove to be very tough for everyone. It's
a long lap at 5.440 kilometres and there are 57 of them
between the lights going out and the arrival of the
chequered flagor maybe not. Although Valencia offers a
wider track and more run-off areas than its more famous
street circuit relative in Monaco, it seems to be a more
complex task to remove any cars involved in incidents
and any long Safety Car periods might see this race run
to the regulation two hour maximum time limit rather
than go the full distance. "At a more conventional race
track, in terms of the effect of the weight of fuel on
lap times and the life of the tyres, this race would
generally involve two pit stops per driver. However, the
possibility of the race being neutralised always means
that the team strategists have to be ready for a much
greater variety of options as to when and how often to
bring in the cars to refuel.
Whatever the strategic complexities, one element remains
the same as at every other race, namely getting a good
start. While Felipe is obviously in the very best
position to achieve this, Kimi will be hoping to catch
out at least the two drivers directly ahead of him in
the early stages tomorrow afternoon. All the elements
are in place for a thrilling fight, given that added bit
of spice now that the championship - still so close
between the leading drivers - is definitely entering its
final stages.
Sixth pole position of the season for Scuderia Ferrari
Marlboro, the fourth courtesy of Felipe Massa, while
Kimi Raikkonen qualified fourth: that's the outcome of
qualifying for the European Grand Prix. The Brazilian
thus starts from the number one spot for the thirteenth
time in his career and it brings the Scuderia's pole
tally in the Formula 1 World Championship to 201. "We
are very happy with Felipe's first place and he really
drove very well," commented Team Principal of the
Gestione Sportiva, Stefano Domenicali. "It was a shame
for Kimi, who could have been a bit higher up the order,
even though fourth place cannot be considered a bad
result. All things considered, a good day for the team,
even though we are well aware that it's the race that
counts. Tomorrow, we can expect a sweaty afternoon and
not just because of the heat! We will have to pay great
attention in managing all the possible scenarios that
could occur. The decisive factors will be the usual ones
- reliability first and foremost, strategy, performance
and the work of the team and drivers. On top of that
there will be the unknowns that go with a track being
raced on for the first time. For our part, we will do
our utmost to try and bring home the best possible
result in terms of the championship."
Felipe Massa: "It's great to be on pole position,
especially after the great disappointment of Budapest,
but I'm well aware the race is tomorrow and so there is
still a long way to go. My first run in Q3 was very good
and on the second I made a good improvement in the first
sector and that's where pole came from. Today, the track
was still very slippery, partly because of last night's
rain. After this morning's free practice, I thought the
harder tyres would be the most competitive in
qualifying, but at the start of the session, I didn't
feel as comfortable anymore and so we went for the
softer compound. The team did a great job in preparing
for this event and I want to thank them for giving me
such a strong car. I hope we can have a good race
tomorrow."
Kimi Raikkonen: "Fourth place is not what I was
looking for, but it's definitely not the end of the
world. I could have been higher up the grid but on my
last run in Q3, I locked the wheels at a few points and
lost valuable time: it was nothing dramatic, but at this
circuit, a small error is very costly. I still think I
can be in the fight for the win, especially if I manage
to get a good start. We have a good car, which should be
especially competitive in the race."
Luca Baldisserri: "A good qualifying session,
very close and made even more uncertain because of the
weather. A first and a fourth place is a good outcome,
even if it could have been better. Felipe did two great
laps in Q3, while Kimi missed out by a whisker on being
able to start from the clean side of the track. In fact,
the start will be one of the decisive moments of the
race. Tomorrow it will be important to try and pick up
as many points as possible with both drivers. We have a
car that is competitive over a long run and we will try
and exploit that as well as possible. We must pay
careful attention to managing all the possible scenarios
that arise: as on all street circuits, the risk of a
safety car period is always hanging over the race."
Qualifying session
F. Massa: 1st 1.38.989 6 Laps chassis 269
K. Raikkonen: 4th 1.39.488 6 Laps chassis 270
Weather: air temperature 27 °C, track temperature 32 °C,
cloudy, some spots of rain.
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