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For the
first
time
this
season,
Scuderia
Ferrari
has got
a car
onto the
front
row of
the grid
and it
could
not have
come at
a better
race,
given
the huge
advantage
having
no one
in front
of you
in
Monaco
can
bring.
It was
Kimi
Raikkonen
who set
the
second
fastest
time,
just a
couple
of
hundredths
of a
second
slower
than the
Brawn of
pole man
Jenson
Button,
the
Englishman
securing
his
fifth
first
place
start of
the
season.
Felipe
Massa
had a
more
difficult
route
through
to fifth
spot on
the
inside
of Row
3, as he
wiped
his nose
out
against
the
barriers
on his
first
run,
through
a
combination
of new
brakes
and the
harder
tyres
resulting
in
locked
up
wheels.
But the
team
work
went
like
clockwork
to get
him back
in the
fight,
although
traffic
seemed
to be
attracted
to the
Brazilian’s
Ferrari
like a
magnet.
It’s a
measure
of how
the
F60’s
performance
has
improved
that
Kimi was
rather
disappointed
at not
having
taken
the top
slot and
Felipe
felt he
should
have
been in
the top
three,
at the
end of a
very
exciting
session.
In fact,
in the
second
part of
qualifying,
when the
cars run
with the
lightest
fuel
loads
and are
therefore
at their
quickest,
Kimi
actually
set the
fastest
outright
lap of
the day.
Starting
just
ahead of
the Finn
will be
Jenson
Button
yet
again,
while
the
Englishman’s
Brawn
team-mate,
Rubens
Barrichello,
who
celebrates
his 37th
birthday
today,
is
third.
Fourth
place
went to
the Red
Bull of
Sebastian
Vettel,
while
Felipe
will
have the
Williams
of Nico
Rosberg
alongside
him when
the red
lights
go out
tomorrow
afternoon
for the
78 lap
race.
Will it
match
the
excitement
of this
afternoon’s
session?
That is
never an
easy
question
to
answer
here, as
literally
anything
can
happen:
the race
has very
often
been a
dull
procession,
but
sometimes
a
surprise,
a Safety
Car
period
or even
the
weather
can turn
events
on their
head.
Starting
from the
front,
Kimi at
least
will be
hoping
for a
dull
afternoon,
with the
possibility
of his
KERS
boosted
F60
getting
the jump
on the
non-KERS
Brawn on
the
first
run down
to Ste
Devote
corner.
“This is a
good result and confirms the
team is working well,”
commented Stefano
Domenicali. “There’s
obviously slight regret at
Kimi missing out on pole by
a whisker and at the fact
that Felipe hardly managed a
single clean lap in Q3,
which prevented him from
getting a better grid
position. Overall, we can be
reasonably satisfied: we are
in a good position for
tomorrow’s race and we have
confirmed that we have made
progress on the performance
front over these past few
weeks. There is still some
way to go but we’re moving
in the right direction.”
Kimi
Raikkonen: “Second place
is a nice result but I’m
disappointed that I missed
out on pole by a few
hundredths. Here, there is a
much bigger difference
between starting from first
or second place. The car has
improved and that can be
seen from the performance
level. Today, we felt ever
more comfortable as the
track’s grip level improved
bit by bit. I had some
difficulties on the first
run in Q1, but then things
got better all the time. In
the end, I had the
possibility of doing another
lap, but I went long at the
first corner: I don’t know
if I could have done a
better time. Tomorrow’s race
will be long and tough. The
start will be very important
and on the short straight
here, the KERS will
definitely be a help, but
not as much as elsewhere.
All the same, it’s good to
be back in the fight for the
top places and I will give
it my best shot to try and
win, because that’s the only
thing that matters.”
Felipe
Massa: “Today’s showing
confirms we are capable of
fighting for the top places.
We were in with a chance of
getting into the top three,
but I never managed to get a
clean lap, partly because of
traffic and partly through
some small slip ups. These
things can easily happen in
Monaco and fifth is still a
good place to start the
race. I am confident for
tomorrow. It will be a long
race, but the F60 is
competitive. Step by step we
are getting back to where we
are used to being. The
accident at the start of Q1?
I had new brakes and the
harder tyres, which
struggled a bit more to get
up to temperature, so as
soon as I touched the
brakes, I locked the wheels
and ended up against the
guardrail.”
Chris
Dyer: “A great result
for the team: two cars in
the front three rows is a
reward for all the work
we’ve done. Kimi drove
fantastically well, while
Felipe was almost always in
traffic, which prevented him
from doing better. It was a
very complicated qualifying
session, starting with
Felipe’s accident, which
meant he had to come
straight back to the pits to
change the nose and the
ensuing red flag period,
which had an effect, because
for us at least, the tyres
were only at their best
after the first flying lap.
The team and drivers worked
really well in managing the
situation and the credit for
this result goes to them and
everyone back at the factory
who worked on preparing for
this Grand Prix. We are in a
good position for tomorrow’s
race, in which we will do
our best to bring both cars
home on the podium.”
Qualifying session
K. Raikkonen: 2nd 1.14.927 8 Laps
F. Massa: 5th 1.15.271 7 Laps
Chassis: F. Massa 276, K. Raikkonen 279
Weather: air temperature 24 °C, track
temperature 37 °C, sunny
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