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There
was no
light in
the dark
skies
over the
floodlit
track
for
Ferrari in
today’s
final
qualifying
session
of the
season:
Kimi
Raikkonen
only got
as far
as Q2
and will
start
from
eleventh
place on
the grid
on row 6
and
Giancarlo
Fisichella
was left
stranded
in Q1,
setting
the
slowest
time and
lines up
at the
back of
the
grid.
Trying
to look
on the
bright
side,
Kimi at
least
said
eleventh
was
better
than
tenth in
that he
will
start
tomorrow
evening’s
race
from the
clean
side of
the
track.
Being
outside
the top
ten also
means a
driver
can
choose
his fuel
load to
best
suit his
strategy,
rather
than
start
with the
weight
in the
car at
the end
of Q3.
Tyres
have
been one
of the
main
talking
points
this
season
and
again
today,
they
played
their
part in
qualifying.
Usually,
the
softer
of the
two
types of
tyre
that
Bridgestone
bring to
each
race is
the
ideal
choice
for
qualifying,
offering
better
performance
over the
first
flying
lap.
However,
in
Abu
Dhabi,
not only
did the
harder
tyre
seem to
be
quicker,
but both
types of
tyre
were not
usually
at their
best on
that
first
lap,
needing
to go
longer
to be at
their
optimum.
It’s
been
something
of a
Maranello
Mantra
since it
became
clear
that two
teams
were
dominating
the
field,
that
third
place in
the
Constructors’
Championship
was the
target
for this
season.
At the
last
race,
Ferrari
has
slipped
down to
fourth,
one
point
behind
McLaren-Mercedes.
The job
of
overtaking
the
Anglo-German
team got
considerably
harder
this
evening,
as their
driver
Lewis
Hamilton,
who has
been on
sparkling
form all
weekend,
took a
convincing
pole
position,
although
Kovalainen
is down
in
thirteenth
spot.
Alongside
the
reigning
world
champion
on the
front
row of
the grid
will be
Sebastian
Vettel
in the
Red
Bull,
with
team-mate
Mark
Webber
third.
Then
come the
two
Championship
winning
Brawns,
with
Rubens
Barrichello
fourth
ahead of
Jenson
Button,
who
shares
the
third
row with
the
Toyota
of Jarno
Trulli.
For both
Ferrari
drivers
and the
crew in
the
garage,
it will
be an
emotional
end to
what has
been a
very
difficult
season:
Raikkonen is
leaving
and
Fisichella
takes up
his new
position
as third
driver
for the
Scuderia.
The
team’s
2010
drivers
are both
in Abu
Dhabi of
course,
Fernando
Alonso
starting
from
sixteenth
in the
Renault
and
Felipe
Massa
watching
from the
sidelines.
“We knew it would
be a very difficult session
for us and so it turned out
to be,” said Stefano
Domenicali. “Actually, we
could not have expected much
more, as we are well aware
of our situation and we just
have to try and make the
best of what we have got.
Once again, Kimi did a good
job, giving his best on
every occasion. It would be
nice to end such a difficult
year in a good way, which
would mean securing our goal
of third place in the
Constructors’
classification, but
tomorrow, we will be facing
a steep climb all through
the race. The situation is
further complicated by the
grid positions of our main
opponents. All the same, the
race still has to be run and
in this sport, we have seen
so often that nothing can be
taken for granted. What we
can be sure of is that we
will give it our all.”
Kimi
Raikkonen: “Today we got
the most out of the car, but
we did not have the
necessary performance to
make it into Q3. Already
yesterday, we realised that
it would be tough, so this
result is definitely not a
surprise. Tomorrow, we will
try to do our best, but it’s
certainly not going to be an
easy race, even though we
should definitely be more
competitive in the race than
in qualifying. What I can
say is that eleventh place
is better than tenth, given
that I will start from the
clean side of the track and
can choose the ideal fuel
load. It will be hard to get
third in the Constructors’,
because the McLaren is very
competitive. We will have to
try and get some points and
hope for a bit of luck.”
Giancarlo
Fisichella: “We knew it
would be tough, but I don’t
think we could have expected
much more. In the first and
second sectors I was
reasonably competitive, but
in the final one I had a lot
of understeer. Tomorrow will
be hard, but I know I can
manage a strong pace: we
will do our best to get a
good result. I am
disappointed not to have
been able to do better in
these races with Ferrari as
it would be nice to reward
the team that has had trust
in me, by bringing them some
points. It has not been easy
adapting my driving style to
a car that is particularly
difficult to drive and at a
time when, more and more, it
felt the effects of the
ending of its development
programme.”
Chris
Dyer: “Obviously, we are
disappointed with this
result, in both Giancarlo’s
and Kimi’s case. The
behaviour of the tyres was
rather unusual, with the
harder compound turning out
to be the quickest. With
Kimi, we used both types of
tyre in Q1 to try and
understand the situation,
while with Giancarlo, we
concentrated on the softs:
unfortunately, we saw that
the drivers who did not get
to Q2 were precisely those
who had done their best time
on this tyre. In the second
part of qualifying, Kimi did
his best, but failed to make
the cut to Q3 by a very
small margin. We didn’t have
enough speed to do it, which
we need to do something
about. I think we will
witness an interesting race:
the performance of the tyres
will evolve still further
and I think Kimi can
possibly get a good result.”
Qualifying session
G. Fisichella: 20th 1.42.184 12 laps
K. Raikkonen: 11th 1.40.726 8 laps
Chassis: G. Fisichella 280, K.
Raikkonen 279
Weather: air temperature 30/29 °C,
track temperature 35/31 °C
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