The most
famous team in motor sport and the most famous race on the
calendar do not seem to go well together, as yet again
today, bad luck struck Scuderia Ferrari in Monaco. For
Felipe Massa, it was only slightly annoying that his final
lap of qualifying, in a session where he really looked
capable of fighting for pole, was spoilt by traffic, which
cost him precious fractions of a second. However, he still
starts from a very respectable and promising fourth spot on
the second row.
More
serious is the situation for Fernando Alonso. In this
morning’s free practice session, he hit the barriers at
Massenet and although it was not a very high speed impact,
the angle of attack did some serious damage to the chassis.
For two reasons, this meant the Spaniard was unable to take
part in qualifying: firstly the chassis was too badly
damaged to repair in time and secondly, the regulations
state that a driver cannot use two chassis on the same day.
What had looked like being the Scuderia’s strongest
qualifying in recent races now ends up with Felipe near the
front, but Fernando relegated to starting tomorrow’s sixth
round of the world championship from the pit lane. There is
no need for a reminder that at this track, where overtaking
is really difficult, this situation could not have come at a
worse time. However, while it is true that passing is tough
here, it is equally true that anything can and often does
happen in this longest race on the calendar.
Mark
Webber was quickest this afternoon, the Red Bull driver
following up his pole and win in Barcelona last Sunday with
another first place start here in the Principality. His
team-mate Sebastian Vettel, starts right behind him and
alongside Felipe. Splitting the Australian and the German is
Robert Kubica in the Renault. Under normal circumstances,
this front row position for the Polish driver would have
been a surprise, but for the fact he has been very quick
right from the start of free practice on Thursday. Lewis
Hamilton is the highest place man on the grid to have won
this event and he starts on Row 3 in fifth place in the
McLaren, with Nico Rosberg next to him in the Mercedes,
while Row 4 is occupied by two other Monaco victors,
Rosberg’s team-mate Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button in
the other McLaren.
“The way
this day has ended is very regrettable,” said Stefano
Domenicali. “We had the potential to do very well, but
Fernando’s accident immediately diminished our chances. It’s
a shame, as we had shown right from the start of this
weekend that we were very competitive. Tomorrow, we will
effectively run two races. Felipe is perfectly placed to get
a good result, while Fernando, who starts from pit lane,
will have a mountain to climb, a veritable Alpine peak. We
will try and bring home as many points as possible and then
we will see where we stand in both championships.”
Felipe
Massa: “Fourth is not a bad place. It will be a long
race tomorrow with lots of unexpected situations and
starting from the second row puts me in a strong position.
Sure, I’d hoped to do a bit better because I was pleased
with the handling of the car but, on my last lap in Q3, I
was nearly always behind Rosberg and I was unable to improve
my time. In all three sessions of qualifying, the time came
at the end of the series of laps: I managed it in Q1 and Q2,
but not in Q3. It’s a shame as I could have got onto the
front row. I will try and pick up as many points as
possible, because in this championship, it is vital to
always finish in the top ten. Here, the F10 is easier to
driver than at the last two races and the tyres are working
very well, especially the harder ones.”
Fernando Alonso: “This is the worst possible place to
have to start from pit lane, given that overtaking is always
problematic. It is a real shame, because the car was going
very well. It was my mistake but, it was also very unlucky,
because with an impact at ninety, you don’t normally write
off a chassis! Unfortunately, the angle of impact with the
barrier was such that the damage could not be repaired and
the rules don’t let you use the spare chassis. So, I had to
watch qualifying from the garage, along with the team,
hoping to see Felipe end the Red Bull domination: it was
very close and tomorrow we will do our best to bring home
some points that can be useful for the classification. Do I
think I’ve made too many mistakes this year? In Barcelona,
where I am maybe under the most pressure, I did my best
qualifying lap and had my best race. If after ten years in
Formula 1, I still have to prove that I do not feel
pressure, then it’s not worth talking about it anymore…”
Chris
Dyer: “It’s been a very difficult day for us. We had a
car that had the potential to fight for pole on a difficult
track like this one, but we were only able to do so with
just one car. The rules do not allow the use of a second
chassis on the same day and the damage to Fernando’s car,
after his accident this morning, was too serious to be
fixed. Felipe did very well in Q1 and Q2, but he did not
manage to put together the perfect lap in Q3 and had to
settle for fourth place, which is still good enough to have
a strong race tomorrow. Fernando will start from pit lane: a
few years ago, someone in a similar situation managed to
finish fifth in a Ferrari, so we hope we can improve on that
performance!”
Qualifying details:
Session Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Massa: Q1 1st 1.14.757 7; Q2 2nd 1.14.405 10; Q3 4th
1.14.283 6
Chassis:
F. Massa 284, F. Alonso 283
Weather: air temperature 21 °C, track temperature 33/34 °C.
Cloudy