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2005 Turkey GP
Team Quotes - Saturday 20 August
Jean Todt: We were ready for a difficult qualifying session, but the result was worse than we had expected. Michael spun in the second sector and did not complete his timed lap, while Rubens could do no better than eleventh. The main problem we have had this weekend is the one we have been carrying around since the start of the season, namely a considerable lack of grip, which makes itself most felt in qualifying. Given the situation, we will now change the engine in Michael's car. We can expect a tough race tomorrow and in many ways it will be a step into the unknown, from reliability to tyre wear. Honestly, I think the most we can hope for is to get our cars home in the points.
Ross Brawn: After our performance this morning, we adopted a more conservative strategy. Even so, Rubens was unable to lap as quickly as we had expected. I think Michael might just have scraped into a top six position if he had not gone off, which with the fuel load he was carrying and an expected consistent performance in the race, could have been a good place to be. The track conditions did not change very much from the morning, but there was a lot of dust on the track from people going off all over the place.
A solid day's running in preparation for qualifying ended with frustration for the BAR Honda team this afternoon as Jenson Button and Takuma Sato both ran wide in turn 8 - the long, high-speed left-hander. Despite recovering they now find themselves in 13th and 14th-place grid slots for tomorrow's race.
Jenson was trading places at the top of the timesheets throughout the morning's free practice running, ending each of the two sessions as the second fastest driver. Takuma was 5th and 6th fastest respectively in free practice.
They will now line-up side by side on the 7th row of the grid and despite their disappointment both drivers are firmly focused on doing the best possible job to achieve a two-car points finish for the BAR Honda team in the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix.
Gil de Ferran: "It is fair to say that we are disappointed with our qualifying result. Both drivers have been running very well throughout the weekend, always at the sharp end of the timesheets, so we were obviously hoping for good grid positions. Nevertheless, the fact that the cars have been running competitively still bodes well for the race tomorrow."
Shuhei Nakamoto: "Obviously the session today was not ideal but the car has been good so far this weekend. We will have to work hard to collect more points in the race tomorrow."
The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team put two cars in the top three positions on the grid for tomorrow's Turkish Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park circuit. Giancarlo Fisichella completed a strong lap to take his second front row grid position of the season, while team-mate Fernando Alonso finished third, just one hundredth of a second behind the Italian. The team's championship rivals McLaren sandwich the two Renaults on the grid, and the stage is set for an intriguing battle in tomorrow afternoon's race.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: To have both cars within the top three on the grid is a very pleasing team result. It was not easy to get the tyres working well over a single lap this afternoon, but both drivers did a very good job on their out-laps and got the most out of the car. Giancarlo was unfortunate to be delayed by Barrichello at the end of his lap, which certainly cost him a couple of tenths, while without a mistake after being caught out by the wind in sector 3, Fernando might have been on pole. But we have good grid positions, a good strategy: the stage is set for strong performances from both drivers.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Operations: We have heard the drivers telling us that this was a demanding circuit since the beginning of the weekend, and this afternoon's qualifying session was the proof. This was undoubtedly the most incident-filled session of the year, and both Giancarlo and Fernando did well to complete clean, competitive laps. The front two rows crystallise neatly the battle we will be fighting tomorrow, against McLaren, and the slightest of errors will be severely punished. Of course, tomorrow's race will be long and hot – and demanding for the engines, on a circuit where overtaking is possible. So far, the RS25 has performed faultlessly and both cars have shown competitive top speeds. We are confident that we have the tools at our disposal to take the fight to McLaren.
The inaugural qualifying session at the Istanbul Park saw many drivers making mistakes and failing to achieve a good flying lap. Unlike many, Nick Heidfeld had a clean run and set the sixth fastest time, whereas team mate Mark Webber was prevented from doing so by Takuma Sato's car that was still on the track when the Australian started his qualifying lap. Mark still managed to achieve 7th position.
Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1): It was a good qualifying session for the team on this new circuit. It is such a great track, a real drivers' circuit, which is what we could see from the differences in qualifying. It is likely that we will see some good racing here tomorrow. We are okay on tyres, brakes and cooling.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): Since we are at a completely new circuit, we saw a lot more errors in qualifying than usual. Our drivers didn't make any mistakes, but Mark was held up by Sato. His result might have been even better if this hadn't of happened. We are, however, satisfied with sixth and seventh positions as they show an improvement.
Team McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen will start tomorrow's inaugural Turkish Grand Prix from pole position after setting a time of 1:26.797 in Saturday's qualifying session. This was Kimi's eighth career pole position and his fifth of the 2005 season. Team mate Juan Pablo Montoya's lap time of 1:27.352, which was set early on in the qualifying session, means he will start from fourth position on the grid.
Ron Dennis: "We are obviously proud to be able to claim the first ever Formula One pole position in Turkey. Kimi did a good lap and considering that Juan Pablo had to set his time early in the session fourth place is a satisfactory outcome. It will be an interesting race tomorrow and we believe we have a strong package, which combined with what we hope to prove a winning strategy, will help to achieve the results we require at this stage of the Championship."
Norbert Haug: "A great qualifying result with Kimi's pole position and a good job from Juan Pablo with fourth place on the grid who had to do his qualifying lap in the early stages of today's session when track conditions were still bad. Kimi and his team did a perfect job claiming their fifth pole position this season on this new race track which is very challenging in terms of chassis, engine, tyres and drivers. Our basis for the race and the strategy should be good. Hopefully Kimi will use the advantage of his pole position perfectly as the first corner will be crucial as you can't see the entrance approaching it. The session was quite turbulent and proved how demanding the layout of the Istanbul racepark is."
Sauber drivers Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve will start tomorrow's inaugural Turkish Grand Prix from eighth and 18th positions respectively after this afternoon's qualifying session.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "Jacques was competitive in the first sector on his qualifying lap, but overall the grip level was poor this afternoon and unfortunately he spun in Turn 8. Felipe did a fine lap and given the poor track conditions was able to achieve a very good eighth place in difficult circumstances.
"As any new track, we have used our computer simulation programme to evaluate initial circuit characteristics and requirements; until track data became available from Friday practice sessions. The team has done a great job to find a well-balanced C24."
After an incident-filled qualifying session, which saw many drivers run wide or spin on the all-new Istanbul Park circuit, Christian Klien and David Coulthard finished in tenth and twelfth place respectively. They will line up in the same positions on tomorrow's grid, for the start of the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix.
Christian Horner, Sporting Director: Considering we went out first and second for today's qualifying session, I think it's a good result to have Christian in tenth and David 12th. Both have good strategies in place for the race and, as we showed competitive pace in our longer runs this morning, I think we can look forward to an interesting afternoon tomorrow.
Panasonic Toyota Racing will line up for tomorrow's inaugural Turkish Grand Prix with two cars in the top ten of the grid after a strong performance this afternoon in qualifying. Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher will start from 5th and 9th places respectively after both drivers put in solid laps on a sunny day at the Istanbul Park. Toyota will now head into Sunday's race aiming for another points finish from both drivers, who have been helped here in Turkey by an improved aero package including a revised floor and a modified rear wing. The team currently stands in 4th place in the constructors' championship with a total of 68 points and is confident of increasing that haul tomorrow.
Jarno Trulli put in yet another fine qualifying lap to take 5th on the grid for the Turkish Grand Prix, adding to his impressive portfolio of top five grid slots in 2005.
Ralf Schumacher made it into the top ten in qualifying for tomorrow's first ever Turkish Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park. The performance sets him up for a chance of his fifth consecutive points finish.
Panasonic Toyota Racing is confident of another double points finish in tomorrow's Turkish Grand Prix in the wake of today's qualifying session.
Dieter Gass – Chief Race Engineer: "I think we can be quite satisfied with our positions for tomorrow's race. This morning we struggled to get the tyres to work. It obviously went a bit better in the afternoon with the higher temperatures. But Jarno once again delivered for the team with a fine qualifying lap. It is a pity that Ralf had a small off in Turn Nine, otherwise we could have taken over the third row. But both drivers are still in a good position for a strong race performance tomorrow. They're both on the clean side of the grid, so our realistic target is two strong points finishes. It will be very difficult to fight for a podium but we will try anyway."
Preparations went on for Jordan Grand Prix this morning and the team carried on its programme for qualifying and Sunday's Race. Unfortunately Karthikeyan experienced two engine changes in the morning sessions which prevented him from completing any laps. He will start the race from the back of the grid as he only did an installation lap. Monteiro had a clean lap and qualified in 15th position.
Adrian Burgess: Tiago had a very good lap and we would like to congratulate him on his 15th position. Narain did not complete his flying lap due to the engine changes we had to do this morning. We opted to only do an installation lap and prepare everything for tomorrow's Grand Prix. It is going to be an exciting race where anything could happen and hopefully, we will be there at the end to pick up whatever is on offer.
Minardi F1 Team drivers Christijan Albers and Robert Doornbos will start tomorrow's inaugural Turkish Grand Prix from 16th and 17th positions on the grid respectively after this afternoon's incident-packed official qualifying session. Doornbos was the first of the two on track, but a problem caused by the incorrect fitting of a brake pipe meant he was unable to complete the run, while Albers, although not entirely happy with the balance of his car, drove a clean and committed qualifying lap in setting his time. Earlier, the drivers spent the final two practice sessions of the weekend continuing to work on chassis set-up and preparing for the all-important qualifying runs. A number of new aerodynamic components are also being evaluated this weekend, which are a direct result of an ongoing wind tunnel programme for the Minardi Cosworth PS05.
Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth: It was an interesting start to qualifying, with Robert's spectacular incident at the entrance to the pit lane. Sadly, a brake pressure problem had left him with no choice but to abort his flying lap. Christijan, on the other hand, with a substantial fuel load on board and what we believe is the correct choice of tyres for tomorrow's race, put in a steady performance, and will benefit from the strategy as the event progresses. Throughout this morning's practice sessions, everything went pretty much according to plan.
This afternoon's Turkish Grand Prix qualifying session left the Bridgestone runners somewhat disappointed with only three of the six drivers setting a time. Rubens Barrichello was eleventh fastest for the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team while Jordan's Tiago Monteiro and Minardi's Christijan Albers were 15th and 16th respectively. World Champion Michael Schumacher was looking for a top place position on the grid until a spin at turn nine on the dusty track put paid to his chances. Minardi's Robert Doornbos, meanwhile, had a fiery experience and Narain Karthikeyan, who had twice changed his engine earlier in the day, completed only an installation lap as he will be penalised in any case. Bridgestone's runners will be looking for an improved performance tomorrow having run consistent times in the earlier practice sessions.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport: "The track did gain a lot of dust this afternoon, hindering grip levels. Rubens gave it his best effort but Michael spun so he didn't set a qualifying time. Narain Karthikeyan and Robert Doornbos didn't experience the best of luck today either. All in all, this afternoon's qualifying session did not go so well for the Bridgestone runners. Nevertheless, we are expecting the picture to be better tomorrow for our drivers in race trim because this track is tough on tyres and in the practice sessions we have been seeing consistent performances."
Ross Brawn, Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: "Today's qualifying session results were not quite what we had hoped for. After this morning's sessions we changed our approach and perhaps we had a bit more fuel than other people. However, we still didn't seem to be quite as quick in qualifying as we'd expected. I think Michael may have got into a top six position which, with the fuel load we had and the consistency, would have been a nice place to be. But, the car just got away from him at turn nine and that was it. Track temperatures did go up four or five degrees before qualifying and of course there was a lot of dust on the track with people going off all over the place so it wasn't easy but there were no fundamental changes to the track."
Kimi Raikkonen secured his fifth pole position of the season – and Michelin's 13th – during qualifying for the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park. The Finn – who is chasing a second straight Formula One victory – lapped the challenging, 5.340-kilometre (3.318-mile) track in 1m 26.797s during an incident-packed session and pipped Giancarlo Fisichella by 0.242s.
World championship leader Fernando Alonso will start third. Juan Pablo Montoya, Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Nick Heidfeld, Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Ralf Schumacher and Christian Klien completed a Michelin clean sweep of the top ten.
Michelin drivers set the fastest 13 times in this morning's final free practice sessions. Kimi Raikkonen led the way on 1m 26.120s, 0.479s clear of Jenson Button.
Today's qualifying session briefly had to be interrupted after Villeneuve spun at Turn 8 and stalled his car in the middle of the track. BAR-Honda drivers Jenson Button and Takuma Sato compromised their laps by running wide at the same corner. They will start 13th and 14th. World champion Michael Schumacher abandoned his lap after spinning at Turn 10.
Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director: "This has been enormously satisfyingday for us, with all seven partner teams qualifying cars in the top 10, and I'm delighted with the way our tyres have performed on a track where we have never previously competed.
"The race appears to be very delicately poised. The circuit is clearly very challenging, partly because the frequent elevation changes affect the load and the downforce levels and partly because we are using relatively stiff tyre constructions. As we have seen today, the slightest mistake can be very costly and tomorrow's 58-lap race promises to be especially gruelling."
Nick Shorrock, director of Michelin F1 activities: "Irrespective of the tyre choice made by our partners we have been able to demonstrate an excellent performance from all our teams and our products which are particularly well suited to the conditions.
"The track has proved to be quite a bit faster than we originally anticipated, largely due to the width of the kerbs, and I have to compliment those responsible for the manner in which they have prepared the surface. It has remained incredibly consistent since it rubbered in yesterday. Everything has gone absolutely according to plan – especially when you consider that we had no previous racing experience concerning the circuit."
Ron Dennis, McLaren Group chairman: "As with all Michelin teams, we took a conservative approach to tyre choice. That made qualifying a bit more difficult, although the outcome was very positive for us. We are comfortable with our race strategy and very pleased with our Michelin tyres."
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