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2006 Italy GP
Team Quotes - Saturday 9 September
The Renault F1 Team experienced a frantic qualifying session this afternoon at the historic Monza autodrome ahead of tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix.
The team's two cars will start fifth and tenth on the grid, but the numbers give only the bare bones of a dramatic afternoon in Italy.
The R26 has demonstrated a strong level of performance during the weekend, combined with strong performance from the Michelin tyres, both in terms of first lap pace and consistency on longer runs. The team therefore went into qualifying with high hopes, and made it through comfortably to the final knockout session.
However, it was during the fuel burning phase of third qualifying that problems struck for Fernando Alonso. A punctured right rear tyre caught him out under braking for the first chicane, costing him a long lap at slow speed to make it back to the pits and inflicting severe damage on the right rear bodywork of the car. In spite of this handicap, magnified at a circuit like Monza where aero efficiency is so important, he was able to complete two timed runs and only made it over the line by two seconds for his final flying lap. Fernando demonstrated a champion's composure to qualify fifth, less than half a second from pole.
Team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella will start from tenth position, and is counting on the consistency of Michelin's tyres in race conditions to help him vault up the field. An inconsistent balance on the heavier fuel load the drivers run in Q3 cost him performance, and he will be focusing on delivering consistent race pace as he climbs up the field tomorrow.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: A difficult qualifying session, but one which showed everything that is good about the Renault team. We reacted quickly to Fernando's puncture, ensured the car was safe and some quick work by the pit crew meant he was able to cross the line for his last flying lap with just two seconds to spare. In spite of quite severe damage to the aerodynamics at the rear of the car, Fernando was able to put in an exceptional lap to qualify fifth. Giancarlo seemed to struggle with an inconsistent handling balance in the final session, and tenth place is a little disappointing. However, the excellent consistency of the Michelin tyres this weekend meant we were not obliged to make any compromises on our optimum race strategy to generate qualifying performance. Without his puncture and the damage it caused, Fernando clearly had enough pace in the car to take pole. This is a race where we may well see some variation in strategies, so even starting from the third and fifth rows, I think we can have a very good race.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations: Naturally, we have mixed feelings at the end of a session like today's. Fifth and tenth are far from being the positions we had hoped for on the grid, but we know that in spite of the various on-track incidents today, the car has the pace to fight at the front of the field. Fernando showed remarkable composure to qualify fifth after such a disrupted session, and will certainly have high hopes for the race. Giancarlo struggled to show the same level of performance, but we need to see how the strategies unfold tomorrow. On the engine side, both V8s functioned faultlessly throughout the session and Fernando's D specification met our expectations with its performance. It will be a long race tomorrow, but one in which we fully expect climb through the field.
Team McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen will start Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza from pole position. In a thrilling third qualifying session he set a time of 1:21.484 and edged out Michael Schumacher's Ferrari by two thousands of a second. It's the third pole position of the season for both Team McLaren Mercedes and the Finn. It's Kimi's 11th career pole. Team mate Pedro de la Rosa qualified eighth fastest with a 1:22.280.
Ron Dennis: "A strong performance by Kimi and the team. I'm pleased with the progress we have made since the test last week and continued throughout the weekend. We will see what happens in the race tomorrow but are confident that both Kimi and Pedro's race strategies will help to deliver a positive result."
Norbert Haug: "A good pole position lap of Kimi's even if it's only two thousandths of a second to the second placed Ferrari of Michael Schumacher. This is the perfect basis for tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix. This is Kimi's third pole in the last four races, and ideally we want to achieve the same result tomorrow. Pedro did a good job, he has to run the second race with his engine which is always a small handicap for any driver."
Jean Todt: Qualifying was as close fought as it was exciting. The top six are all within half a second, which bears witness to how evenly matched it is, although we have to bear in mind the unknowns in terms of the various fuel loads. Michael drove a great lap, losing out on pole by just two thousandths. But what matters is his position relative to his rival in the title fight. A shame for Felipe, who could have been on the front row but for his encounter with traffic on his final run. We are perfectly aware just how important is the outcome of this race in terms of the fight for both titles. For our part, we know we can count on having a very competitive car and on the support of our technical partners, first and foremost, Bridgestone and Shell. The decisive factors tomorrow? The usual ones, which means reliability, tyre performance, strategy, team work and the bravura of the drivers. One element that is different here is that we can count on the support of our home fans who are here at this track in greater numbers than we have ever seen in one of our two home Grands Prix. Swelling their ranks are the members of our staff and their families and seeing them here cheering us on is very gratifying.
Ross Brawn: We were very pleased with the car at the test and also so far this weekend. We have a strong strategy and I think it will evolve well during the race, so I am very happy with the way qualifying went for Michael. However, I am bit disappointed for Felipe, because he got held up by traffic in Q3 on his second run. A shame, as he could have improved, because he was quicker in T1 and T2 than on his earlier attempts. But the cars are very good, the Bridgestone tyre performance is consistent and we can also count on the support of an exceptional technical partner in the shape of Shell, so there is a lot to look forward to tomorrow, especially when you look at where our closest rivals are.
Panasonic Toyota Racing goes into tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix with a lot of work to do after a difficult afternoon of qualifying today. Following overnight showers around Milan the track was green but the rain held off on a warm and sunny day at the Monza track with air temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius. The afternoon qualifying session was competitive and neither Jarno Trulli nor Ralf Schumacher made it into the final shoot-out as both were eliminated after Q2. Jarno recorded the 11th fastest time while Ralf was 13th but both will at least have a free choice of strategy for tomorrow's race. Despite the difficult start to the weekend, Toyota will now push hard as it bids to score a strong result.
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis: "It is obviously very frustrating to watch the other cars running around in Q3 without taking part ourselves. That was our second worst qualifying session of the year so we can't be happy about that. The positions were very tight and despite the fact that neither of our cars made it past Q2, Jarno was only 0.7 seconds off the quickest car. But we have clearly been less competitive than we expected, especially compared to this morning when we were in a similar position on used tyres. So we will have to look into what happened during qualifying. Ralf was struggling with stability under braking which is a key performance factor in Monza, but Jarno's balance was better so we have no clear explanation as to why we struggled. The only saving grace is that we are free to choose our strategy for tomorrow. Now we will have to analyse what will be the best approach but we will have a busy evening ahead as we prepare for the race."
Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1: "It's a bit disappointing not to have the cars further up the grid because we have been competitive here testing and in practice. Nico got the best out of the car in qualifying, but unusually for Mark, he didn't make it through Q1. The car looks consistent on long runs, so we'll be looking to try and capitalise on strategy tomorrow and pick up some points."
Mike Janes, Team Leader, F1 Track Support, Cosworth: "There were no issues to report from an engine perspective from today's running. Satisfied operationally in terms of engine performance, practice today comprised of final checks in readiness for Sunday. Unfortunately, the outcome of qualifying was not as expected but we look forward to being able to make the extra engine duty available for this event to count towards a good finish tomorrow in the race."
The Honda Racing F1 Team's Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello made it through to the final qualifying session in Monza today, in which they posted the 6th and 9th fastest laps respectively. They will line up on the 3rd and 5th rows of the grid for the start of tomorrow's 53 lap Italian Grand Prix.
With both drivers feeling comfortable with the car's long run pace this bodes well for tomorrow when the team will be targeting its third consecutive double points finish.
Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "Today was a much better day. Both cars ran well this morning and, as predicted, were handling well despite our lack of running so far this weekend. In qualifying both drivers did a great job to comfortably make it through to the last qualifying round and get the most out of the car in Q3. We suspect there are a variety of strategies at play for tomorrow with tyres and fuel. Our car is working well in race trim and we look forward to a good race."
Christian Horner: Fourteenth and sixteenth unfortunately represents where we're at on this type of circuit. It's a shame Christian was unable to take part in the second session due to his spin. But, we'll focus on our strategy for tomorrow, should have a consistent race pace and our target will be to race with the Toyotas and Williams ahead.
The BMW Sauber F1 Team managed to top its previous best qualifying result, achieved just two weeks ago in Istanbul. Nick Heidfeld qualified third at the Italian high-speed track of Monza. Robert Kubica came seventh in the exciting qualifying session. For the fifth time in total and for the second consecutive race the young team managed to get both its BMW Sauber F1.06 cars into the top ten of qualifying.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): That was a great qualifying for our team with the best result so far this season. For the first time one of our cars, with Nick driving, has made it onto the second row of the grid. Everything worked out perfectly for Nick. Unfortunately Robert made a mistake in the second sector on his final fast lap. Despite this, starting seventh is also a good position for him. It was very positive that in the second and third parts of qualifying we were equally as good with and without fuel. Compliments to the team here in Monza and also to everyone else working in Hinwil and Munich.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): After the third free practice we were optimistic about getting both cars into qualifying three. However, in the end it was a surprise to achieve such a great result. Nick did a perfect job and Robert delivered a strong performance. As well as that, the team played a crucial role in doing its job with the utmost precision. This result also shows we have increased the speed of our development, so were able to use a perfectly balanced low downforce package on this high speed track. Compliments to the whole team.
MF1 Racing drivers Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro posted the 18th and 20th fastest times, respectively, in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
A red flag at the start of the first session and a yellow flag toward the end reduced both drivers' efforts to a single flying lap. Monteiro's pace was further compromised by technical gremlins, which the team is currently attempting to solve.
Despite the disappointment of being eliminated in the first qualifying session, the team will rely on a solid race strategy and the substantial amount of data gained in last week's test to mount a strong challenge in tomorrow's race.
Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "Our times are better than expected, actually. Considering that this is a track where you need a lot of engine power and low drag to be quick, the gap to the front is not that large. In that first session, Christijan was ahead of one Williams, and not very far from the Red Bulls and Toyotas. Based on this, we are reasonably pleased with our progress and optimistic of having a good race tomorrow."
James Key, Technical Director: "It was a difficult Q1 because of the red flag at the beginning, and the yellow flags at the end meant that Christijan and Tiago only got one flying lap in, whereas typically they do two to four. So that compromised us a bit. Tiago also had some problems that cropped up in qualifying but were not evident in the morning's practice session, so we're going to have to look at the data to see what was occurring there. In spite of this, both drivers gave it their best shot and we're pleased with their performances. It was never going to be our strongest circuit, primarily because there's a lot of straight-line running in Monza, and that has been one of our weakest points all year. So we didn't expect great things when we came here, but nonetheless, it's disappointing not to get at least one car into Q2. On the positive side, we know we have a good tyre for the race tomorrow, so we'll plan accordingly and try to make the most of it."
Johnny Herbert, Sporting Relations Manager: "I thought we did OK, all things considered. Both drivers drove clean laps and came very close to cracking the second session. It was a shame that Tiago had a technical glitch that held him back, but I think that's probably the best job our guys could have done, because this is certainly one of the worst circuits of the season for us. But we've got a good strategy for the race tomorrow, and you never know - if luck runs our way, we might be able to come away with a strong result, which would be nice."
Super Aguri successfully completed its qualifying and race preparations during this mornings Free Practice session. Unfortunately Sakon suffered a left rear tyre puncture during his first qualifying run this afternoon, but was able to bring his SA06 safely back to the pits.
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: Unfortunately Sakon had a puncture during qualifying, but on the positive side Taku and his engineers did a good job today. We are now only 2.5 seconds off the pace of the leaders and are becoming more competitive as we close the gap. Although our qualifying positions remain the same, our car is improving and we have made reasonable progress since our testing here last week.
In a thrilling Italian Grand Prix qualifying session this afternoon in Monza, Bridgestone shod Michael Schumacher narrowly missed out on pole position by two thousandths of a second. Pole position was snatched by Kimi Raikkonen while Schumacher's Ferrari teammate, Felipe Massa, was fourth fastest in the top ten shoot-out. He was unlucky not to get a final clear run to improve upon his time but will line up on the second row of the grid which will still give him ample opportunity in tomorrow's 53-lap race. Panasonic Toyota Racing's Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher were 11th and 13th fastest respectively while WilliamsF1's Nico Rosberg was 12th fastest. WilliamsF1's Mark Webber and the MF1 Racing and Super Aguri F1 team drivers were knocked out after the first part of the qualifying session.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager - Bridgestone Motorsport: A little disappointed to have been so close to having a Bridgestone shod car on pole. Nevertheless, Michael Schumacher starts from the front row and Felipe Massa from the second row which still gives them a good chance of achieving a podium result. Unfortunately the other Bridgestone runners didn't make it into the last phase of qualifying but Jarno, Nico and Ralf will start mid-field and have every opportunity to make up places during the race. Regarding Yamamoto's left rear tyre, which we have examined carefully, there is clear evidence that there is a cut through the shoulder of the tyre, possibly caused by debris on the track. Despite a lessening of grip from last night's rain, the track soon rubbered in again this morning. In general we are happy with our tyre performance and we expect the Bridgestone runners to be strong in the race tomorrow.
Ross Brawn, Technical Director Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: We've been very pleased with the car here this weekend and last week during the test and we hope our strategy is the right one for tomorrow's race. I'm very happy with Michael's qualifying result but a bit disappointed for Felipe as he got blocked on his run, which was a great shame as he could certainly have improved on where he is. Nevertheless the car is working well and the Bridgestone tyres are performing consistently so we've got plenty to look forward to tomorrow.
Pascal Vasselon, Senior General Manager Chassis Panasonic Toyota Racing: So far the race weekend has gone without surprises simply because we carried out a lot of work last week with tyres and tyre choice. We don't expect any major issues with our Bridgestone tyres.
Kimi Raikkonen secured his third pole position of the seas on and the 11th of his Formula One career during qualifying for tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix. The Finn lapped grand prix racing's oldest European venue in a searing 1m 21.484s to pip Michael Schumacher by 0.002s.
Eight Michelin drivers made it through to the final top 10 shoot-out. Nick Heidfeld was third a seasonal best ahead of world championship leader Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Robert Kubica, Pedro de la Rosa, Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Nick Shorrock, Michelin F1 director: "We have had a productive weekend so far and, slowly but surely, have worked with our partners to fine-tune tyre performance. There will be six different Michelin products on the grid tomorrow a mixture of primes and options and the range of technical specifications is as wide as we have seen all season.
"It is very pleasing to have eight cars in the top 10 and I'd like to compliment Kimi Raikkonen on the excellent lap that yielded Michelin's 110th F1 pole position. There were other significant performances too, not least Nick Heidfeld's third place for BMW Sauber and Fernando Alonso's spirited effort to take fifth place in a car that suffered significant damage when a rear tyre suddenly deflated. We have yet to establish what caused that and are looking into it with Renault.
"Our intensive efforts to i mprove first-lap pace appears to have paid off and our long-run speed and consistency has been encouraging throughout the weekend. We are poised for a fascinating race."
Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One, Team McLaren Mercedes: "Kimi Raikkonen put in a couple of great laps and we're delighted with pole position. We're looking forward to a very interesting Italian Grand Prix. I believe we have a strong race set-up and we're very pleased with the latest tyres we've developed in partnership with Michelin. They were good in qualifying and I'm confident they will be equally good over a race stint."
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