23/07/2005
NEWS STORY
World championship contender Kimi Raikkonen will start tomorrow's German Grand Prix from pole position. The Finn's 1m 14.320s lap put him 0.439s clear of Jenson Button and maintained Michelin's 100 per cent pole position record for the season.
Points leader Fernando Alonso spearheaded the remaining Michelin runners. The Spaniard will line up third, ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella, Mark Webber, Nick Heidfeld, Takuma Sato, Jarno Trulli, Christian Klien, David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher, Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve.
Raikkonen's teammate Juan Pablo Montoya vied for pole until he spun off at the final corner, an incident that condemns the Colombian to the back row of the grid.
Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director: We are set for another very interesting race– and several Michelin teams are clearly in a very good position. The pace of the McLarens and Renaults is self-evident, Jenson Button's BAR - Honda is well placed and I wouldn't rule out Juan Pablo Montoya's chances of challenging for a podium position from the back of the grid. Our tyres performed well in yesterday's cooler conditions and were very strong again today, when temperatures were more like those we are used to at Hockenheim. The forecast might still be uncertain for tomorrow, but the competitiveness of our tyres is very obvious.
Nick Shorrock, director of Michelin F1 activities: Our partners have opted for tyre solutions that will combine strong overall performance with excellent durability. These choices were relatively easy to make for the teams. There are some significant tyre loads here – particularly through the long, fast, left-hand sweep that leads to the first hairpin – but we have had no wear-rate issues at all. The warmer temperatures today were more suitable for our chosen compound's natural operating windows and I am very confident about our prospects for the race.
Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One, Team McLaren Mercedes: That was a terrific lap by Kimi. Our cars have clearly been very strong all weekend and the whole team is very happy with the way the tyres are performing. The Michelin tyres are very good over one lap in qualifying and I'm confident they will be strong throughout the race. We are in great shape.