18/03/2006
NEWS STORY
Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen finished qualifying for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix in sixth and seventh position respectively after setting times of 1:34.916 and 1:34.983 in the final session. Qualifying took place in ambient temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius with track temperatures souring to 51 degrees. In the first session Juan Pablo set the fastest time with 1:34.536, with Kimi's lap of 1:34.667 being second. The second session saw Kimi finish with the fifth fastest time of 1:34.351 whilst Juan Pablo's time of 1:34.568 was the eighth fastest. Juan Pablo and Kimi will start from fifth and sixth on the grid tomorrow after Michael Schumacher will drop 10 places from fourth following an engine change.
Juan Pablo Montoya: "I am happy with our qualifying result today, and we will see tomorrow with the different fuel loads just how well we have done. Hopefully the Michelin tyres will continue to perform, so far they have been good, but it is a very long and hot race. We have worked intensively on the set-up of the car and I am much happier with it. I am looking forward to a good race tomorrow where we can hopefully be challenging at the front."
Kimi Raikkonen: "I had a little bit of traffic on my out lap at the end of the session which disrupted my flying lap. As a result I didn't do as well as I could have, but I am pretty happy with the result. The car could still be better but I think that we have a competitive strategy and we will still be strong in the race tomorrow."
Ron Dennis: "We are very comfortable with the outcome of today's qualifying session and we look forward to our race strategy unfolding."
Norbert Haug: "With Juan Pablo starting in fifth and Kimi in sixth position both our cars are in good position for tomorrow's race. With our strategy we should be in good shape."