14/04/2007
NEWS STORY
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso will start Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix from second and fourth positions respectively. In Saturday’s qualifying, Lewis set a time of 1:32.935; in only the third Grand Prix of his Formula One career he will start from the front row of the grid for the first time. Fernando’s time was 1:33.192 putting him on the second row.
Fernando Alonso: "Second row was the best we could do today but we should be in a good position to fight for a podium finish. This track provides plenty of opportunities for overtaking which means that you can really fight for positions and give the spectators a nice race. We are fighting with the Ferraris and that’s more or less what we expected. They are both on the clean side of the track which might give them a slight advantage at the start. However our aim is to go for it. So far we have been strong in our long runs so I’m optimistic for a competitive race tomorrow."
Lewis Hamilton: "It just keeps getting better and better - to be on the front row in only my third Formula 1 weekend is an amazing feeling. I don’t think that my final qualifying lap was my best lap of the session. Qualifying is so intense and you need to pull out everything. The wind also keeps changing direction here which makes things even more challenging. It looks like all the hard work has paid off and we have definitely closed the gap to Ferrari and made progress. The start tomorrow will be crucial - there is a very long run down into the first corner. However I have raced here at this circuit before so I have a bit more experience than the last two races and we will see what happens."
Ron Dennis: "Both Fernando and Lewis had strong qualifying sessions. Our pace in the long runs so far has proved competitive and we believe that our strategies should provide us with the best opportunity for podium finishes."
Norbert Haug: "Starting from second and fourth position for the third consecutive time, we should have a good basis for tomorrow’s race. However, this time Lewis was second and Fernando fourth and both drivers did a good job and are on promising strategies. The right side of the grid, where Lewis and Fernando will line up tomorrow, is not as good as in Malaysia, but nevertheless we see things positive."
To check out our Bahrain qualifying gallery, click here