02/08/2008
NEWS STORY
The starting grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix will see the two Ferraris line up on the second and third rows, with respectively Massa in third place and Raikkonen sixth. Having set the fastest time of the day in Q2, Felipe could not do better than third in Q3, in part because of a bit of traffic on his second timed run. A mistake at Turn 4 cost Kimi precious time on his final quick lap, dropping him to sixth.
Stefano Domenicali: Obviously, we cannot be happy with this result, especially when our main opponents have the front row to themselves. Our main aim this weekend was and still is to get the most out of our car-tyre-team package and today we failed to do that, especially in the final part of qualifying. Now we have to try and do it in tomorrow's race: it will be tough because our grid positions are not the best and we are up against very strong opposition, but it is not an impossible task. We have strong potential which we saw today: it will be a case of getting all the elements to come together as well as possible.
Felipe Massa: It's a shame I didn't manage to get the best out of the car in Q3, mainly because of traffic, especially on my second run. In the first two parts of qualifying the car felt good, as can be seen from my times, but then I never managed to prepare the tyres in the best way. Clearly, overtaking isn't easy but we have a good pace and I will try and exploit that in fighting with the two drivers ahead of me on the grid.
Kimi Raikkonen: I made a mistake on my final flying lap which cost me precious time, and that followed on from not having got a great lap on my previous attempt, which explains why I'm sixth. Of course I am not happy and, starting from the third row, my race will be an uphill struggle. I will try and make the most of this situation, given that the car today was not that bad. We are going through a bit of a difficult time but we mustn't give up: all we need to do is put together all the pieces of the jigsaw and then the results will come to us again.
Luca Baldisserri: Having our main rival's two cars on the front row is definitely not the most promising start for the race, but it in no way means the race is already lost for us. Tomorrow it will be important to make a good start, trying in Felipe's case, to take advantage of starting on the more rubbered-in side of the track, and to manage tyre performance as well as possible, given that we can expect very high temperatures. On top of that come the usual parameters – strategy, reliability, team work – that have to operate at their best in order to get a good result. We have to try our hardest to bring home as many points as possible and only at the end of the race will we see if we have done enough or not.