Saturday: Massa in the wall, Alonso satisfied with his position

Fernando Alonso – 4th and 6th:

« We were well aware of the possible difficulty of this weekend, because with changing conditions, the track can change from one lap to the next and until the end, you can never be sure of the right tires to use. I’m quite happy to have salvaged what I could from a qualifying session that had so many unknowns. Starting 6th isn’t so bad because you can overtake on this circuit. I clearly hope for a race without rain, because in the dry, looking at yesterday’s long runs, we can be more competitive and faster than some of the cars that will start ahead of us tomorrow. The goal is to catch up to our closest rivals: with Räikkönen, we have a better chance of doing that because he starts behind me, whereas with Vettel, it will be more difficult. In any case, I’m not taking anything for granted because here, especially if it rains, anything can happen, and strategy might count less than luck. »

Felipe Massa – 8th and 16th:

I am really not happy with the way the qualifications went for me. The track conditions were not easy, there was little grip, and I struggled to put in a good lap. I went out in Q2 because I braked on a white line at turn 3 and when the rear went out, there was nothing I could do. Physically, I’m fine, but deep down I’m very disappointed. It had never happened to me to have three accidents so close together, although it’s always the case when you try to give everything on a circuit like this one and at Monte Carlo because the risks are higher. I don’t yet know how much I damaged the car, but even though I’m very disappointed with what happened, we have to stay focused, because tomorrow’s race is going to be long on this circuit, and anything can happen. I had a good pace today and tomorrow I plan to have an attacking race.