Report – Saturday – Ferrari achieves double in qualifying

Ferrari did not falter in securing its first one-two finish of the year. A one-two in qualifying allows them to place both drivers on the front row of the starting grid in Sepang, with Massa ahead of Räikkönen.

The Brazilian virtually dominated this third part of the qualifications, putting 5 tenths on his teammate and more than a second on Hamilton, who came in 4th. No clouds on the horizon tonight, but a Formula 1 race always holds surprises…

Felipe Massa – 3rd and 1st:

« I am very happy! In the last qualifying session, I managed to do two very good laps after struggling a bit more in Q2. Towards the very end, there were a few raindrops, but they had no effect on performance. »

« It is very important to start ahead, and I hope I will have a good race. We know that our car is very competitive on long runs, but it is clear that it will be a tough challenge. However, we can be confident for tomorrow. »

Kimi Räikkönen – 2nd and 2nd:

Of course, I would prefer to hold the pole position, but second place is far from being a poor performance. I am happy that the team achieved the best possible result. In Q3, I didn’t manage to make the most of my tires, which is frustrating especially after having completed a very good lap in Q2.

« The track seems to be a bit more slippery and I couldn’t get the best out of the car. Tomorrow, the race will be very tough: I pray for a good start, that is, a different start from the one in Melbourne. »

Luca Baldisserri – Technical Director:

« Finally, a day that goes smoothly. The performances are satisfactory, and the starting grid results are there to prove it. There are some unknowns regarding the types of tires for each of our drivers, we will need to study this matter. »

The threat of rain is high, so we need to adapt our strategy with this element. We expect a very challenging race tomorrow due to the weather, which will have repercussions on the cars and the drivers. Obviously, our goal is to do our best, which means repeating what happened this afternoon.