Saturday: Räikkönen saves Ferrari’s home qualifying

Ferrari was eager to shine at home, on its track, Monza. The tifosi who came in droves were given a big scare on Saturday morning when they saw Giancarlo Fisichella’s car violently veer off the track. Without serious consequence, the Italian will start in 14th position with his F60. A qualification ending at Q2 for the Italian, but not for the now leader, Kimi Räikkönen. The latter managed to qualify in Q3, taking a nice third place, just behind Briton Lewis Hamilton and the surprise Force India, Adrian Sutil.

The Scuderia Ferrari aims for the podium with its Finnish driver, and hopes that Fisichella can have a good race and take advantage of his KERS to break away from the midfield pack.

Kimi Räikkönen – 12th and 3rd:

It was one of my best qualifying sessions of the year, and we hope things will go even better tomorrow. I’m happy with this result, for the team and for our fans. The car is not perfect yet, but overall, it’s good. We knew the toughest task would be in Q2. I’m confident for tomorrow: other cars have KERS, but if all goes well, we will fight for the podium.

Giancarlo Fisichella – 20th and 14th:

Overall, I am quite happy, even though I am aware that 14th place on the grid is not typical for Ferrari. Yesterday, I drove the F60 for the first time and made a mistake, which cost me valuable time in preparing for qualifying. I want to thank the mechanics who did a fantastic job on the car to have it ready before qualifying. I was a bit tense before the session as I knew that I hadn’t yet gained much confidence in the car. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage a perfect lap, and I couldn’t qualify for Q3. It’s a shame because the potential was there, but there’s still time to have a good race tomorrow. Maybe I can try to gain a few places at the start thanks to KERS.

Chris Dyer – Chief Engineer :

First of all, I want to congratulate Giancarlo. After this morning’s accident, the task he faced was not easy, and despite that, 14th place is a good way to start his career with Ferrari. My compliments also go to all the mechanics who did an excellent repair job on the car in a very short time. Kimi had a great session, especially in Q3. Possibly, other drivers behind him have more fuel, and that means we will strive to set good lap times during the first laps. I think we can fight for a podium finish.