Saturday: Ferrari could hardly do better

The end of the season promises to be difficult for Scuderia Ferrari. The team has completely stopped the development of its current car, the F60, since August. Nevertheless, Kimi Räikkönen qualified brilliantly for Q3 and set the eighth fastest time with, according to Chris Dyer, a significant fuel load. Räikkönen thus seems well-positioned to compete for points tomorrow. A podium finish seems very difficult to achieve, but he can rely on his KERS to make a good start and gain a few positions.

Giancarlo Fisichella was eliminated in Q1. An error in his last fast lap probably cost him a spot in Q2. He will start the race from the eighth row and will do his best to play for points. He will also be able to use his KERS at the start to quickly gain positions and be in a good position for the rest of the race. With the very strong current performances of McLaren-Mercedes, the third place in the Constructors’ Championship will be difficult to maintain. The battle between the two historical rivals will be tight.

Kimi Räikkönen – 5th and 5th (8th fastest):

I don’t think we could have done better today. We know what our potential is and we have to accept it. Here, the situation is definitely better than in Singapore, but we continue to struggle, especially with the lack of aerodynamic support, which is crucial here and particularly in the first sector. Generally, the car works well and it’s really nice to drive on such a demanding track where the slightest mistake is severely punished, as we saw today. It’s a shame we didn’t have any new soft tires available for Q3 because we had to use them earlier to avoid being eliminated. Considering all of this, it was a good qualification. Tomorrow, we will do our best for the race. It will be difficult to fight for the front positions, but we will try and we can rely on a good strategy.

Giancarlo Fisichella – 18th and 14th (16th time):

I am very disappointed not to have qualified for Q2. We only had this morning to prepare the car in dry conditions, but it’s the same for everyone. I have increased my performance level and feel more confident in the F60. On my last lap, I made a mistake that probably cost me the time I needed to get into Q2. Tomorrow, the goal is to reach the points. I know it will be difficult starting from the eighth row, but with a good strategy, we might be able to do it.

Chris Dyer – Chief Engineer:

A really tense qualifying. Another great performance from Kimi in all parts of the qualifying session. It’s a shame, because for a few hundredths, he could have secured a better position on the starting grid. We were the only ones without new soft tire sets at our disposal since we didn’t want to take any risks in Q1. But we are pleased with how things turned out, partly because we’re carrying a lot of fuel and believe we have a good strategy for tomorrow’s race. It’s a bit disappointing for Giancarlo who narrowly missed out on Q2. He is improving day by day and we are sure that tomorrow he will take another step forward and have a good race.