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The weather will however be a key factor - Raikkonen |
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Two drivers on the front two rows: this is the outcome of qualifying
for the Belgian Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, with Felipe
Massa setting the second fastest time and Kimi Raikkonen the fourth.
"Overall, it's a reasonably satisfying result," commented Stefano
Domenicali. "Of course, we always hope to be ahead of everyone, but
it's not always possible, especially as we are up against some very
strong opposition, which we always knew was the case.
Qualifying session
F. Massa: 2nd 1.47.678 6 laps chassis 269
K. Raikkonen: 4th 1.47.992 6 laps chassis 271
Weather: air temperature 18/17 °C, track temperature 18/17 °C, covered skies.
When evaluating this session we also have to take into consideration
that the difference in fuel loads, has a greater effect here than at
other tracks. Tomorrow, apart from the usual factors (strategy, the
work of the team and drivers, tyre performance over a distance,) the
weather could play a key role. As always, we will be doing our utmost
to bring home the best possible result."
Felipe Massa:
"I did a great lap, but it was not enough to be on pole position.
Today, we lacked a bit of speed compared to our main rivals but the
race is very long and, over a distance, we know we can be very
competitive and therefore we are capable of fighting for the win. The
start? It will be difficult to do a repeat of Budapest, especially as
the start-line straight is shorter than at the Hungaroring. Then, we
will have to see what the various strategy choices are and obviously,
how the weather evolves. If it was to rain, the race could be turned
into a lottery."
Kimi Raikkonen: On my second run in Q3
I made a small mistake, running wide at Turn 7. A shame, as it cost me
valuable time which would have seen me move slightly higher up the
order on the starting grid. All the same, I am reasonably happy with my
car, which seems to be behaving the way I like. Of course, I'm a bit
disappointed, as I would have liked to have done better: fourth place
is far from ideal to go looking for the win, but it doesn't mean I've
given up hope. We know we have a good potential, especially in race
trim. The weather will however be a key factor and we will have to try
and assess it as well as possible."
Luca Baldisserri:
"My compliments to Felipe, who did a fantastic lap on his second run in
Q3. It's a shame that a mistake at Turn 7 probably cost Kimi at least
one grid position. We knew our main rivals would be very strong,
especially in qualifying, but we are still convinced that we can be on
the pace tomorrow in the race, which is when the points are given out.
It will be a tough race, in which it will be vital to manage any
situations that might arise as well as possible. If it is run in the
dry, it will be important to monitor how the tyres perform over a long
distance, given that neither yesterday nor today was it possible to do
a lot of laps consecutively. The F2008 worked well and also the
performance of the tyres over the first timed lap was up to our
expectations."
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