F1 | Spanish GP, Ferrari – “Not a bad starting position”

Montmelò, 12 May – Today's qualifying session ended for Scuderia Ferrari with third and fourth positions on the starting grid, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen respectively. After finishing Q2 on Soft tyres, less prone to losing performance in the race, both opted for the same compound (classified as Option, compared to the "Quali" which corresponds to Supersoft) for their last run in Q3, a choice shared today from other pilots.

Seb commented: “Overall I think it was a calm session. The car performed well and we didn't have much to do. This morning went quite well and we tried to find the right direction. In qualifying we didn't do badly; then in Q3 during my first run I locked the tires at turn 1, so already in my first sector I wasn't fast. I tried to recover and fight for pole, but it wasn't enough. I didn't have a good feeling with the tires, which behaved differently throughout the weekend. Even though they look like the old ones, they are still harder. Anyway, it's the same for everyone. Without a doubt I'm not entirely satisfied, but we expected Mercedes to be stronger here. Third position on the grid is not a bad place to start. Tomorrow we will focus on the start first of all, then we'll see. It will be a long race and the tires will also need to be managed. Even if the start doesn't go our way, I think we still have a strong car to fight for throughout the race. I think tomorrow will be an interesting race and we will be close, as has happened in the last few races. I can't wait to start the Spanish Grand Prix and I hope people enjoy it.”

“It was a difficult and not ideal qualifying” commented Kimi. “In Q3 during my first attempt on Supersoft tires I made a mistake at turn 1 and went wide; obviously this complicated my ride. At that point I was in a position where I had nothing to lose; so we decided to try something different. In Q2 the Softs were good, so we decided to use them on my last run. In the end we managed to do a decent job, but obviously we are not entirely satisfied with the result. It's difficult to predict what will happen in the race, especially for me, considering that yesterday I wasn't able to do any long runs. We will try to start well and see how the race continues."