A not exciting qualifying for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

Qualifications

Luca Badoer: 20th 1.46.957 11 laps
Kimi Raikkonen: 6th 1.46.633 6 laps

Frames: L. Badoer 280, K. Raikkonen 279
Weather: air temperature 16/19 °C, asphalt temperature 20/25 °C, partly cloudy.

A not exciting qualifying for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, which placed one driver, Kimi Raikkonen, on the third row and one, Luca Badoer, on the last row. “It's an unexpected starting grid to say the least” – said Stefano Domenicali – “As we have already seen several times this year, from one race to another the balance of forces on the field can change abruptly. For our part, we would have liked to be a little further ahead with Kimi but we are still in a position to allow us to fight for a place on the podium tomorrow, also considering the level of performance of the F60 over distance. As for Luca, we could once again notice an improvement in his performance: unfortunately, it was not enough to avoid him from last place on the starting grid again.”

Luca Badoer: “I'm not happy because this morning, at the end of free practice, I was hoping to have a chance to get through to Q2. Instead, whether due to traffic or some small problem, I wasn't able to put together the perfect lap. I was counting on doing it on the last attempt but there was the episode with Vettel which then led to the off-track exit which put an end to my qualifying. I've made another step forward in terms of performance but it's still not enough: for me the most difficult thing is to get into a rhythm and understand the limits of the car. Unfortunately, there is no possibility of doing those tests that would be of great use to me. Tomorrow I'm sure that my performance will be better than that of the Valencia race. I will try to do my best."

Kimi Raikkonen: “Of course I would have preferred to start further forward but I think we did our best today. We knew it would be tough to be in front but we are still in a good position, also because the gaps between the leaders are quite small. With petrol on board the car behaves better than when it is empty and we saw this once again in this qualifying. Such an unusual grid makes the prediction for tomorrow's race even more uncertain and we will have to try to exploit any possibility that may arise. The first two corners after the start will be very important for the final result. The different performance of the car in the various sectors of the track is explained by the aerodynamic load deficit we have this season.”

Chris Dyer: “We are a bit disappointed because after yesterday's performance we expected a better result. Kimi's sixth place must also be evaluated in light of the different loads of petrol taken on by the cars classified in the top ten places. We believe we have chosen a good strategy and, given the performance of the car over the long distance, we think we can fight for a place on the podium in this race too. As far as Luca is concerned, everyone can see that, day after day, his performance level improves: unfortunately, it is still not enough to make him fight at least to get through to Q2.”