San Marino: Qualifying notes - Renault
The Renault F1 Team suffered at the hands of the 2006 knockout qualifying system this afternoon in Imola, and Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella will line up 5th and 11th for tomorrow's San Marino Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso completed a normal and trouble-free session in the warmest conditions of the weekend, to secure fifth position on the clean side of the grid for tomorrow's race. He is pleased with the balance of the R26 after struggling for grip yesterday, and remains confident that the team's strategy will see him improve his position in the race.
As for Giancarlo Fisichella, he will start eleventh – and free to determine his fuel load for the first stint – after being knocked out the second qualifying heat by just hundredths of a second. However, after improving the car's handling relative to yesterday, he will look to make up plenty of positions in the race.
Fernando Alonso: I don't think fifth is the perfect place to start at this circuit because overtaking is so difficult, but we are not in such a bad position either. There was a lot of traffic during the third part of qualifying and I came quite close to the 110% time on some of the laps, but when I did my timed laps at the end of qualifying, the car felt good and the track was clear. The balance is better than it was yesterday and feels correct for the race, so now we need to try and make up positions at the start, and believe in the strategy we have chosen. I also wish to clarify comments I made yesterday after they were interpreted in this morning's press. I want to reiterate that I have always enjoyed total technical support from Renault. Renault is known everywhere as a team that treats both of its drivers fairly and equally.
Giancarlo Fisichella: What can I say? I am very disappointed to only start eleventh at my home race. The balance of the car felt much better than yesterday, so we should have been in the top ten for sure. I think we may have made a mistake in how we managed the second session, because I think we could have run again at the end, but this is something we will learn for the future. Looking ahead to tomorrow, we now have a lot of options for our strategy, and we will work tonight to find the best one. The speed and consistency are there to have a good race.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: Giancarlo was very unlucky to be on the wrong end of a big bunch of cars within one tenth of a second in the second knockout session. The eleven millisecond deficit to the competitors in front of him, means we face a very different strategic challenge tomorrow, but it is one that we can rise to. As for Fernando, he looks a little further back on the grid than normal. However, we have managed our weekend with our main challengers in mind, and we feel that we have done the right thing to get the best possible result in tomorrow's race.
Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations: After a trouble-free weekend, we fell into the one of the traps of the new qualifying format this afternoon, with Giancarlo failing to proceed into the super-pole session. This is clearly a disappointment, but he now has a lot of strategic options for the race tomorrow. Fernando's session ran smoothly, and we have made certain deliberate decisions that will only be proved right or wrong on Sunday evening after the chequered flag has fallen. In terms of the engines, everything ran well, both for Giancarlo's new B spec unit, and Fernando's V8 which is completing its second weekend.
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2006 San Marino Grand Prix - Race 4/18
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Thread starter's postsSan Marino: Qualifying notes - Super Aguri
Takuma Sato: "It has been a good day for the team. We made encouraging progress overnight and this morning's practice session went very smoothly, so I was able to put in a good performance in Qualifying. I am very pleased with my lap as I think that we got the best out of the car and the team is very much looking forward to the race tomorrow."
Yuji Ide: "The car had a bit of oversteer since yesterday so I changed the set-up for Qualifying but it had a negative effect and I did not make as good a time as I wanted. If we could find a way to use the new tyres better, then I think we could have improved a little on my time. However, we did not have any problems with the car so I should be able to do well tomorrow and I am looking forward to the race."
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: "The times between Super Aguri and the other teams are getting smaller with every race, and today the gap came very close. I believe all the hard work by the team members and drivers has enabled this jump-up, and their dedication has shown in the big improvement we have made today. Our drivers are good at race starts, so I hope that they will both move in front of Midland F1 and hold their positions until the checkered flag."
San Marino: Qualifying notes - BMW
It was a disapppointing qualifying session for the BMW Sauber F1 Team, as neither Jacques Villeneuve nor Nick Heidfeld made it into the top ten on the grid for the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola.
Jacques Villeneuve: I am very disappointed because less than two tenths of a second was P5 and I know there was that time in the car. The second lap was quick, but the yellow flags caught us out. That really does your race and finishing P5 or P12 in the session means the difference between finishing on the podium or not. It is a little bit rough but we are at the wrong end of the tenths today big time.
Nick Heidfeld: I really wanted to make it into the top ten and tried everything I knew, but lost the rear of the car and went into the tyres, which unfortunately has damaged the car quite badly. All in all qualifying was disappointing, especially as I felt good after the results of the three free practice sessions yesterday and today. With new tyres I just could not get the necessary grip, but the positive side is I fell well again yesterday after my stomach problems yesterday.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): It was a very exciting qualifying session with very close gaps between the drivers’ times, but unfortunately we had to watch the breathtaking final 20 minutes as spectators. Jacques missed the top ten by just over a tenth of a second, whereas Nick never managed to get the lap time we expected. He complained about lack of grip and on his last lap tried too hard and lost control of the car. The times are closer than we have seen before, as between fifth and Jacques’ 12th position there is only seventeen hundredths of a second.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis): Obviously we expected more from qualifying. We knew it would have been very hard to make the top ten in this close competition. Now we have to adjust our race strategy accordingly, but we are confident we can repeat the performance we found in our long runs on Friday.
San Marino: Qualifying notes - Toyota
Panasonic Toyota Racing heads into Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix with two cars in the top ten of the grid following today's hour of qualifying. On another sunny day at Imola, Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher both had strong sessions of morning practice and that progress continued into the afternoon when both drivers took part in Qualifying Session 3 for the first time in 2006. Both put in good laps during the final 20-minute shoot-out, but Jarno was unfortunate to hit traffic on his quickest run. Ralf will line up in 6th on the grid while Jarno will start in 9th place. Ralf made the podium in Australia and both drivers will now look for another strong position in tomorrow's race.
Ralf Schumacher will look for another good result in Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix after qualifying on the third row.
Ralf Schumacher: "We achieved more than we expected today, but I am still not satisfied because I did not do a perfect lap in the traffic at the end of the session. That's a pity because the extra tenth of a second to reach the second row would have been easy to find. Still, this is a very good result and both Jarno and I have done our best. Last year I struggled in qualifying but this car and tyre combination is working better for me. Now we must aim for the points tomorrow. We are not very far away from the top teams and we will do our best to move further forward, but it is very difficult to overtake here. Hopefully we can have our usual good pit stops and then we can see where we end up."
Jarno Trulli heads into his home race tomorrow in good shape, holding 9th place after being held up in qualifying.
Jarno Trulli: "It was a good afternoon's work for us but it would have been even better if I hadn't hit traffic on my quickest lap in Session 3. Unfortunately on my last run I was behind Michael Schumacher who didn't let me by when he was on a slow lap. He just came out of the pits and held me up all the way around his out lap, which I don't think was fair. Up to that point the sessions had gone well. The car handled well throughout the afternoon and that gives me a lot of confidence for the race. Ralf's podium in Australia shows that we can compete at the front so the atmosphere in the team is good. This race will give us another chance to check how our form is improving. I certainly hope to enjoy better fortune tomorrow than I have had in the first few races."
Panasonic Toyota Racing is on course for another strong result from tomorrow's race near the Italian city of Bologna.
Dieter Gass - Chief Engineer Race and Test: "This is the first time this year that we have had both cars actually running in the last session of qualifying so that was a good day for us. Both drivers performed well throughout the afternoon and the first two sessions went well even though it was very tight for who qualified from Session 2. We're happy with Ralf's eventual qualifying position - he was very close to the second row but 6th is still a good performance. We are disappointed about what happened to Jarno because he lost a lot of time on his quick lap. Looking to tomorrow we are happy with the tyres we have here - the performance and grip level was good - and we're happy with the choice we have made for the race and our strategy is looking good. We are still a challenger in F1 and we will now be fighting for a very strong finishing position tomorrow."
San Marino: Qualifying notes - Honda
The Honda Racing F1 Team will start tomorrow's San Marino Grand Prix from the 1st and 2nd rows of the grid after Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were the 2nd and 3rd fastest drivers in this afternoon's qualifying session. Both drivers experienced a solid morning's preparation in the concluding hour of free practice which laid the foundations for a great qualifying performance.
The knock-out format was as tense as ever and in the closing stages of the second session the drivers from positions 5 to 11 were within just a tenth of a second of each other as they battled to remain in the top 10.
Jenson Button: "I'm very pleased with the result today and to see both of us in the top three is great for the team. The car was a lot better in qualifying than this morning and the first half of the weekend generally, especially in terms of grip and with the handling over the kerbs. We did a lot of work overnight and through this morning and I'm much happier for the race. We'll have to see how things pan out though because we won't know until then what everyone has been doing through free practice but I think we should feel quite confident. The team have done a great job in addressing the issues from Australia and I think we can have a good race tomorrow."
Rubens Barrichello: "I'm obviously delighted with qualifying today and I have to say a very big thank you to everyone in the team for their hard work in helping me to achieve this result. We have had some problems in the early races but today's qualifying shows the amount of effort we have all put into getting the car more to my liking has paid off. We've had two very good tests to get ready for this race and the team has really been listening to me about what I need for things to improve. I'm much happier with the car now. It's not 100% but we're getting there and I think we can have a much better race tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it."
Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "We are delighted with the way qualifying went. After a tough start to the weekend, having Jenson on the front row and Rubens on the second row in third place puts us in a strong position going into tomorrow's race. Since yesterday we have been working hard on the balance of the car and as the weekend progressed we have been steadily improving. Hopefully the conditions will suit us further this Sunday. Certainly, it is very difficult to predict where everyone is in terms of fuel load and we will have to see how the different strategies play out, however starting near the front gives us the best possible chance."
Shuhei Nakamoto: Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering Director - Honda Racing Development: "Good stuff! Clearly both guys did a good job throughout the session. This has been the best combined qualifying performance of the year as we were not in any trouble in the early runs and the guys ultimately put in strong laps. Let's see what happens tomorrow."
San Marino: Qualifying notes - McLaren
Team McLaren Mercedes driver Juan Pablo Montoya will start tomorrow's San Marino Grand Prix from seventh position on the grid after setting a fastest time of 1:24.021 in qualifying. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen lines up eighth with a time of 1:24.158. Juan Pablo's car suffered from a fuel pressure problem during this morning's practice and as a result the Colombian was unable to complete any timed laps. Consequently for qualifying Juan Pablo moved into the spare car which was set-up for him this weekend. The team worked hard in the limited time available to move Juan Pablo's engine into the spare car to avoid the 10 place penalty.
Juan Pablo Montoya: "Today's qualifying result was OK for me particularly considering the limited amount of running I have done so far this weekend. My car developed a fuel pressure problem in practice this morning, and as a result we decided to change to the spare car which was not an issue. However to try and cure the understeer I experienced yesterday, we had made some quite dramatic set-up changes for this morning's practice, but as we never got an opportunity to evaluate them, we went a bit more conservative with the car for qualifying. I think this will pay off in the race because the car is very consistent. There are a number of strategy options, but I think we have chosen the right one and podium positions should definitely be possible."
Kimi Raikkonen: "I'm a bit disappointed as I could have done better today, and I didn't get the opportunity to show the full potential of our package. Everything went well in the first two qualifying sessions, but things didn't go according to plan in the last part of qualifying where I did my two flying laps. On the first run I used the best of my Michelin tyres, but I drove a better lap on my second run but still lost time in the last part of the lap. However I think if things goes our way in the race we should be OK."
Ron Dennis: "Today's qualifying positions are acceptable bearing in mind our strategy and Juan Pablo's problem in practice this morning. We will only see where we are in comparison to our competition after their first set of pit stops I'm confident that we will have a strong race tomorrow if we avoid any first-lap incidents."
Norbert Haug: "Kimi lost quite a bit of time in the last sector of his first lap which cost him some grid positions - but no complaints. He was impressive in the other qualifying sessions - being the fastest Michelin runner. Juan Pablo did a good job with his handicap not having had any laps in the third practice session. Our strategy is strong, and despite starting from the fourth row we can do a good job tomorrow."
San Marino: Qualifying notes - Ferrari
Second pole position of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, following on from the one in Sakhir, both of them courtesy of Michael Schumacher. This is the sixth time that a Ferrari starts the San Marino Grand Prix from pole. Michael took the sixty sixth pole of his career: an outright record.
Jean Todt: A marvellous qualifying with a great performance from Michael. Felipe did well, but he was unable to exploit the full potential of the car in the final part of the session. When all elements of the package – drivers, team, chassis, car and tyres – all work at their best, then the results follow. Today we have made a major step forward and it was nice to do so in front of our fans and our employees, packed into their own grandstand here. But the crucial step comes tomorrow. Everything is in place for us to do well, but we know there are many important factors to take into consideration, first and foremost strategy and reliability. All we can say is that, for the moment, Ferrari and its technical partners, especially Bridgestone and Shell, are working in the right direction.
Michael Schumacher: We have worked very hard in recent weeks, so it's wonderful to see it all come right for us. But to be honest, I am not surprised that we have done well. It is very nice to be back on pole again and of course, the fact it is my 66th and so a new record is something very special for me. At the moment, I am concentrating totally on this weekend so I think I will only really appreciate fully what I have done at a later time. Yesterday, I said I was aiming for pole and the win. Today we have reached the first target and I hope I can make the second one tomorrow. I am convinced we have a good chance of winning.
Felipe Massa: To be honest, I'm not happy. On both my laps with new tyres I had traffic and did not make the most of what I had to work with. The car, the engine and the Bridgestone tyres were certainly worth a place in the top three. Fourth is definitely not a disaster, but I cannot be happy with it. All the same, I am optimistic for the race. We have what we need to get a good result.
Ross Brawn: Very pleased with this result. Everything went well today in terms of our programme. The Bridgestone tyres worked particularly well and I think we can have a strong race and we can look to tomorrow with confidence. Michael's time was fantastic. It's a shame that Felipe never got a clean lap in the final part of qualifying, because of traffic. He still did a good time, given the circumstances. The cars were well balanced and there is cause for optimism for tomorrow.
Post-qualifying press conference - Imola
TV Unilaterals
Q. I guess you know the statistic, you've just broken Ayrton Senna's record for career pole positions.
Michael Schumacher: Yeah. With the car we had, getting a pole position in Bahrain, it was sort of obvious at one stage that we should be in a position to do so. We worked very hard, naturally - because of our misfortune and the mistakes we made in the last weeks - to make up ground and here we are, and we've made up significant ground. Obviously the race is important – this is one step towards it – but seeing where Fernando, in particular, is it's great for us in terms of first strategy and hopefully result as well by the end of the race.
Q. Can you just describe your feelings, right now, here at Imola on this beautiful day, to achieve that record and to be back in front of your home crowd on the pole, what it means to you?
MS: Well, the record is less important in a way. You look at it once you finish your racing and you may think about it, but not now. It was a little bit mixed feelings because I came in and I didn't know (whether I was on pole), because I saw one Renault still out on the circuit and I wasn't sure whether there could have been a change in position or not, so it was a little bit of mixed feelings. But being here as an ambassador of San Marino, and getting pole position for all our tifosi after all the pain they've had to go through in the last weeks, I'm obviously very glad and very excited.
Q. It looks to have been a very troublefree weekend so far; a little bit of incident there with your teammate at the top chicane, he went off just in front of you, but otherwise a great qualifying.
MS: Yeah, it wasn't really an incident, he was just trying to find his way and nevertheless, we performed very well. We kept mentioning and talking about it. This weekend I sort of stopped talking about it and rather thought I should show (our performance) and here we are.
Q. Jenson, a great performance. Not particularly happy with the car yesterday but a great recovery today.
Jenson Button: Yeah, you know we've done a lot of work overnight and also during the day and we've really improved it. We needed to because we were quite a long way off yesterday, not just on one lap but also the long run pace. I'm much happier with the car now. We did a reasonably good run in practice also so not a bad position to be in.
Q. And a strong position relative to the Renaults and the McLarens.
JB: Yeah, it's quite interesting. We'll have to see how the race pans out but yeah, they must be stopping very very late or they made mistakes, I don't know. I'm happy with my qualifying and it's great to have Rubens up here as well, for us both to be up here so it's a good start for tomorrow and hopefully we can make good use of it.
Q. Rubens, great to see you up here next to your old teammate Michael Schumacher.
Rubens Barrichello: It's nice, very nice and I want to thank the whole team. The team has done a great job and in testing they were able to improve the car to my liking and the braking seems to be a lot better so I want to thank the whole team, the mechanics, the engineers, everyone for their effort. They know that I'm pushing very hard. I don't want to be playing second fiddle. There were some problems for me adapting to the car. Obviously I'm a little bit happier. Imola is quite a good place for an improvement and I think most of it, after the problems that we had in Australia, we had to improve the car on race pace, so tomorrow is a good test and we're going into it with a lot more optimism, so I'm really looking forward to it.
Q. Michael, your final thoughts on the race tomorrow?
MS: Yeah, it's interesting to study this weekend. Up to a point, Renault were miles ahead of every other Michelin runner and then suddenly it seems to have turned around a bit but nevertheless the race pace seemed very competitive from them. So is ours, honestly. We don't have anything that is only good for one lap. We have worked very hard together with Bridgestone to have the optimum first lap but also have a very strong race pace and here, I think, we can certainly show this and at the end of the day we hope it's good enough to beat the rest. That's what it comes to and what counts.
Press Conference
Q. Michael, you've been quick all weekend, so I don't suppose this was too much of a surprise.
MS: No, it's not too much of a surprise. Not only have we been quick here, we have been quick in testing in Barcelona. We were quick in Australia as well but we couldn't really do it all the time and now we worked very hard with Bridgestone to have a tyre which, quite frankly, we already had available in Australia but due to testing, bad weather conditions, we couldn't test it and we didn't want to risk it. Now, nevertheless, we know what we have to use and obviously it works very well.
Q. How much of a gamble is the tyre choice this weekend?
MS: No big gamble. We're probably clear on what we brought here, what we wanted to have and Bridgestone is very well in this respect, in particular this year where we have made huge progress.
Q. It looked pretty fraught with the two of you coming in for your tyre stops at the same time.
MS: We planned to be out very early which meant that we were together and as you go together, we have the same strategy in terms of trying to achieve the number of laps and in this respect, it was normal that we would stay together for almost all the time.
Q. So it wasn't too fraught.
MS: No, no, no. Not at all, not at all. My first stop took a bit longer because of the front tyre but then there is always some margin in time, it's not a race pit stop, so it worked out well.
Q. Jenson, you have been on pole here before, so it must be becoming your favourite circuit.
JB: It's a circuit I enjoy very much. It's a beautiful setting, it's very narrow and you have to bounce the car off the kerbs quite a bit. I enjoy it – it's a circuit I've always gone very well at. Yeah, it's always gone well for me here.
Q. Rubens was talking about race pace. We've seen you qualifying very well but not being so good on race pace. How confident are you for tomorrow?
JB: It just shows what we've been doing in testing. We had some good runs today and we just have to see tomorrow, but we're reasonably happy that we've solved some of our issues and whether we have completely solved them – we'll just have to wait and see.
Q. Are we going to see a vast improvement for the rest of the season?
JB: I'm hoping, yeah. I know I'm smiling, but it is only qualifying. Tomorrow's the important day and hopefully we have quite a good car for the race and I'm sure we've made enough improvements.
Q. People were complaining about a lack of grip yesterday. How much better was it today?
JB: It was a bit better today with the grip level – maybe it was because of higher temperatures. I've struggled to get a set-up with the car, I struggled especially yesterday, and today also it's been tough, but we found a set-up that works and I'm positive for tomorrow, but it hasn't been an easy day for myself.
Q. High hopes then?
JB: Today's been going well, so hopefully we'll continue tomorrow.
Q. Rubens, well done. Are you surprised to be up here?
RB: Not really. Obviously it looks like chaos from the outside with the car, but it's been hard to drive going to circuits with a new team and a new car. Still, our pace has been good. In Australia I should have been in the top ten but I got traffic on my quick lap and was knocked out. With these new rules, that can happen to the top guys as well. But like I said, I've been working very hard with the team. The team has been listening to my requests and this is the proof of it, that's why I want to thank them so much, because they put a lot of effort last week into improving the car. Jock (Clear) has been quite good engineering and putting the car right for me. It's still not 100 percent but I'm enjoying it much more. Imola is not actually a place where I go that well and so I'm quite happy.
Q. But how marginal is race strategy here?
RB: We're only going to learn that tomorrow, but the most important thing is that we have to rely on ourselves. We understood a lot of the problems that we had in the races, since the beginning, not just in Melbourne. We made the car faster, there's no doubt that the car is faster on race pace. Ferrari, with Michael, seems to be on another level in a way, but we're here to win the race and we're going to give it everything and see if our work from last week paid off and I think it will.
Questions From The Floor
Q. (Livio Oricchio - O Estado do Sao Paolo) Michael, you are now first in the ranking of pole positions. Is there any special meaning for you?
MS: Yeah, obviously it has a special meaning for me but then, as I mentioned before, those sorts of statistics and records and so on, they will mean much more when you're over it and look back to it. Right now, you're so much focused on what comes next that it's a nice achievement but you don't pay too much attention to it.
Q. (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Michael, can you explain your voice. Do you have flu?
MS: I just have an allergy.
Q. (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) To the Honda drivers, the key question seems to be tyre temperatures. Do you think that you found the solutions in the long runs that you did yesterday and this morning?
JB: The issues we had in Melbourne with the tyre temperatures and the tyre grip, I think we've solved a lot of the issues and I don't think we're going to have a problem here. The temperatures seem to be very good all weekend so I don't think we'll have an issue but you never know. We've got to wait and see. It's difficult. We hadn't driven in such cold conditions like Melbourne so it's difficult to see if we have solved the problems completely.
Q. Is it a problem that there seems to be a very narrow temperature range with the tyres this year, and this is perhaps hotter than you thought it was going to be?
JB: No, I think this is good for us. The hotter temperatures seem to work for us as a team and also for Michelin so I'm happy that the temperature has been good here, it's been the best for quite a few years here in Imola, I think, so it's positive for us and also for Michelin, so we're very happy.
Q. Michael, is that a problem for you, the fact that it's warmer?
MS: No.
Q. (Dario Torromeo – Corriere dello Sport) Rubens, with Alonso having such a bad position in the order, do you think the World Championship is still open for Honda and you in particular?
RB: No, listen, I was much more optimistic when I went to the first race and obviously what happened put us down a little bit, even though Jenson has being doing a superb job to be qualifying up there. In the first two races, he showed the pace of the car and he was on the podium once. We're going to have to work really hard to get the car to where we want. It is a good car, there's no doubt of that. We need to improve small areas to make it a real contender for race wins but the championship is still too open. You can see that from Ferrari's pace. It's a kind of a McLaren situation from last year; they start late... they start here in Imola actually, where they were faster than the Renaults. If that's a bluff, just because of the track, we don't know but the championship will be very open until very late, I guess.
Dennis not worried about drivers' clash
McLaren team boss Ron Dennis says he is not worried that his drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen will crash into each other at the start of the San Marino Grand Prix.
The duo have pushed each other hard in previous races and they will share the fourth row of the grid on Sunday following a disappointing performance in today's qualifying.
Dennis, however, said both drivers had acted cleanly in the previous races and, although he said Montoya and Raikkonen will be reminded to avoid problems, he is confident they will continue to respect each other.
"If anything is going to be said, it's going to be said close enough to the start of the race - that they might remember," said Dennis. "I watched the last Grand Prix on TV several times and especially the opening laps and it was just close.
"None moved on the other - they were both clean. I looked at the previous races and everything they have done is clean and nothing other than you would expect one competitor to do to another.
"We have put our reputation behind, year, after year - giving the guys equal equipment and letting them race, up until it is mathematically impossible for one of them not to win the World Championship. Then we discuss it with them and function as a team.
"It's okay until there is an incident and then we look the idiots and they look like idiots. That hasn't happened yet and we have to stay true to our policy and to ask them to be sensible."
Raikkonen said he would race Montoya as if he was any other driver.
"We try and have as good a race as possible and we have come close to each other but we haven't had any incidents and I don't think it matters who we're racing, it will be the same story," Raikkonen said. "If is someone from another team I'll just try and beat them."
Formula 1 website has been updated with the technical analysis for this race, so far.
http://www.formula1.com/insight/technical_analysis/race/2006/754/265.html
http://www.formula1.com/insight/technical_analysis/race/2006/754/265.html
Alonso: no problems with Renault
World champion Fernando Alonso has denied any rift with his Renault team after the controversy caused by some comments made by the Spanish driver.
Alonso, who last year became Formula One's youngest champion, caused a stir on Friday when the Spanish media quoted him as saying he had never received any help from his team since he has been there.
"They haven't helped me at all in the four or five years that I have been here," Alonso was reported as saying. "When there was a test or a race where I needed something, I didn't get much."
The Spaniard, who will drive for the McLaren team next season, on Saturday suggested his comments had been taken out of context and said there was no friction with his team
"Yeah, it is a problem that always happens," said Alonso. "You say something and the journalists analyse what you say and write what you think that I mean in that comment.
"The thing is that in Renault we never have first driver and second driver. We have equal conditions for both drivers, in any circumstances in any race.
"Even if I was fighting for the championship we still have the same conditions for both drivers so if they ask me if I have a disadvantage now to go to McLaren then I say, 'no, I think I always had equal conditions to everybody, so it will be the same.'
"I didn't have any help because I was winning or was first driver - I had the same conditions as Trulli and Fisichella. So now I don't think I will have any disadvantage, I still have the same conditions. We won the first three races, so it is not any point to say nothing about the team and we are the best team at the moment.
"We were the best in 2005 and the strongest team in 2006 so far. It makes no sense to talk about this."
Fry defends Honda's strategy
Honda Racing boss Nick Fry believes that his team have done the right thing in ensuring their cars have good track position for tomorrow's San Marino Grand Prix, even though some of their rivals have questioned their strategy.
With McLaren and Renault clearly believing that a two-stop strategy is the best way to go, the two teams are adamant that their choices will be vindicated in the race.
However, Fry believes that Honda are actually better off by being at the front of the field because it is so difficult to overtake around Imola.
"This result is very pleasing and we are just working as hard as we possibly can," explained Fry.
"Jenson (Button) and Rubens (Barrichello) did an absolutely superb job and with this race it is difficult to overtake, so going off the front is clearly an advantage. I would much prefer to be up there than further back."
Honda are obviously hoping that the tyre warm-up issues that marred their performance in the Australian Grand Prix will not cost them this time out.
"We are learning the whole time. At (testing in) Vallelunga and Barcelona we learned a lot about how to warm the tyres up and although we have still got a lot to learn, as we are a relatively young team, at every test we learn a little bit more."
Fry claims that the pressure put on the team after the heartbreak in Melbourne did actually prove to be a benefit - because it meant they could focus on the issues they were suffering from.
"It is all part of the growing phase," he said. "When things go wrong the challenge is to keep your spirits up and to look for solutions. You then learn something that can benefit you for the future.
"And after the race in Australia we sat down to go through the issues we had had and we were still there at 1.30 in the morning, with myself and Geoff Willis (technical director) and input from the drivers. So we spent half the night working through.
"When you have that type of pressure then it does you good. And I think we are in a better position today than we were then."
San Marino: Qualifying notes - Bridgestone
Seven time world champion Michael Schumacher claimed an historic pole position today on his Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres as his 66th career pole took him one pole ahead of legendary former world champion Ayrton Senna.
It was also the 92nd pole position taken by a Bridgestone driver since entering in 1997 and it was made all the more poignant having been taken at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, in front of the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team's home crowd. For Bridgestone's teams on the whole it was a successful afternoon with five Bridgestone runners making it through to the top ten qualifying shoot out. Felipe Massa lines up on the second row of the grid, in fourth place, while Panasonic Toyota Racing's Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli qualified in sixth and ninth positions respectively. WilliamsF1's Mark Webber claimed the tenth spot while Nico Rosberg qualified 13th. Having looked to be running well earlier in the weekend, MF1 Racing is looking to overcome its technical difficulties ahead of tomorrow's race.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager - Bridgestone Motorsport: Congratulations to Michael on taking pole here in Italy and at the same time making history with the highest number of pole positions taken by a Formula One driver. It was quite special. However, I am also very pleased to have seen five Bridgestone drivers in the final phase of qualifying this afternoon. The Bridgestone runners have been looking strong this weekend both in race trim in the practice sessions and in qualifying. We have seen some competitive lap times – a good reflection on the competitive performance of the Bridgestone tyres here this weekend. Furthermore, traffic caught a couple of the drivers out in qualifying so there was the potential to have seen more of our runners even further up the grid. Overall however, I'm happy with today's performance and am looking forward to tomorrow's race.
Ross Brawn, Technical Director – Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: We're very pleased with today's results. Everything went very well. The programme we had was good and the car has been working well all weekend. The Bridgestone tyres have been particularly good and we should be strong in the race tomorrow. I was very impressed with Michael's time but unfortunately for Felipe, who got caught in traffic, he didn't really get a clear lap but he did a pretty good job nevertheless. We're as optimistic as we can be for tomorrow's race.
Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test – Panasonic Toyota Racing: We are happy with the Bridgestone tyres and the choice we've made. We're confident that we have a very good race tyre. The performance and grip level is quite okay and we are happy with Ralf's qualifying position, where he is very close to fourth place. Still, being sixth is a good performance.
San Marino: Qualifying notes - Michelin
Jenson Button has qualified on the front row of the grid for the third consecutive Formula One race after posting a 1m 22.988s lap during qualifying for tomorrow's San Marino Grand Prix. The Englishman, who is the only driver to have lined up in the top three for all four world championship races this season, will start second, alongside Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher.
Several Michelin drivers are well placed ahead of tomorrow's race. Button's team-mate Rubens Barrichello will start third ahead of world championship leader Fernando Alonso, Juan Pablo Montoya, seventh) and Kimi Räikkönen.
Nick Shorrock, Michelin Formula One director: "This year, Michelin's main technical objective for Imola was to make tyres that performed more consistently over long runs than they did in 2005 and our engineers have clearly done a very good job. Obviously the race stints are shorter this season, but our tyres are generating strong first-lap pace while remaining very clean and consistent for 20 laps or more at a time.
"We knew we'd have to fight hard to repeat last season's San Marino Grand Prix victory and that will clearly be the case. It seems likely, though, that teams at the front of the grid have adopted a variety of strategies and we will have to see how things evolve tomorrow afternoon.
"Between them, our six partners have chosen to use three different Michelin specifications and we are confident that all will deliver sustained speed and consistency in racing conditions."
Nick Fry, CEO, Honda Racing F1 Team: "Michelin tyres are good both on qualifying and race distance” "Second and third positions on the grid are clearly great for us. The performance of our Michelin tyres has been exceptional all weekend and we've been very confident – not only for qualifying but also for the race tomorrow. We appear to have a tyre that is not only very strong over one lap, but also good throughout a race stint. We don't have any concerns at all, so thank you very much to Michelin."
SaBBz said:The Hondas are loving that sector 3 and I'm really glad Barrichello has done well in qualifying
Same here...
My fantasy F1 team is Alonso, Barrichello, Renault Chassis and Honda Engine.
So far Barrichello has been draggin me back *although I still lead the works pool.
*Simon/~Flibster
Schu's pole on a whiff of petrol
Ferrari's 'Tifosi' is rejoicing the red team's return to form, but paddock cynics still suggest that Michael Schumacher achieved his Imola pace on the mere whiff of petrol.
'I guess we are going to have to wait,' said Toro Rosso co-owner Gerhard Berger, who on Friday also accused Ferrari of running low fuel.
Schumacher, 37, achieved his 66th career pole - an outright record - on Saturday, despite failing to win any of the three grands prix in 2006.
At Imola, fuel strategy - basically the choice between two or three stops - plays a crucial role, with overtaking near-impossible. On paper, two stops is best, but getting early track position is also smart.
Cynics aside, there is a feeling that Schumacher's pace is genuine, but he is perhaps running a slightly shorter first stint and - almost certainly - the softer tyre. Williams and Toyota plumped for a harder Bridgestone spec.
BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld noted: '(Michael) was also very quick in the first and second phases of qualifying, where everyone goes with a light car.'
Fuel or no fuel, a lucky ace up Ferrari's sleeve is that Fernando Alonso is way down in fifth. Surely, Honda's Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello are light.
Renault's Flavio Briatore reckons Schumacher is, too, but added: 'If Ferrari win, it is good for F1.'
Klien cops whopping speed fine
Red Bull's Christian Klien endured an expensive qualifying session at Imola, after he was clocked at more than 100 kph in the pit lane.
The Austrian, logged by the FIA who regulate the 80kph limit, will need to cough up a whopping $5250 - $250 (US) for each errant kph.
He later blamed a malfunctioning speed limiter button as the cause of his shocking performance in qualifying (17th).
'(The limiter) came on during my out lap,' said Klien, embarrassingly knocked out in the first qualifying session, 'so when it switched back off I could not heat up my tyres for my lap.'
Ouch....
Dennis doubts Ferrari are title contenders
McLaren boss Ron Dennis still has doubts that Ferrari are back in the hunt for world championship glory - despite their return to form in the San Marino Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher has made the most of improvements to his Ferrari 248 F1 and a more suitable Bridgestone tyre to claim pole position for this afternoon's race at Imola.
But Dennis thinks that Ferrari's pace is not necessarily an indication of their potential for the rest of the season, and he believes that the title will still be a battle between his team and Renault.
"If you look at the Bridgestone runners, they have done a better job here," he explained. "We have had the better tyre at the previous three races, and you have to look at the difference between Michael Schumacher and the next Bridgestone runner.
"With fuel corrected data, that will give you the benefit of how much Ferrari have improved over the next Bridgestone runner. Clearly they have improved their car, and they have done a great job.
"But our target is the Renault. We were strong in the first two practices, and a more perfect lap from Kimi [Raikkonen] would show how close we were. Our first target is the first lap, then to finish, and then to finish well.
"I still feel that the world championship is going to be fought between two teams - but I might be wrong, and Ferrari could maintain the fight with Bridgestone."