24/05/2008
NEWS STORY
The grid for tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix will have an all-red front row, with Felipe Massa on pole position with Kimi Raikkonen alongside him. Not since 2000, when Michael Schumacher did it, has a Ferrari set the quickest time in qualifying on this track. And as for the last time two Maranello cars were ahead of the rest, one has to go back to 1979 and the pairing of Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve. This is Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's fourth pole of the season, the third for Felipe Massa. The Brazilian driver's pole tally now goes up to twelve, and the Scuderia's to 199, nine of them at this race.
Stefano Domenicali: "An all-red front row: we could not have asked for more from this qualifying session. In the past few weeks, we have said we would tackle this race with a different approach to usual and, at least up until now, we have reaped the rewards of this work that has involved the whole team. While we are well aware of the importance of qualifying at this track, the points only get allocated tomorrow. It will be a very tough race, which will be affected by the weather which is looking very uncertain. We will have to give of our best to build on this afternoon's result."
Felipe Massa: "Incredible! I have got pole on a track where I have always struggled. Now I am beginning to like it a bit more... I managed to do a perfect lap with a great car: this result shows that, if you work hard and with attention to detail, you can do it everywhere. After finishing the lap, nobody said anything to me on the radio and then, unexpectedly, Rob (Smedley, Felipe's race engineer) screamed, "incredible, you're on pole!" and I was laughing all the way around my in lap as I just couldn't stop. Now we have to maintain our concentration for the race tomorrow, which will be a very difficult one. It could rain which would complicate things even more. Starting at the front means I have the best possible conditions, but we will have to do everything perfectly. We worked a lot on the set-up to improve on the situation compared to past years and I think this decision has paid off."
Kimi Raikkonen: Obviously, I would have preferred to be on pole and there's no point denying it, but two Ferraris ahead of the rest is a great result for the team. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so the race could be a lottery and it might mean more overtaking opportunities, because in the dry the race risks turning into a boring procession. Overall, I am happy with the car: we just struggled a bit to get the best out of the tyres on the first timed lap, so that I was finding things a bit difficult through the first few corners on my second run in Q3. We had some doubts about our true potential on this track before the weekend, but this result confirms we have worked well and we have made a step forward compared to last year."
Luca Baldisserri: "An all-red front row at Monaco is a really great result and a good reward for all the work we did in preparing for this Grand Prix. Our level of performance has improved and starting ahead of the field puts us in the best possible position for tomorrow afternoon's race. We will have to be as well prepared as possible for all the various scenarios that could play out, especially considering the weather forecast which is for a strong chance of rain."