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After qualifying fro the
Belgian Grand Prix McLaren-Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen proved that
Michelin will be a threat in tomorrow's race by posting second fastest
time, 0.424s adrift of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher
Michelin cars monopolised the qualifying session and took nine of the top
twelve positions. It is the best qualifying position of Raikkonen's career
and he said: "Obviously I'm happy with my first Formula One front row but
I believe there was a chance to further improve my time at the end.
However there was sand on the track and also got the car a little out of
shape at the double left-hander because I was pushing very hard."
BMW WilliamsF1 driver Ralf Schumacher was fourth fastest ahead of
team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya, David Coulthard in sixth, Renault's Jarno
Trulli seventh, and Jaguar's Eddie Irvine gave the team a much needed
boost today by finishing eighth. "We have certainly gone quicker than even
we expected and all the credit must go to Michelin for producing a good
compound."
Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin Motorsport Director, responded to questions
regarding qualifying. :
You said yesterday that Friday's lap times don't necessarily reflect what
will happen for the rest of the weekend, but today's result was not too
dissimilar to yesterday's?
"True, except that today we did not set fastest time, That said, it was
extremely satisfying to see nine of our cars in the top 12. Most of our
partner teams have been consistently on the pace so far this weekend. The
race might produce a different story, of course, but so far I am very
pleased with the way both our dry-weather tyres have performed."
In yesterday's warm conditions most of your partner teams preferred your
softer, option (B) tyre. Will that be the only one used in the race?
"No. Both our compounds will be used tomorrow and I think the split is
about 50/50. If it stays dry it will be interesting to see what happens
with the temperature. It could have a significant influence on the race."
Technically have you learned very much today?
"Track conditions usually change dramatically during the course of a
weekend but at Spa they have not evolved a great deal since yesterday. The
latest data we have accumulated pretty much confirmed what we found out
during Friday's free practice."
Traditionally this is two-stop race, but the pit lane entry has changed
this year and drivers might lose more time entering the pits than they did
in the past. Have you seen anything that makes you think race tactics
might change?
"Based on the simulations we have, teams are likely to favour two stops.
You lose lots of time on a heavy fuel load here, 10 kilograms in weight
will cost you about four-tenths of a second per lap." |
