Bericht
Der Brasilianer holte mit einer 1:38,989 in Valencia die Poleposition und verweis den WM – Leader Lewis Hamilton im McLaren Mercedes auf Startplatz 2. Massas Zeit war jedoch sehr überraschend, da der Ferrari – Pilot in den vorherigen Sessions und auch im Training nicht an die McLaren ran kam. Möglicherweise verhalf ihm ein leichteres Auto zu diesem Qualifying – Sieg? Auflösung: Sonntag ab 14:00 Uhr. Robert Kubica wurde im BMW – Sauber Dritter vor Weltmeister Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) und Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren Mercedes). Sebastian Vettel überraschte die Formel1 – Welt mit einem phantastischen Auftritt. Zweiter in Q1, Erster in Q2, und im Finale, möglicherweise schwerer als die Konkurrenz, Sechster. Eine Niederlage für das Mutterteam Red Bull, die sich hinter den Toro Rosso Piloten qualifizierten. Siebter wurde Jarno Trulli im Toyota vor Nick Heidfeld im BMW – Sauber, Nico Rosberg (Williams) und Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso). Startplatz Elf ging an Kazuki Nakajima (Williams), Zwölf an Fernando Alonso (Renault). Dreizehnter wurde Timo Glock (Toyota) vor Mark Webber (Red Bull) und Nelson Piquet (Renault). Schon nach dem ersten Qualifying war für Button (Honda), Coulthard (Red Bull), Fisichella (Force India), Barrichello (Honda) und Adrian Sutil (Force India) der Arbeitstag beendet.
PRESSEBERICHTE
Felipe Massa, Ferrari (Poleposition):
"It's great to be on pole position, especially after the great disappointment of Budapest, but I'm well aware the race is tomorrow and so there is still a long way to go. My first run in Q3 was very good and on the second I made a good improvement in the first sector and that's where pole came from. Today, the track was still very slippery, partly because of last night's rain. After this morning's free practice, I thought the harder tyres would be the most competitive in qualifying, but at the start of the session, I didn't feel as comfortable anymore and so we went for the softer compound. The team did a great job in preparing for this event and I want to thank them for giving me such a strong car. I hope we can have a good race tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Ferrari]
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes (Startplatz 2):
"We knew we had a great car and we didn't have any problems during qualifying. I felt really comfortable, and I decided to qualify with the option tyre. My first lap wasn’t perfect, and I lost almost one second compared with my second lap, but on my final lap everything went well. Second place on the grid is a good basis for tomorrow's race. However, Felipe Massa was significantly faster in the first sector, and I hope we’ll be able to improve there tomorrow. Our team did a great job, and I’m confident we’ll be strong."
[Quelle: www.mclaren.com]
Robert Kubica, BMW - Sauber (Startplatz 3):
"Es war ein sehr gutes Qualifying für unser Team und für mich. Nach zuletzt ein paar unglücklichen Rennen ist unser Auto hier in Valencia nicht schlecht. Trotzdem gibt es noch einen kleinen Rückstand zu Ferrari und McLaren. Im Qualifying lief alles ziemlich glatt, nur die Wetterprognose war etwas instabil. Am Ende hatten wir nur ein paar Regentropfen in Q2, die keinerlei Einfluss auf das Ergebnis hatten. Für mich war die Reifenwahl nach dem gestrigen Training klar: Ich habe in Q1 die härtere Mischung verwendet, in Q2 und Q3 die weichere."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung BMW - Sauber]
Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari (Startplatz 4):
"Fourth place is not what I was looking for, but it's definitely not the end of the world. I could have been higher up the grid but on my last run in Q3, I locked the wheels at a few points and lost valuable time: it was nothing dramatic, but at this circuit, a small error is very costly. I still think I can be in the fight for the win, especially if I manage to get a good start. We have a good car, which should be especially competitive in the race."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Ferrari]
Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren Mercedes (Startplatz 5):
"The balance of my car was good and we improved continuously throughout the sessions. However I’m a little disappointed with my fifth place on the grid as I didn’t make any mistakes and performed to the maximum. It’s now up to us to score as many points as possible and make a good start from the cleaner side of the grid. Our strategy should help us to gain positions during the race."
[Quelle: www.mclaren.com]
Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Toro Rosso (Startplatz 6):
"My best result ever so I am pleased, as it has taken a bit of time to improve on my P7 that I did in my first grand prix. It’s been a fantastic day for us. We made some changes to the set-up overnight and they all turned out to be positive. The team worked hard to make the most of the data. We didn’t expect to do this well here but it’s a good thing to have both cars in Q3. My last lap should have been a bit better, but I made a mistake in turn 12, locking the rear under braking. Now we have to keep our feet on the ground, because there are a lot of laps ahead of us tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the race when I think we have a real chance to score points."
[Quelle: Scuderia Toro Rosso]
Janro Trulli, Toyota (Startplatz 7):
"After our difficult practice yesterday, we completely changed my set-up for today. Then we had a gearbox oil pump problem this morning that meant I could not try it out. So in a way I was driving blind this afternoon but I used my experience, I concentrated very hard and I made it through into Q3. I made a mistake on my last run but I am still very happy with what we achieved today. I'm also delighted with the way the car is developing and the fact that we can always fight for the top ten and score points. That is again our target tomorrow. It's important and realistic and it will be an interesting race. Here, more than anywhere, anything can happen and it should be a great event."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Toyota]
Nick Heidfeld, BMW - Sauber (Startplatz 8):
"Platz acht ist nicht perfekt, aber ich denke, viel mehr war nicht drin, schließlich spielt auch das Sprit-Gewicht eine Rolle. In Q1 glaubte ich schon an ein Déja-vu, als mir Timo Glock im Weg stand. Bei uns im Team bekommen wir über Funk gesagt, um wie viel Sekunden hinter uns ein schnelles Auto kommt und wann wir Platz machen müssen. Anscheinend funktioniert das nicht in allen Teams so. Ich fürchtete schon, mein Qualifying sei ruiniert, aber zum Glück konnte ich direkt noch eine zweite Runde fahren, die schnell genug war. Q2 lief gut, da war ich Drittschnellster. Man hat gesehen, dass die Pace da ist. Insgesamt bin ich heute viel zufriedener mit meinem Auto. Am Freitag kam ich überhaupt nicht zurecht, seither haben wir stark umgebaut."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung BMW - Sauber]
Nico Rosberg, Williams - Toyota (Startplatz 9):
"It’s been a few races since we managed to get into the top ten, so this is a good result
for us. We’d obviously always want to do better, but this shows we’ve made a step in the
right direction and that’s satisfying. We had a better understanding of where we had to
improve, so we’ve made those changes which gave us a more competitive car today.
We have a good strategy for the race so anything is possible. Today has been positive
which gives me hope for points tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Williams]
Sebastien Bourdais, Scuderia Toro Rosso (Startplatz 10):
"This wasn’t bad. I am still having my problem of not finding grip on the “option” tyre, so we need to work on that. But I am happy that our performance is getting better. I’m really pleased to be in Q3 for the first time. It’s a good feeling as I kept waiting to hear that I dropped down to 11 or 12! What we have seen here is that, on a new track, some teams have worked in the right direction and some have not. The team did a good job of giving me a car that was one of the best today. Now it is up to me to get the most out of it in the race. It’s bound to be a tough race but I hope to be in a position to fight for points after making a good start."
[Quelle: Scuderia Toro Rosso]
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams - Toyota (Startplatz 11):
"It was a good qualifying for us as both cars are close in the midfield. It was a shame to
miss out on Q3, but actually P11 is not a bad place to start the race from because we
can select our fuel level. I’ll also be on the clean side of the track tomorrow so, all in all, it
was a positive qualifying session for us. "
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Williams]
Fernando Alonso, Renault (Startplatz 12):
"I am understandably disappointed with the qualifying session because I had other hopes for today. The race tomorrow will therefore be more difficult, but, as we are on a street course, anything is possible in the race. We must continue working hard this evening to try and work out the best strategy that will allow us to be ready for all eventualities tomorrow, such as a safety car period, which seems quite likely."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Renault]
Timo Glock, Toyota (Startplatz 13):
"I don't know what went wrong but I just didn't get the lap together in the second session and that was that. We definitely had the chance to be higher, in the top ten, but it was a difficult qualifying in the end. For me the prime tyres seemed to work better but I struggled to get temperature into the tyres in the first sector of my last lap in Q2. So it was just not my day today. I had a heavy cold overnight and didn't feel particularly well, but no excuses. I think the car was good enough but it just didn't work out. Of course we will do our best to make up positions tomorrow. There could be safety car periods so we will aim to make the most of our freedom with the strategy."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Toyota]
Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing (Startplatz 14):
"We’ve struggled for speed for most of the weekend. It’s a new venue here, which brings variety to the positions, but we don’t seem to have the pace we had a few races ago, which is quite frustrating. There were a few laps I was pleased with, but we didn’t make it through to Q3."
[Quelle: Red Bull Racing]
Nelson Piquet jr., Renault (Startplatz 15):
"I am disappointed with my qualifying, and I could probably have set a better time this afternoon. I don’t think our result shows our true pace because Fernando also failed to reach Q3 when we both had the potential. I will now work with my engineers and prepare for an aggressive race to move up through the field tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Renault]
Jenson Button, Honda (Startplatz 16):
"It was a really disappointing qualifying today, particularly as we have been quick all weekend. My first run on the prime tyres was good but we simply chose the wrong tyre for my final run in Q1. I had no grip with the option and it just wasn't very competitive for us. My final run was slower than my prime run, which shouldn't happen on a circuit which is improving all the time. I'm really disappointed as we have improved the car but today we didn’t make the most of that."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Honda]
David Coulthard, Red Bull Racing (Startplatz 17):
"I expected to be able to make it through that first part of qualifying. On my last run, I ran wide in Turn 5 and dropped about four tenths, although I pulled two tenths back, the net loss over the whole lap meant it wasn’t enough to go through. It’s just the way these qualifying sessions go. That was probably one my messiest sessions and I’m disappointed."
[Quelle: Red Bull Racing]
Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India (Startplatz 18):
"I really tried my hardest on that lap. I think I got the maximum out of the car and the best time
we could do, and in the end we are only 1.3secs from the fastest time of the session. It just
shows how close everything is now, but I don't think we could have done anything more. It
was a fantastic effort from the team and the car felt good. It could be an unpredictable race
tomorrow, so let's see how it goes."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Force India]
Rubens Barrichello, Honda (Startplatz 19):
"It has been an incredibly frustrating day for us today. We were not able to find a balance on the car in practice this morning which affected our preparations for qualifying. This afternoon I particularly struggled with rear locking which cost me a lot of time as I wasn’t able to attack the lap. It's very disappointing to be starting the first race here from so far back on the grid."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Honda]
Adrian Sutil, Force India (Startplatz 20):
"The first run was OK, the track was improving and the grip level was getting better with every
lap. On the second run I had a good lap, except for a small mistake in Turn 14 where I lost
two to three tenths, but it was still not bad. Then on the last run I had some problems with the
traffic on my out lap and couldn't warm up the tyres, so they weren't ready for the first couple
of corners so I locked up in the first corner. That's why I couldn't improve my lap time, which
was for sure disappointing as the final run is always the quickest and I couldn't improve my
time. So last on the grid, let's see for tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Force India]
Felipe Massa, Ferrari (Poleposition):
"It's great to be on pole position, especially after the great disappointment of Budapest, but I'm well aware the race is tomorrow and so there is still a long way to go. My first run in Q3 was very good and on the second I made a good improvement in the first sector and that's where pole came from. Today, the track was still very slippery, partly because of last night's rain. After this morning's free practice, I thought the harder tyres would be the most competitive in qualifying, but at the start of the session, I didn't feel as comfortable anymore and so we went for the softer compound. The team did a great job in preparing for this event and I want to thank them for giving me such a strong car. I hope we can have a good race tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Ferrari]
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes (Startplatz 2):
"We knew we had a great car and we didn't have any problems during qualifying. I felt really comfortable, and I decided to qualify with the option tyre. My first lap wasn’t perfect, and I lost almost one second compared with my second lap, but on my final lap everything went well. Second place on the grid is a good basis for tomorrow's race. However, Felipe Massa was significantly faster in the first sector, and I hope we’ll be able to improve there tomorrow. Our team did a great job, and I’m confident we’ll be strong."
[Quelle: www.mclaren.com]
Robert Kubica, BMW - Sauber (Startplatz 3):
"Es war ein sehr gutes Qualifying für unser Team und für mich. Nach zuletzt ein paar unglücklichen Rennen ist unser Auto hier in Valencia nicht schlecht. Trotzdem gibt es noch einen kleinen Rückstand zu Ferrari und McLaren. Im Qualifying lief alles ziemlich glatt, nur die Wetterprognose war etwas instabil. Am Ende hatten wir nur ein paar Regentropfen in Q2, die keinerlei Einfluss auf das Ergebnis hatten. Für mich war die Reifenwahl nach dem gestrigen Training klar: Ich habe in Q1 die härtere Mischung verwendet, in Q2 und Q3 die weichere."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung BMW - Sauber]
Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari (Startplatz 4):
"Fourth place is not what I was looking for, but it's definitely not the end of the world. I could have been higher up the grid but on my last run in Q3, I locked the wheels at a few points and lost valuable time: it was nothing dramatic, but at this circuit, a small error is very costly. I still think I can be in the fight for the win, especially if I manage to get a good start. We have a good car, which should be especially competitive in the race."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Ferrari]
Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren Mercedes (Startplatz 5):
"The balance of my car was good and we improved continuously throughout the sessions. However I’m a little disappointed with my fifth place on the grid as I didn’t make any mistakes and performed to the maximum. It’s now up to us to score as many points as possible and make a good start from the cleaner side of the grid. Our strategy should help us to gain positions during the race."
[Quelle: www.mclaren.com]
Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Toro Rosso (Startplatz 6):
"My best result ever so I am pleased, as it has taken a bit of time to improve on my P7 that I did in my first grand prix. It’s been a fantastic day for us. We made some changes to the set-up overnight and they all turned out to be positive. The team worked hard to make the most of the data. We didn’t expect to do this well here but it’s a good thing to have both cars in Q3. My last lap should have been a bit better, but I made a mistake in turn 12, locking the rear under braking. Now we have to keep our feet on the ground, because there are a lot of laps ahead of us tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the race when I think we have a real chance to score points."
[Quelle: Scuderia Toro Rosso]
Janro Trulli, Toyota (Startplatz 7):
"After our difficult practice yesterday, we completely changed my set-up for today. Then we had a gearbox oil pump problem this morning that meant I could not try it out. So in a way I was driving blind this afternoon but I used my experience, I concentrated very hard and I made it through into Q3. I made a mistake on my last run but I am still very happy with what we achieved today. I'm also delighted with the way the car is developing and the fact that we can always fight for the top ten and score points. That is again our target tomorrow. It's important and realistic and it will be an interesting race. Here, more than anywhere, anything can happen and it should be a great event."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Toyota]
Nick Heidfeld, BMW - Sauber (Startplatz 8):
"Platz acht ist nicht perfekt, aber ich denke, viel mehr war nicht drin, schließlich spielt auch das Sprit-Gewicht eine Rolle. In Q1 glaubte ich schon an ein Déja-vu, als mir Timo Glock im Weg stand. Bei uns im Team bekommen wir über Funk gesagt, um wie viel Sekunden hinter uns ein schnelles Auto kommt und wann wir Platz machen müssen. Anscheinend funktioniert das nicht in allen Teams so. Ich fürchtete schon, mein Qualifying sei ruiniert, aber zum Glück konnte ich direkt noch eine zweite Runde fahren, die schnell genug war. Q2 lief gut, da war ich Drittschnellster. Man hat gesehen, dass die Pace da ist. Insgesamt bin ich heute viel zufriedener mit meinem Auto. Am Freitag kam ich überhaupt nicht zurecht, seither haben wir stark umgebaut."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung BMW - Sauber]
Nico Rosberg, Williams - Toyota (Startplatz 9):
"It’s been a few races since we managed to get into the top ten, so this is a good result
for us. We’d obviously always want to do better, but this shows we’ve made a step in the
right direction and that’s satisfying. We had a better understanding of where we had to
improve, so we’ve made those changes which gave us a more competitive car today.
We have a good strategy for the race so anything is possible. Today has been positive
which gives me hope for points tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Williams]
Sebastien Bourdais, Scuderia Toro Rosso (Startplatz 10):
"This wasn’t bad. I am still having my problem of not finding grip on the “option” tyre, so we need to work on that. But I am happy that our performance is getting better. I’m really pleased to be in Q3 for the first time. It’s a good feeling as I kept waiting to hear that I dropped down to 11 or 12! What we have seen here is that, on a new track, some teams have worked in the right direction and some have not. The team did a good job of giving me a car that was one of the best today. Now it is up to me to get the most out of it in the race. It’s bound to be a tough race but I hope to be in a position to fight for points after making a good start."
[Quelle: Scuderia Toro Rosso]
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams - Toyota (Startplatz 11):
"It was a good qualifying for us as both cars are close in the midfield. It was a shame to
miss out on Q3, but actually P11 is not a bad place to start the race from because we
can select our fuel level. I’ll also be on the clean side of the track tomorrow so, all in all, it
was a positive qualifying session for us. "
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Williams]
Fernando Alonso, Renault (Startplatz 12):
"I am understandably disappointed with the qualifying session because I had other hopes for today. The race tomorrow will therefore be more difficult, but, as we are on a street course, anything is possible in the race. We must continue working hard this evening to try and work out the best strategy that will allow us to be ready for all eventualities tomorrow, such as a safety car period, which seems quite likely."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Renault]
Timo Glock, Toyota (Startplatz 13):
"I don't know what went wrong but I just didn't get the lap together in the second session and that was that. We definitely had the chance to be higher, in the top ten, but it was a difficult qualifying in the end. For me the prime tyres seemed to work better but I struggled to get temperature into the tyres in the first sector of my last lap in Q2. So it was just not my day today. I had a heavy cold overnight and didn't feel particularly well, but no excuses. I think the car was good enough but it just didn't work out. Of course we will do our best to make up positions tomorrow. There could be safety car periods so we will aim to make the most of our freedom with the strategy."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Toyota]
Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing (Startplatz 14):
"We’ve struggled for speed for most of the weekend. It’s a new venue here, which brings variety to the positions, but we don’t seem to have the pace we had a few races ago, which is quite frustrating. There were a few laps I was pleased with, but we didn’t make it through to Q3."
[Quelle: Red Bull Racing]
Nelson Piquet jr., Renault (Startplatz 15):
"I am disappointed with my qualifying, and I could probably have set a better time this afternoon. I don’t think our result shows our true pace because Fernando also failed to reach Q3 when we both had the potential. I will now work with my engineers and prepare for an aggressive race to move up through the field tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Renault]
Jenson Button, Honda (Startplatz 16):
"It was a really disappointing qualifying today, particularly as we have been quick all weekend. My first run on the prime tyres was good but we simply chose the wrong tyre for my final run in Q1. I had no grip with the option and it just wasn't very competitive for us. My final run was slower than my prime run, which shouldn't happen on a circuit which is improving all the time. I'm really disappointed as we have improved the car but today we didn’t make the most of that."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Honda]
David Coulthard, Red Bull Racing (Startplatz 17):
"I expected to be able to make it through that first part of qualifying. On my last run, I ran wide in Turn 5 and dropped about four tenths, although I pulled two tenths back, the net loss over the whole lap meant it wasn’t enough to go through. It’s just the way these qualifying sessions go. That was probably one my messiest sessions and I’m disappointed."
[Quelle: Red Bull Racing]
Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India (Startplatz 18):
"I really tried my hardest on that lap. I think I got the maximum out of the car and the best time
we could do, and in the end we are only 1.3secs from the fastest time of the session. It just
shows how close everything is now, but I don't think we could have done anything more. It
was a fantastic effort from the team and the car felt good. It could be an unpredictable race
tomorrow, so let's see how it goes."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Force India]
Rubens Barrichello, Honda (Startplatz 19):
"It has been an incredibly frustrating day for us today. We were not able to find a balance on the car in practice this morning which affected our preparations for qualifying. This afternoon I particularly struggled with rear locking which cost me a lot of time as I wasn’t able to attack the lap. It's very disappointing to be starting the first race here from so far back on the grid."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Honda]
Adrian Sutil, Force India (Startplatz 20):
"The first run was OK, the track was improving and the grip level was getting better with every
lap. On the second run I had a good lap, except for a small mistake in Turn 14 where I lost
two to three tenths, but it was still not bad. Then on the last run I had some problems with the
traffic on my out lap and couldn't warm up the tyres, so they weren't ready for the first couple
of corners so I locked up in the first corner. That's why I couldn't improve my lap time, which
was for sure disappointing as the final run is always the quickest and I couldn't improve my
time. So last on the grid, let's see for tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Force India]
Robert Kubica 
Nico Rosberg 
Sebastien Bourdais 
Kazuki Nakajima 
Felipe Massa 
Lewis Hamilton 
Mark Alan Webber 
Heikki Kovalainen 
Giancarlo Fisichella 
