Bericht
Der Brasilianer Felipe Massa startet am Sonntag beim letzten Rennen der Saison 2008 in seiner Heimat von der Poleposition vor Toyota Pilot Jarno Trulli und Teamkollege Kimi Räikkönen. WM – Favorit Lewis Hamilton wurde im Qualifying Vierter vor dessen McLaren Mercedes Teamkollegen Heikki Kovalainen. Fernando Alonso startet hinter seinem ehemaligen Teamkollegen von Startplatz Sechs. Siebter wurde Sebastian Vettel im Toro Rosso vor Nick Heidfeld (BMW – Sauber), Sebastian Bourdais (Toro Rosso) und Timo Glock im Toyota. Nelson Piquet startet im Renault als Elfter vor Mark Webber (Red Bull), Robert Kubica (BMW – Sauber) und David Coulthard, der in Brasilien sein letztes WM – Rennen fahren wird. Rubens Barrichello wurde Fünfzehnter. Schon im ersten Qualifying schieden Kazuki Nakajima (Williams), Jenson Button (Honda), Nico Rosberg (Williams) und die beiden Force India Piloten Giancarlo Fisichella und Adrian Sutil aus.
Somit hat Felipe Massa die Chance auf den Gewinn der Weltmeisterschaft vergrößert, nicht zuletzt wegen der guten Startposition von Teamkollegen Räikkönen und Jarno Trulli. Auch Lewis Hamilton wird es schwer haben, sich als Vierter gegen Fernando Alonso durchzusetzen, der immer wieder betonte, Massa im Rennen zu helfen.
Wir sicherlich ein spannendes WM – Finale.
[PIC1]
PRESSEBERICHTE
[PIC2]Felipe Massa, Ferrari (Startplatz 1):
"It's fantastic to have taken a third consecutive pole on this track and it's an incredible emotion to see everyone celebrating in the grandstands. I got a great lap on my first run in Q3 and I could have even not bothered to finish the second one, but you never know what might happen: I was the first to take the chequered flag and I would have looked stupid if someone had improved on my time. Anyway, I know I can count on a good strategy for tomorrow. The car is working very well and now I'm in the best possible position for the start. I will try and win: that is my aim. I'm not thinking about the rest, because it doesn't just depend on me or even on the team. I feel calm: there is so much expectation around me, but all this attention gives me a very positive energy which I will try and exploit tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Ferrari]
Janro Trulli, Toyota (Startplatz 2):
"Before coming here I knew this was one of those difficult, technical tracks where I could be strong and my car could be very competitive. So I have been preparing and waiting for this grand prix and now here I am. We have been competitive all weekend and I played my cards during qualifying, saving my tyres and getting ready for Q3. In the end I put in a really good lap. It's ironic because for the first time in my career I thought I might not make it on Friday because I was feeling really ill with flu. So after this result I have to thank the whole team for the job - the mechanics, the engineers and also to the doctor. I am really happy for everyone and this shows the progress we have made this season. Now we hope to finish on a high."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Toyota]
Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari (Startplatz 3):
"It wasn't a perfect qualifying but I am satisfied with my grid position, which puts me in a good position for the race. Starting from third is better than being second on this track. I am very confident for the race: we have a great car and the understeer that I suffered with today in Q3 should not be a problem tomorrow. We are well aware of what we have to do so that the team can reach its goals. We will try and get away in the lead and then run our race, as we did in 2007 and then we'll see where we are. Of course, we will need a bit of luck. The tyres are on the limit here in Interlagos and it will be important to manage them well: from this aspect we are in good shape."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Ferrari]
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes (Startplatz 4):
"Congratulations to Felipe for achieving pole position in front of his home crowd - he did a great job today. But, tomorrow, I will be focusing on my own race: it will be a tough afternoon but I’m comfortable with the fuel strategy we chose; the guys in front are probably on a different strategy. But we’re in a good position to finish in the same place as we are today - and that’s got to be our aim. We don’t need to do anything spectacular."
[Quelle: www.mclaren.com]
Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren Mercedes (Startplatz 5):
"I think we had a straightforward qualifying. My car felt good from the beginning of Q1 and the good balance and performance have been demonstrated by my overall fastest time in Q2. For sure, we'd rather be on the front row - however we'll have to see which strategy the competition in front of us will have in the race. We feel confident about our strategy and should have a solid baseline for a good race tomorrow."
[Quelle: www.mclaren.com]
Fernando Alonso, Renault (Startplatz 6):
"We thought that it would be very close and competitive this afternoon and we were not mistaken. We knew that it would be difficult to try and match the Ferraris and McLarens and so I think we have done our maximum this afternoon by qualifying in 6th place. I now hope that the strategy and the tyres work as expected so that we can have a strong race tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Renault]
[PIC3]Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Toro Rosso (Startplatz 7):
"Good to get both cars in Q3 for the final time this year. It was a fun session. I had a very strong lap in Q2. Then Q3 started very well and I got a good first run, but I’m not too sure where I lost the time on my second run, because I lost a bit of feeling for the tyres."
[Quelle: Scuderia Toro Rosso]
Nick Heidfeld, BMW - Sauber (Startplatz 8):
"Mein Qualifying war in Ordnung. In Q3 hatte ich gehofft, mich nach dem Wechsel von der härteren auf die weichere Mischung um mehr als die drei Zehntelsekunden, die ich geschafft habe, zu verbessern. Aber ich muss sagen, die Runde war gut, und mehr war offenbar nicht drin. Ich hoffe auf ein gutes Rennen morgen."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung BMW - Sauber]
Sebastien Bourdais, Scuderia Toro Rosso (Startplatz 9):
"Naturally, you want to end the season on a high note and this result is super, to be in Q3 again for the sixth time this season. Things have been getting better over the past few races and this performance today confirms that. My lap was probably the best Q3 lap I’ve done this year, so I am very happy. My first run in Q1 was a disaster and on the second one I caught a kerb, so I was really worried it was all over. Then in Q2 I just managed to do a good enough lap to make it into the top ten. Tomorrow, there’s a strong chance of rain and I think our strategy is flexible enough to deal with that."
[Quelle: Scuderia Toro Rosso]
Timo Glock, Toyota (Startplatz 10):
"We worked hard today to improve the set-up after the problems we had yesterday. In the end we found a decent balance this afternoon. During Q2 I found a good rhythm and the car felt quick. I made it under 1m 12s on my penultimate run but at the end of the session we went out again on a set of options. In hindsight we could have saved those tyres for Q3, which might have helped. The top ten is not bad but we could have achieved slightly more."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Toyota]
Nelson Piquet jr., Renault (Startplatz 11):
"It’s clear that I would have liked to reach Q3 today. The car was working well, I was comfortable and I pushed hard, but that wasn’t enough. The times are very close, just as we expect, but I must now concentrate on the race tomorrow where I will do everything to try and move forward and score some points."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Renault]
Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing (Startplatz 12):
"That was a disappointing day for us. We had a pretty good run yesterday, but we always knew it was going to be tight round here in terms of times and unfortunately we didn’t have enough pace to get through to Q3. I did the best I could, but it’s simple if you’re not fast enough you don’t go through."
[Quelle: Red Bull Racing]
Robert Kubica, BMW - Sauber (Startplatz 13):
"Das ist offensichtlich nicht die beste Ausgangsposition für das morgige Rennen. Das ist jetzt das zweite Wochenende hintereinander, an dem ich Probleme mit dem generellen Grip-Level habe. Ich starte von ziemlich weit hinten, und das Rennen wird extrem schwierig für mich."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung BMW - Sauber]
[PIC5][PIC4]David Coulthard, Red Bull Racing (Startplatz 14):
"I’m not really happy with that as my last F1 qualifying session. We went reasonably well here last year and got into the top ten, so we came here thinking that might be possible again. But, in the end, we didn’t manage to find enough grip in the middle sector. We are reasonably competitive in the first and last sectors, but in the middle we’re struggling, as the rear has been sliding, which loses us lap time, The tyres suffer a lot with graining here on the longer runs, we were hoping to keep it together for one lap and then do what we could in the race. Let’s see what we can do from there tomorrow."
[Quelle: Red Bull Racing]
Rubens Barrichello, Honda (Startplatz 15):
"Ich freue mich, dass wir es heute hier in Interlagos bis ins 2. Qualifying geschafft haben. Meine zweite Fahrt im 1. Qualifying war perfekt, und die Alternativreifen waren hervorragend. Leider konnten wir im 2. Qualifying nicht dieselbe Haftung erzielen, und der Wagen untersteuerte stark. Obwohl wir den Luftdruck änderten, konnten wir uns nicht verbessern. Hätte der Wagen nicht untersteuert, wäre ich vielleicht 14. oder sogar 13. geworden. Aber der Wagen befand sich leistungsmäßig am Limit."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Honda]
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams - Toyota (Startplatz 16):
"It was a difficult qualifying session for the team. The balance of the car was there, but the track conditions were quite different to this morning as the temperature was quite a lot higher and that didn’t help us. I was comfortable with my performance though based on the pace of the car and I didn’t make any mistakes. We just need to find some more speed."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Williams]
Jenson Button, Honda (Startplatz 17):
"Der Wagen ließ sich viel besser fahren als beim Training heute morgen, da die Vorderreifen besser hafteten. Leider unterlief mir ein Fehler bei meiner zweiten Runde in Kurve 4, und ich verlor etwas Zeit. Wir änderten vor meiner letzten Fahrt den Luftdruck, um die Haftung der Vorderreifen zu verbessern. Danach war ich schneller, aber nicht schnell genug. Jedenfalls blieb ich in meiner Inlap auf der Strecke stehen."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Honda]
Nico Rosberg, Williams - Toyota (Startplatz 18):
"On the option tyre, my car was really tough to drive. I just generally lacked grip on the rear. This was possibly because I couldn’t warm the tyres up properly due to traffic on my out lap. It could also have been caused by a compromise we made to the set-up before the session in order to help with our race performance."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Williams]
Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India (Startplatz 19):
"The balance felt pretty similar to this morning, but I had front locking and some oversteer
through the second sector, which affected the lap time. My second run was a little better, but
we struggled in particular through turns eight and ten. Perhaps I could have improved by a
couple of tenths, but it would not have made a great difference, maybe one position. We'll
look to the strategy to improve tomorrow and try to be flexible to be ready for whatever
comes."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Force India]
Adrian Sutil, Force India (Startplatz 20):
"I did three runs and even though each lap was quicker, I'm a little disappointed as my sector
times were quite good and I thought we could have done a 13.2 lap time, a couple of tenths
quicker. It would not have made a difference to our position, but at least we could have been
closer to the other cars in time. It's not been the best qualifying for us!"
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Force India]
[PIC6][PIC7]
Somit hat Felipe Massa die Chance auf den Gewinn der Weltmeisterschaft vergrößert, nicht zuletzt wegen der guten Startposition von Teamkollegen Räikkönen und Jarno Trulli. Auch Lewis Hamilton wird es schwer haben, sich als Vierter gegen Fernando Alonso durchzusetzen, der immer wieder betonte, Massa im Rennen zu helfen.
Wir sicherlich ein spannendes WM – Finale.
[PIC1]
[PIC2]Felipe Massa, Ferrari (Startplatz 1):
"It's fantastic to have taken a third consecutive pole on this track and it's an incredible emotion to see everyone celebrating in the grandstands. I got a great lap on my first run in Q3 and I could have even not bothered to finish the second one, but you never know what might happen: I was the first to take the chequered flag and I would have looked stupid if someone had improved on my time. Anyway, I know I can count on a good strategy for tomorrow. The car is working very well and now I'm in the best possible position for the start. I will try and win: that is my aim. I'm not thinking about the rest, because it doesn't just depend on me or even on the team. I feel calm: there is so much expectation around me, but all this attention gives me a very positive energy which I will try and exploit tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Ferrari]
Janro Trulli, Toyota (Startplatz 2):
"Before coming here I knew this was one of those difficult, technical tracks where I could be strong and my car could be very competitive. So I have been preparing and waiting for this grand prix and now here I am. We have been competitive all weekend and I played my cards during qualifying, saving my tyres and getting ready for Q3. In the end I put in a really good lap. It's ironic because for the first time in my career I thought I might not make it on Friday because I was feeling really ill with flu. So after this result I have to thank the whole team for the job - the mechanics, the engineers and also to the doctor. I am really happy for everyone and this shows the progress we have made this season. Now we hope to finish on a high."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Toyota]
Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari (Startplatz 3):
"It wasn't a perfect qualifying but I am satisfied with my grid position, which puts me in a good position for the race. Starting from third is better than being second on this track. I am very confident for the race: we have a great car and the understeer that I suffered with today in Q3 should not be a problem tomorrow. We are well aware of what we have to do so that the team can reach its goals. We will try and get away in the lead and then run our race, as we did in 2007 and then we'll see where we are. Of course, we will need a bit of luck. The tyres are on the limit here in Interlagos and it will be important to manage them well: from this aspect we are in good shape."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Ferrari]
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes (Startplatz 4):
"Congratulations to Felipe for achieving pole position in front of his home crowd - he did a great job today. But, tomorrow, I will be focusing on my own race: it will be a tough afternoon but I’m comfortable with the fuel strategy we chose; the guys in front are probably on a different strategy. But we’re in a good position to finish in the same place as we are today - and that’s got to be our aim. We don’t need to do anything spectacular."
[Quelle: www.mclaren.com]
Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren Mercedes (Startplatz 5):
"I think we had a straightforward qualifying. My car felt good from the beginning of Q1 and the good balance and performance have been demonstrated by my overall fastest time in Q2. For sure, we'd rather be on the front row - however we'll have to see which strategy the competition in front of us will have in the race. We feel confident about our strategy and should have a solid baseline for a good race tomorrow."
[Quelle: www.mclaren.com]
Fernando Alonso, Renault (Startplatz 6):
"We thought that it would be very close and competitive this afternoon and we were not mistaken. We knew that it would be difficult to try and match the Ferraris and McLarens and so I think we have done our maximum this afternoon by qualifying in 6th place. I now hope that the strategy and the tyres work as expected so that we can have a strong race tomorrow."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Renault]
[PIC3]Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Toro Rosso (Startplatz 7):
"Good to get both cars in Q3 for the final time this year. It was a fun session. I had a very strong lap in Q2. Then Q3 started very well and I got a good first run, but I’m not too sure where I lost the time on my second run, because I lost a bit of feeling for the tyres."
[Quelle: Scuderia Toro Rosso]
Nick Heidfeld, BMW - Sauber (Startplatz 8):
"Mein Qualifying war in Ordnung. In Q3 hatte ich gehofft, mich nach dem Wechsel von der härteren auf die weichere Mischung um mehr als die drei Zehntelsekunden, die ich geschafft habe, zu verbessern. Aber ich muss sagen, die Runde war gut, und mehr war offenbar nicht drin. Ich hoffe auf ein gutes Rennen morgen."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung BMW - Sauber]
Sebastien Bourdais, Scuderia Toro Rosso (Startplatz 9):
"Naturally, you want to end the season on a high note and this result is super, to be in Q3 again for the sixth time this season. Things have been getting better over the past few races and this performance today confirms that. My lap was probably the best Q3 lap I’ve done this year, so I am very happy. My first run in Q1 was a disaster and on the second one I caught a kerb, so I was really worried it was all over. Then in Q2 I just managed to do a good enough lap to make it into the top ten. Tomorrow, there’s a strong chance of rain and I think our strategy is flexible enough to deal with that."
[Quelle: Scuderia Toro Rosso]
Timo Glock, Toyota (Startplatz 10):
"We worked hard today to improve the set-up after the problems we had yesterday. In the end we found a decent balance this afternoon. During Q2 I found a good rhythm and the car felt quick. I made it under 1m 12s on my penultimate run but at the end of the session we went out again on a set of options. In hindsight we could have saved those tyres for Q3, which might have helped. The top ten is not bad but we could have achieved slightly more."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Toyota]
Nelson Piquet jr., Renault (Startplatz 11):
"It’s clear that I would have liked to reach Q3 today. The car was working well, I was comfortable and I pushed hard, but that wasn’t enough. The times are very close, just as we expect, but I must now concentrate on the race tomorrow where I will do everything to try and move forward and score some points."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Renault]
Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing (Startplatz 12):
"That was a disappointing day for us. We had a pretty good run yesterday, but we always knew it was going to be tight round here in terms of times and unfortunately we didn’t have enough pace to get through to Q3. I did the best I could, but it’s simple if you’re not fast enough you don’t go through."
[Quelle: Red Bull Racing]
Robert Kubica, BMW - Sauber (Startplatz 13):
"Das ist offensichtlich nicht die beste Ausgangsposition für das morgige Rennen. Das ist jetzt das zweite Wochenende hintereinander, an dem ich Probleme mit dem generellen Grip-Level habe. Ich starte von ziemlich weit hinten, und das Rennen wird extrem schwierig für mich."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung BMW - Sauber]
[PIC5][PIC4]David Coulthard, Red Bull Racing (Startplatz 14):
"I’m not really happy with that as my last F1 qualifying session. We went reasonably well here last year and got into the top ten, so we came here thinking that might be possible again. But, in the end, we didn’t manage to find enough grip in the middle sector. We are reasonably competitive in the first and last sectors, but in the middle we’re struggling, as the rear has been sliding, which loses us lap time, The tyres suffer a lot with graining here on the longer runs, we were hoping to keep it together for one lap and then do what we could in the race. Let’s see what we can do from there tomorrow."
[Quelle: Red Bull Racing]
Rubens Barrichello, Honda (Startplatz 15):
"Ich freue mich, dass wir es heute hier in Interlagos bis ins 2. Qualifying geschafft haben. Meine zweite Fahrt im 1. Qualifying war perfekt, und die Alternativreifen waren hervorragend. Leider konnten wir im 2. Qualifying nicht dieselbe Haftung erzielen, und der Wagen untersteuerte stark. Obwohl wir den Luftdruck änderten, konnten wir uns nicht verbessern. Hätte der Wagen nicht untersteuert, wäre ich vielleicht 14. oder sogar 13. geworden. Aber der Wagen befand sich leistungsmäßig am Limit."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Honda]
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams - Toyota (Startplatz 16):
"It was a difficult qualifying session for the team. The balance of the car was there, but the track conditions were quite different to this morning as the temperature was quite a lot higher and that didn’t help us. I was comfortable with my performance though based on the pace of the car and I didn’t make any mistakes. We just need to find some more speed."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Williams]
Jenson Button, Honda (Startplatz 17):
"Der Wagen ließ sich viel besser fahren als beim Training heute morgen, da die Vorderreifen besser hafteten. Leider unterlief mir ein Fehler bei meiner zweiten Runde in Kurve 4, und ich verlor etwas Zeit. Wir änderten vor meiner letzten Fahrt den Luftdruck, um die Haftung der Vorderreifen zu verbessern. Danach war ich schneller, aber nicht schnell genug. Jedenfalls blieb ich in meiner Inlap auf der Strecke stehen."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Honda]
Nico Rosberg, Williams - Toyota (Startplatz 18):
"On the option tyre, my car was really tough to drive. I just generally lacked grip on the rear. This was possibly because I couldn’t warm the tyres up properly due to traffic on my out lap. It could also have been caused by a compromise we made to the set-up before the session in order to help with our race performance."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Williams]
Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India (Startplatz 19):
"The balance felt pretty similar to this morning, but I had front locking and some oversteer
through the second sector, which affected the lap time. My second run was a little better, but
we struggled in particular through turns eight and ten. Perhaps I could have improved by a
couple of tenths, but it would not have made a great difference, maybe one position. We'll
look to the strategy to improve tomorrow and try to be flexible to be ready for whatever
comes."
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Force India]
Adrian Sutil, Force India (Startplatz 20):
"I did three runs and even though each lap was quicker, I'm a little disappointed as my sector
times were quite good and I thought we could have done a 13.2 lap time, a couple of tenths
quicker. It would not have made a difference to our position, but at least we could have been
closer to the other cars in time. It's not been the best qualifying for us!"
[Quelle: Presseabteilung Force India]
[PIC6][PIC7]
Fernando Alonso 
Lewis Hamilton 
Heikki Kovalainen 
Sebastian Vettel 
Sebastien Bourdais 
Mark Alan Webber 
Jarno Trulli 
Robert Kubica 
Kazuki Nakajima 
