Belgian GP: Ferrai qualifying report

F. Massa: 2nd 1.47.678 6 laps chassis 269
K. Raikkonen: 4th 1.47.992 6 laps chassis 271

Weather: air temperature 18/17 C, track temperature 18/17 C, covered skies.

Two drivers on the front two rows: this is the outcome of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, with Felipe Massa setting the second fastest time and Kimi Raikkonen the fourth. "Overall, it's a reasonably satisfying result," commented Stefano Domenicali. "Of course, we always hope to be ahead of everyone, but it's not always possible, especially as we are up against some very strong opposition, which we always knew was the case. When evaluating this session we also have to take into consideration that the difference in fuel loads, has a greater effect here than at other tracks. Tomorrow, apart from the usual factors (strategy, the work of the team and drivers, tyre performance over a distance,) the weather could play a key role. As always, we will be doing our utmost to bring home the best possible result."

Felipe Massa: "I did a great lap, but it was not enough to be on pole position. Today, we lacked a bit of speed compared to our main rivals but the race is very long and, over a distance, we know we can be very competitive and therefore we are capable of fighting for the win. The start? It will be difficult to do a repeat of Budapest, especially as the start-line straight is shorter than at the Hungaroring. Then, we will have to see what the various strategy choices are and obviously, how the weather evolves. If it was to rain, the race could be turned into a lottery."

Kimi Raikkonen: On my second run in Q3 I made a small mistake, running wide at Turn 7. A shame, as it cost me valuable time which would have seen me move slightly higher up the order on the starting grid. All the same, I am reasonably happy with my car, which seems to be behaving the way I like. Of course, I'm a bit disappointed, as I would have liked to have done better: fourth place is far from ideal to go looking for the win, but it doesn't mean I've given up hope. We know we have a good potential, especially in race trim. The weather will however be a key factor and we will have to try and assess it as well as possible."

Luca Baldisserri: "My compliments to Felipe, who did a fantastic lap on his second run in Q3. It's a shame that a mistake at Turn 7 probably cost Kimi at least one grid position. We knew our main rivals would be very strong, especially in qualifying, but we are still convinced that we can be on the pace tomorrow in the race, which is when the points are given out. It will be a tough race, in which it will be vital to manage any situations that might arise as well as possible. If it is run in the dry, it will be important to monitor how the tyres perform over a long distance, given that neither yesterday nor today was it possible to do a lot of laps consecutively. The F2008 worked well and also the performance of the tyres over the first timed lap was up to our expectations."

-credit: ferrari