Formula 1
Brazilian GP: Michelin Saturday qualifying notes
RAIKKONEN ON FRONT ROW FOR MICHELIN ALONSO WELL PLACED FOR TITLE DEFENCE Kimi Raikk& ...
Published: Oct 22, 2006, 4:45 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
RAIKKONEN ON FRONT ROW FOR MICHELIN
ALONSO WELL PLACED FOR TITLE DEFENCE
Kimi Raikkönen (Team McLaren Mercedes) was the fastest Miche lin runner during qualifying for tomorrow's season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix. The Finn will start from the front row of the grid after lapping the high-speed, 4.309-kilometre (2.677-mile) Interlagos circuit in 1m 11.299s.
World championship leader Fernando Alonso (Renault/Michelin) will line up fourth as he pursues a second straight F1 world title. No matter what else happens tomorrow, a top-eight finish will be enough for the Spaniard. His championship rival Michael Schumacher starts 10th after suffering a technical problem.
Six Michelin drivers have qualified in the top 10. Raikkönen and Alonso will be joined by Rubens Barrichello (Honda, fifth), Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault, sixth), Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber, eighth) and Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber, ninth).
Michelin's day
Nick Shorrock, Michelin F1 director
"From a race perspective we feel very confident about our pace and consistency" "That wasn't one of the easiest sessions we've had this year. Our main rival is clearly very quick over a single lap but from a race perspective we feel very confident about our pace and consistency. Our tyres were not in their ideal operating window in this afternoon's warmer weather, but Kimi Raikkönen did a terrific job and Renault is in a very good situation as it chases another Formula One world title double."
"Between them, our partner teams will be using five Michelin products tomorrow a blend of five different casings and three different compounds. It has been a long, hard season but I'm sure our tyres will be as effective during the final 71 laps as they have been throughout the campaign."
Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One, Team McLaren Mercedes:
"Kimi Raikkönen did an excellent job for the team today and I believe we are set for a very exciting race tomorrow. We worked hard with Michelin to choose appropriate tyres for this race and we're very pleased with the results. We were able to develop strong first-lap pace and the tyres also proved to be very fast and consistent over longer runs. I expect both our cars to be competitive in the race."
-credit: michelin
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Brazil important race for Monteiro
Next article Massa takes home pole for Brazilian GP
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Robert Kubica
Missing out on Ferrari F1 drive felt like "bleeding" to Robert Kubica
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya GP
Missing out on Ferrari F1 drive felt like "bleeding" to Robert Kubica
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Formula 1
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
What would you like to ask Robert Kubica?
WEC
What would you like to ask Robert Kubica?
More from
Mercedes
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Mercedes: “We had people who hadn’t done a live pitstop for 15 years” in Singapore GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Mercedes: “We had people who hadn’t done a live pitstop for 15 years” in Singapore GP
Latest news
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Brazilian GP
11 min
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
Raul Fernandez still compromised after Indonesia finger injury: “I’m not at 100%”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
Raul Fernandez still compromised after Indonesia finger injury: “I’m not at 100%”
MotoGP can’t simply copy F1’s Drive to Survive success – Chase Carey
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
MotoGP can’t simply copy F1’s Drive to Survive success – Chase Carey
Marc Marquez's mind games with Jorge Martin: "If you're fast, you don't need team orders"
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
2 h
Marc Marquez's mind games with Jorge Martin: "If you're fast, you don't need team orders"
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe