Italian GP: Ferrari Saturday qualifying notes

Italian GP - Qualifying

Jean Todt:

"Qualifying was as close fought as it was exciting. The top six are all within half a second, which bears witness to how evenly matched it is, although we have to bear in mind the unknowns in terms of the various fuel loads. Michael drove a great lap, losing out on pole by just two thousandths. But what matters is his position relative to his rival in the title fight. A shame for Felipe, who could have been on the front row but for his encounter with traffic on his final run."

"We are perfectly aware just how important is the outcome of this race in terms of the fight for both titles. For our part, we know we can count on having a very competitive car and on the support of our technical partners, first and foremost, Bridgestone and Shell. The decisive factors tomorrow? The usual ones, which means reliability, tyre performance, strategy, team work and the bravura of the drivers."

"One element that is different here is that we can count on the support of our home fans who are here at this track in greater numbers than we have ever seen in one of our two home Grands Prix. Swelling their ranks are the members of our staff and their families and seeing them here cheering us on is very gratifying."

Michael Schumacher:

"The car worked well, running strongly and consistently and this is a good position to be in. But, it would have been nice to be on pole here at home in front of the tifosi and it was very close losing it by just two thousandths of a second, but tomorrow is the more important date."

"I am also happy for Nick, as it is nice to see another German on the qualifying "podium." Fernando? Of course it is better than if he was next to me or in front of me! It does not look too bad for the championship and it would be nice if tomorrow's result was like today's or hopefully even a little bit better."

Felipe Massa:

"Fourth place is not so bad, but it's a shame I was unable to exploit the full potential available to me. In fact, on Q3 on my last run, I came up behind Alonso who was also setting out on his quick lap. I lost at least three tenths! It's a shame, because I felt capable of putting it on the front row. But, having said that, I think that our strategy and our package we can expect a good result, which will be vital in the fight for the two titles."

Ross Brawn:

"We were very pleased with the car at the test and also so far this weekend. We have a strong strategy and I think it will evolve well during the race, so I am very happy with the way qualifying went for Michael. However, I am bit disappointed for Felipe, because he got held up by traffic in Q3 on his second run. A shame, as he could have improved, because he was quicker in T1 and T2 than on his earlier attempts."

"But the cars are very good, the Bridgestone tyre performance is consistent and we can also count on the support of an exceptional technical partner in the shape of Shell, so there is a lot to look forward to tomorrow, especially when you look at where our closest rivals are."

Michael Schumacher: 2nd
1:21.486, 10 laps
Chassis: 255

Felipe Massa: 4th
1:21.704, 10 laps
Chassis: 252

-credit: ferrari