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Team and Driver Quotes following Saturday Qualifying
(selected
team quotes, for a full team and driver report click on the team name) McLaren Mercedes ( Kimi Raikkonen -
1st, Juan Pablo Montoya - 4th ) RON DENNIS
"We are obviously proud
to be able to claim the first ever Formula One pole position in Turkey. Kimi did a good lap and considering that Juan Pablo had to
set his time early in the session fourth place is a satisfactory outcome. It will be an interesting race tomorrow and we believe we
have a strong package, which combined with what we hope to prove a winning strategy, will help to achieve the results we require at
this stage of the Championship." Full Team
and Driver Qualifying Report Back to Top Renault ( Giancarlo Fisichella
- 2nd, Fernando Alonso - 3rd ) Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
"To have both cars within the top three on the
grid is a very pleasing team result. It was not easy to get the tyres working well over a single lap this afternoon, but both
drivers did a very good job on their out-laps and got the most out of the car. Giancarlo was unfortunate to be delayed by
Barrichello at the end of his lap, which certainly cost him a couple of tenths, while without a mistake after being caught out by
the wind in sector 3, Fernando might have been on pole. But we have good grid positions, a good strategy: the stage is set for
strong performances from both drivers." Full Team
and Driver Qualifying Report Back to Top Toyota ( Jarno Trulli -
5th, Ralf Schumacher - 9th ) Dieter Gass - Chief Race Engineer
"I think we can be quite satisfied with our positions for tomorrow's
race. This morning we struggled to get the tyres to work. It obviously went a bit better in the afternoon with the higher
temperatures. But Jarno once again delivered for the team with a fine qualifying lap. It is a pity that Ralf had a small off in Turn
Nine, otherwise we could have taken over the third row. But both drivers are still in a good position for a strong race performance
tomorrow. They're both on the clean side of the grid, so our realistic target is two strong points finishes. It will be very
difficult to fight for a podium but we will try anyway." Full Team
and Driver Qualifying Report Back to Top Williams
BMW ( Nick Heidfeld - 6th, Mark Webber - 7th ) Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1):
It was a good
qualifying session for the team on this new circuit. It is such a great track, a real drivers’ circuit, which is what we could see
from the differences in qualifying. It is likely that we will see some good racing here tomorrow. We are okay on tyres, brakes and
cooling. Full Team
and Driver Qualifying Report Back to Top Sauber ( Felipe Massa -
8th, Jacques Villeneuve - 18th - No Time ) Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "Jacques was competitive in the first
sector on his qualifying lap, but overall the grip level was poor this afternoon and unfortunately he spun in Turn 8. Felipe did a
fine lap and given the poor track conditions was able to achieve a very good eighth place in difficult circumstances.
"As
any new track, we have used our computer simulation programme to evaluate initial circuit characteristics and requirements; until
track data became available from Friday practice sessions. The team has done a great job to find a well-balanced C24." Full Team
and Driver Qualifying Report Back to Top Red Bull ( Christian Klien -
10th, David Coulthard - 12th ) Christian Horner, Sporting
Director:
“Considering we went out first and second for today’s qualifying session, I think it’s a good result to have
Christian in tenth and David in 12th. Both have good strategies in place for the race and, as we showed competitive pace in our
longer runs this morning, I think we can look forward to an interesting afternoon tomorrow.” Full Team
and Driver Qualifying Report Back to Top Ferrari ( Rubens Barrichello -
11th, Michael Schumacher - 20th - No Time ) Jean Todt: “We were ready for a difficult
qualifying session, but the result was worse than we had expected. Michael spun in the second sector and did not complete his timed
lap, while Rubens could do no better than eleventh. The main problem we have had this weekend is the one we have been carrying
around since the start of the season, namely a considerable lack of grip, which makes itself most felt in qualifying. Given the
situation, we will now change the engine in Michael’s car. We can expect a tough race tomorrow and in many ways it will be a step
into the unknown, from reliability to tyre wear. Honestly, I think the most we can hope for is to get our cars home in the points.” Full Team
and Driver Qualifying Report Back to Top BAR Honda
( Jenson Button - 13th, Takuma Sato - 14th ) GIL DE
FERRAN, SPORTING DIRECTOR
"It is fair to say that we are disappointed with our qualifying result. Both drivers have been
running very well throughout the weekend, always at the sharp end of the timesheets, so we were obviously hoping for good grid
positions. Nevertheless, the fact that the cars have been running competitively still bodes well for the race tomorrow."
Full Team
and Driver Qualifying Report Back to Top Jordan
( Tiago Monteiro - 15th, Narain Karthikeyan - 19th - No Time ) ADRIAN
BURGESS, SPORTING DIRECTOR
“Tiago had a very good lap and we would like to congratulate him on his 15th position. Narain
did not complete his flying lap due to the engine changes we had to do this morning. We opted to only do an installation lap and
prepare everything for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. It is going to be an exciting race where anything could happen and hopefully, we
will be there at the end to pick up whatever is on offer.” Full Team
and Driver Qualifying Report Back to Top Minardi
( Christijan Albers - 16th, Robert Doornbos - 17th - No Time ) PAUL STODDART,
Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth
“It was an interesting start to qualifying, with Robert’s spectacular incident at the
entrance to the pit lane. Sadly, a brake pressure problem had left him with no choice but to abort his flying lap. Christijan, on
the other hand, with a substantial fuel load on board and what we believe is the correct choice of tyres for tomorrow’s race, put
in a steady performance, and will benefit from the strategy as the event progresses. Throughout this morning’s practice sessions,
everything went pretty much according to plan.”
Full Team
and Driver Qualifying Report Back to Top Bridgestone Hisao
Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport: “The track did gain a lot of dust this afternoon, hindering grip
levels. Rubens gave it his best effort but Michael spun so he didn’t set a qualifying time. Narain Karthikeyan and Robert Doornbos
didn’t experience the best of luck today either. All in all, this afternoon’s qualifying session did not go so well for the
Bridgestone runners. Nevertheless, we are expecting the picture to be better tomorrow for our drivers in race trim because this
track is tough on tyres and in the practice sessions we have been seeing consistent performances.” Full
Bridgestone Qualifying Report Back to Top Michelin Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin
motorsport director
“This has been enormously satisfying day for us, with all seven partner teams qualifying cars in the top
10, and I’m delighted with the way our tyres have performed on a track where we have never previously competed.”
“The race
appears to be very delicately poised. The circuit is clearly very challenging, partly because the frequent elevation changes affect
the load and the downforce levels and partly because we are using relatively stiff tyre constructions. As we have seen today, the
slightest mistake can be very costly and tomorrow’s 58-lap race promises to be especially gruelling.” Full
Michelin Qualifying Report Back to Top
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