21 May: Monaco Grand Prix - Saturday Qualifying
Report - Ferrari
Qualifying session Rubens Barrichello: 10th 1.16.142 3 laps chassis 246 Michael
Schumacher: 11th 1.16.186 3 laps chassis 245 Temperatures: air 24/22° C, track 36° C
Jean Todt: “There is
not much to say: it was a very disappointing qualifying. We are a very long way off the quickest times, mainly due to a lack of
grip. In this modern era of Formula 1, overtaking is already difficult enough, but on this track it is virtually impossible, which
means that being down towards the back of the grid is a considerable handicap for the race. Obviously, anything can happen and we
know that, over a race distance, our package is more competitive than on the single lap. However, tomorrow we face an uphill
struggle, but we will not throw in the towel and will do all we can to get the most out of this situation.”
Rubens
Barrichello: “I had a good start to my lap, the balance of the car was reasonable, but the fact I did not make a run on new
tyres this morning meant I did not have a feel for them straight away. We knew we would be struggling particularly here at Monaco
with our one lap performance – a problem that has been with us all season. This is not a problem that we can sort overnight, even
if the work we have done has seen us improve by tenths of a second at a time. But this is not a disaster: I have won with Ferrari in
the past, I have lost with Ferrari in the past and we will win again. I don’t think we can improve much in second qualifying, but
we know that in the race, after fighting for grip on the opening lap, we will have a strong package.”
Michael Schumacher: “This
was definitely not a good session for us and obviously, I am disappointed. This morning we were only about 0.7 to 0.8 too slow, but
this afternoon the gap was much bigger. We know we are not so good when it comes to our one lap performance and the fact I went out
quite early in the session meant the track was very slippery and so it was even more of a handicap. Tomorrow’s qualifying will
probably be the same situation, with little chance to improve. However, in race trim the car is much better and we will have to see
what strategy we can come up with to make the most of that fact. In general terms, we just have to keep working hard to improve.”
Ross
Brawn: “The track here at Monaco always picks up a lot more grip as the session goes on and we did not go out at a very
good time. Having said that, we seemed to find even less grip than we had this morning, which indicates that the other cars running
on the track during our break did not help the situation. Our drivers were struggling to get grip on the first lap. We do have a
very good race set-up, but it is going to be a difficult afternoon, unless we can make up a few places in tomorrow morning’s
qualifying. The drivers are reasonably happy with the cars which are quite well balanced.”
