24 September: Brazilian Grand Prix - Qualifying Report - McLaren Mercedes
Team McLaren Mercedes driver Juan Pablo Montoya will start tomorrow's Brazilian Grand Prix from second on the grid after setting
a time of 1:12.145. Kimi Raikkonen lines up fifth with a time of 1:12.781 after making a mistake in the first corner during his
qualifying lap.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA "An OK lap until the last corner really. I put the throttle down and all of
a sudden there was just no grip, and this probably cost me about two tenths of a second. It's frustrating, but that is what happens
at this track where the conditions are changing continuously. However, I'm really confident for the race as during practice this
morning we found a strong set-up and our package should be working really well, but I would have liked to be on pole though."
KIMI
RAIKKONEN "That was a shame. I came into the first corner and simply locked up and lost about 0.7 seconds. I pushed hard
for the rest of the lap, but that sort of thing does upset your rhythm a bit. However, I did what I could to make up for the
mistake, and I believe that without that I could have been on pole tomorrow. I now focus on the race where anything is possible. We
will just go for it and do what we can. Our strategy should be strong so we will see."
RON DENNIS "A great
performance from Juan Pablo. Kimi made a mistake which makes things a bit more of a challenge. However, our race strategy should
unfold in such a way that it will not be too much of a penalty. Clearly the most important thing now for both Juan Pablo and Kimi is
to have clean and strong opening laps to tomorrow's race."
NORBERT HAUG "Kimi went for it and lost seven
tenths at the first corner, so instead of a possible first row it's now the third- but it definitely could have been worse. Juan
Pablo did a great job going out early, when track conditions were far from ideal, achieving second position. Taking into account our
strategy second and fifth place are still a good basis to fight for victory tomorrow."
