Formula One news

Ferrari plot fight for victory from second

Two drivers on the front two rows: this is the outcome of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix for Ferrari, with Felipe Massa setting the second fastest time and Kimi Raikkonen the fourth. 

"Overall, it's a reasonably satisfying result," commented Stefano Domenicali. "Of course, we always hope to be ahead of everyone, but it's not always possible, especially as we are up against some very strong opposition, which we always knew was the case. When evaluating this session we also have to take into consideration that the difference in fuel loads, has a greater effect here than at other tracks. Tomorrow, apart from the usual factors (strategy, the work of the team and drivers, tyre performance over a distance,) the weather could play a key role. As always, we will be doing our utmost to bring home the best possible result."

Felipe Massa commented, "I did a great lap, but it was not enough to be on pole position. Today, we lacked a bit of speed compared to our main rivals but the race is very long and, over a distance, we know we can be very competitive and therefore we are capable of fighting for the win. The start? It will be difficult to do a repeat of Budapest, especially as the start-line straight is shorter than at the Hungaroring. Then, we will have to see what the various strategy choices are and obviously, how the weather evolves. If it was to rain, the race could be turned into a lottery."

Kimi Raikkonen added, "On my second run in Q3 I made a small mistake, running wide at Turn 7. A shame, as it cost me valuable time which would have seen me move slightly higher up the order on the starting grid. All the same, I am reasonably happy with my car, which seems to be behaving the way I like. Of course, I'm a bit disappointed, as I would have liked to have done better: fourth place is far from ideal to go looking for the win, but it doesn't mean I've given up hope. We know we have a good potential, especially in race trim. The weather will however be a key factor and we will have to try and assess it as well as possible."

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