The 2006 German Formula 1 Grand Prix
Moderators: cmlean, Ed, The Qualiflyer, The Heretic
Kimi Raikkonen on pole!
Michael second, Massa 3rd.
Button, Fisichella, Barrichello, Alonso, R Schumacher, de la Rosa and Coulthard make the top 10.
Full results
Michael second, Massa 3rd.
Button, Fisichella, Barrichello, Alonso, R Schumacher, de la Rosa and Coulthard make the top 10.
Full results
Last edited by Ed on Sun Jul 30, 2006 12:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Selected Driver and Team quotes from qualifying
Drivers
Kimi Raikkonen - Pole
McLaren - Ron Dennis
MF1 Racing - James Key
Drivers
Kimi Raikkonen - Pole
Michael Schumacher - 2ndIt was great to get pole today as the car has been working really well all weekend. We had some new developments at the test last week and it is clear that they have moved us in the right direction. Obviously today is only half the story, but I like this track, and we will have to see what happens in the race tomorrow. Unfortunately I went off the track on my last flying lap, I knew I was slower than on my first attempt, so I pushed a bit harder and ran out of space on the corner, it is one of those things, but it didn't make any difference.
Felipe Massa - 3rdWe know we can count on a very strong car-engine-Bridgestone tyre which should give us a good race pace, so we can be confident for tomorrow. We had no problems at all and things have gone well all weekend. The track will still rubber in a bit more, especially as it rained yesterday. My somewhat aggressive entry into the pits? Nothing strange, I was just in a hurry, but I had a bit of graining which prevented me from pulling off the manoeuvre the way I wanted, but in the end nothing happened and that was also the case when it comes to the incident with Fernando in Q3. In certain situations, for example when you are changing tyres at the same time as your team-mate, you cannot see everything clearly and you have to rely on the team as to when to pull away from the pit stop. Even though I have not had that much success in this race in the past, Hockenheim is one of my favourite dates on the calendar and I?m looking forward to racing tomorrow in front of so many of my fans.
Jenson Button - 4thThird place is definitely not bad, but I felt I could have done better. I had expected to be fighting for pole, after the car felt very strong on old tyres in this morning?s free practice. But at least the good pace I showed in race trim this morning means I can be optimistic for tomorrow. We have a very strong car-engine-Bridgestone tyre package and I hope everything turns out the way we expect it to, but the competition is very close so it will be a tough race.
Giancarlo Fisichella - 5thObviously this is a very positive qualifying result for us and I'm really pleased that I'll be starting from the second row tomorrow. We've looked competitive all through the weekend but I'd prefer to wait and see how the race pans out. Generally though I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I think it should be a great race.
Rubens Barrichello - 6thI think we did the maximum we could today with the engineers and on the track. Unfortunately though, some other cars were quicker this afternoon. There are some big gaps to the cars in front, so maybe we can expect some variation in strategy, but we will have to race hard whatever happens. It will be important to make a good start and then keep the pace. I am confident we will be quick on the long runs, so hopefully everything will come together in the race.
Fernando Alonso - 7thI really feel like I had a great lap today and I think our result shows that it's back to reality in a way. We had a difficult time in France but we are closer now to where we should be again. We had a much better test in Jerez and we seemed to have made some good progress with the car in a number of areas. I think we can translate today's qualifying into a positive performance tomorrow and we should be able to have a strong race with some good points for both of us.
Ralf Schumacher - 8thToday, I don't think we ever got our tyres working properly on the timed lap and even before the session, we knew it might be a little bit difficult for us this afternoon. Obviously, starting from seventh position makes our job quite a hard one, but I am still confident for tomorrow. I think we have competitive pace on the long runs, and now we need to believe in the choices we have made for set-up and strategy, and let the race unfold. Hopefully, we can make it to the podium tomorrow.
Pedro de la Rosa - 9thThe weekend was going well for me until Q3, when the unfortunate collision with de la Rosa caused me to lose a lot of time. It looked to me that he was opening the gap for me to overtake on the inside and then he just turned in the last moment, where I could not react anymore. These things can happen and are just normal racing incidents. It was just a shame because the performance until then was good and I was in third position. But I really thank the guys for working fast to get the car out again so that I move up to 8th place. I think we really could have qualified much better for tomorrow, but this position can also be promising for attaining points.
Scott Speed - 22ndQualifying three was a bit messy for me and ninth place is not what I expected after it had gone so well in the first two qualifying sessions. The car has been handling really well throughout the weekend and our Michelin tyres performed consistently. Unfortunately Ralf Schumacher hit me at the hairpin and consequently my right rear tyre blew, obviously this was a misunderstanding of both parties. When I came into the pits there was rubber from the incident in my brake duct which caused a small fire. However I am looking forward to the race where we should be competitive.
TeamsWhen you're running towards the back of the field, you have to find new ways to get media coverage and I guess I did that today! But seriously, I had been riding that kerb all weekend with no problem, but then today in qualifying, I didn't do anything different in the way I tackled it, but the car seemed to get much more upset and I lost control of it. At first, I kept my foot down on the throttle, because everything felt normal, but then I had a hard time bringing the car back into line and it spat me across to the outside. How bad is the car? I didn't look!
McLaren - Ron Dennis
Ferrari - Jean TodtPole is a very good position to avoid any first lap incidents and allows Kimi the ability to race in clean air. I'm sure Pedro would have done better if it hadn't been for his collision with Ralf Schumacher. As you expect the team is looking forward to a competitive race.
Honda - Gil de FerranIt was a very closely contested qualifying, especially in the final part when the drivers were fighting not only for pole but also to get the best track position from which to produce a quick lap. We are satisfied with this result, which sees us with one driver on the front row and the other on the second. Both Michael and Felipe produced a great performance and both the 248 F1 and the Bridgestone tyres were up to the task in hand. Now we come to the most important part of the weekend, which is of course the race. The factors that will decide the finishing order are the usual ones: reliability, tyre performance, team work, strategy and of course the performance of those at the wheel. With seven races to go to the end of the championship and with the gap we need to close up in both championships, it is clear what are our objectives. I hope with all my heart that we can reach them, both tomorrow and come the end of the season.
Renault - Pat SymondsWe had a good day today and are very satisfied with our qualifying performance . Both Jenson and Rubens did a great job. The hotter track temperatures today suited our car and tyres, and the team's hard work is starting to pay off. So far we have been able to improve a little with each session and the new engine specification is working well. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Toyota - Pascal VasselonFifth and seventh are certainly not the grid positions we had hoped for this afternoon, which is surprising as the balance of the car did not seem too bad for either driver. Rather, it was a question of grip today. Our tyres have started working better as the temperatures have risen this weekend, and a continuation of that trend tomorrow will certainly help our chances in the race.
Red Bull - Christian HornerUnfortunately we had an unexpected engine failure on Jarno's car during the third practice session. We decided to change to the T-Car to be ready in time for the qualifying sessions. Obviously today's qualifying session was quite difficult for us and did not go as we planned. We were expecting better results, and hoped to be as competitive as in Magny Cours with both cars in the top six. We started quite well with Jarno in Q1 having a fast time, but we decided to only go out once in Q2 to save new tyres. With Ralf everything was going fine until his contact with de la Rosa. In the end Ralf did a good job taking 8th place with the fuel load that he had. We look forward to an interesting race tomorrow and a hard fight for points.
Williams - Sam MichaelFor the second race in succession, David put in a solid qualifying performance and made it through into the top ten. Tenth and twelfth are respectable starting positions. I think that we've been reasonable through the weekend so far, and we'll obviously be looking to move forward from those positions during the race.
BMW Sauber - Mario ThiessenThe car is getting better and we just missed out on Q3 by half a tenth of a second. We took a few set-up decisions to suit race conditions, perhaps at the expense of qualifying pace, so we are expecting to have a strong race pace tomorrow. Everything else on the car has been steady and strong across all the sessions so far this weekend, so we are confident Mark and Nico will be able to race for points tomorrow.
Toro Rosso - N/AQualifying confirmed the impression we got after today?s free practice: we are not fast enough here. Obviously the restrictions on our aerodynamics have penalised us and dropped us back, but we will continue on our development work in this area. But first of all we will focus on the race. We now have the opportunity to adapt the race strategy and decide what fuel loads we will start with.
MF1 Racing - James Key
Super Aguri - Aguri SuzukiUnfortunately, we didn't get through to the second qualifying session, as we had at the last two races. It's disappointing, but then the entire weekend hasn't really gone our way so far. The red flag during the first session compromised everyone, but it certainly affected our drivers, because they were only able to get in one flying lap each. Tiago had traffic on his, which meant he didn't get the times in the second and third sectors that he wanted. Christijan just put a time in to see where we were, really, because obviously with the engine change, he's going to be at the back of the grid, anyway. He did fine, considering how we were running him. I think it's going to be an interesting race tomorrow.
Taku did a very good job in Qualifying today. However we must remember that this is not our complete SA06 package and that we still have to work very hard for every forthcoming race. Sakon set consistently good times this morning, but he pushed too hard towards the end. Hopefully both he and Takuma will have a good race tomorrow and we will have both SA06 cars cross the finish line here in Germany.
Kimi Raikkonen starts from Pole - his first for the season - with Michael Schumacher alongside.
Felipe Massa is 3rd with Jenson Button alongside him.
Giancarlo Fisichella is 5th with Rubens Barrichello alongside him.
Fernando Alonso is down in 7th with Ralf Schumacher alongside him.
The talk in the paddock is of different strategies, some on 2 stops and others on 3 stops.
Felipe Massa is 3rd with Jenson Button alongside him.
Giancarlo Fisichella is 5th with Rubens Barrichello alongside him.
Fernando Alonso is down in 7th with Ralf Schumacher alongside him.
The talk in the paddock is of different strategies, some on 2 stops and others on 3 stops.