The 2006 French Formula 1 Grand Prix
Moderators: cmlean, Ed, The Qualiflyer, The Heretic
Top 3 improves their times but the order remains with Michael Schumacher on pole followed by Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.
Jarno Trulli is 4th with Ralf Schumacher in 5th ahead of Raikkonen, Fisichella, de la Rosa, Rosberg and Coulthard.
Full results
Jarno Trulli is 4th with Ralf Schumacher in 5th ahead of Raikkonen, Fisichella, de la Rosa, Rosberg and Coulthard.
Full results
Selected Driver and Team quotes following qualifying:
Michael Schumacher - Pole
Ferrari - Jean Todt
MF1 Racing - James Key
Michael Schumacher - Pole
Felipe Massa - 2ndI am very happy! Pole position with Felipe starting alongside me ? we cannot ask for more! I have to admit I am a bit surprised at the result, especially in light of the fact we started qualifying without much of a reference point after the problems we had this morning in practice. I want to thank all the mechanics, who did a fantastic job to fix the car. The Bridgestones are performing very well. It?s great to have repeated the Indianapolis qualifying result, but now I also want to repeat the race result from there, as it is important to pick up as many points as possible. Our aim for tomorrow is obvious: to win.
Fernando Alonso - 3rdThis morning I had a clutch problem, which the team was able to fix, but only just before the start of qualifying. A big thank you to the mechanics for doing a fantastic job in getting the car ready in time. The car seems to be working well, it is competitive, as are the Bridgestone tyres. I am very happy to be on the front row for the second time in a row, my third this season. For tomorrow, having new tyres in the race will make a big difference so it will be interesting to see who will have that advantage. In practice we were competitive on used tyres and I hope we can maintain a good pace in tomorrow?s high temperatures over the long runs so that we can stay in front.
Jarno Trulli - 4thI am pleased with third position, because after Indianapolis I think it is important for me to be among the top cars in qualifying. We knew that Ferrari would be very competitive on a single lap, but I did my maximum today and I am feeling confident for the race. The conditions out there were very hot, and we expect similar temperatures for tomorrow, so we will need to see how the tyre performance evolves ? but so far, the Michelins have looked consistent on the longer runs. Qualifying was quite enjoyable today ? I had a little battle with Michael in the third part because we both wanted to have a clear track for the fuel burning laps, and it was fun to pass each other. The real business comes tomorrow though. The grip levels will be improving all the way through the race so we need to wait and see how things develop.
Ralf Schumacher - 5thIn the last few months the team has been working really hard and by consequence we have a good car at the moment. We have been quick all weekend and I'm pleased to be 4th here so thanks to all the Toyota team. It looks like the tyres are very competitive as well so thanks to Bridgestone which is also doing a very good job. The change from 20 minutes to 15 minutes in Q3 doesn't really affect anything for the driver, it just means a bit less time for burning fuel. I made a few mistakes on my fastest lap so I probably could have done better. But we have a strong package and everything has gone well here so far so I just hope for another good race tomorrow.
Kimi Raikkonen - 6thThe whole weekend we have shown that the car has been performing well and up to speed, so it has been a good two days for us. I'm sure that Bridgestone again has the upper hand on the tyre front but as a team we have also done a good job. My sessions went pretty smoothly today. I lost a bit of time on my first lap in Q1 due to traffic but the second lap was clear. Q2 went better and I was able to post the second quickest time. My last lap in Q3 was also pretty pain-free and considering the strategy that we have we can be quite satisfied. We are confident about our race pace so now let's see what we can achieve tomorrow.
Giancarlo Fisichella - 7thI am pretty happy with the performance of the car, we could be a little faster and there are a few things that could improve. However, with our Michelin tyre choice I expect a stable race performance, and a podium result is what I am aiming for. Otherwise I had an uneventful qualifying.
Pedro de la Rosa - 8thWe have been working with the race in mind all weekend, and I am confident that I have a good race set-up on the car. I had some understeer all around the lap in qualifying that we couldn't get rid of, and that definitely cost me time. But ultimately, the race performance is what counts and I think we are in a strong position with the consistency of our Michelin tyres. I am confident that even from seventh, we can use a good strategy to make up positions and score lots of points. It will be nice to make up some places at the start if I can, but I think things may well unfold in our favour tomorrow.
Nico Rosberg - 9th (drops to 19th due to engine change)That was quite interesting from my point of view, especially towards the end when it gets very busy on track. I could have been a bit quicker, but I had a lot of traffic coming out of the pit-lane as I started my last lap on fresh tyres, and I lost nearly four tenths on the high speed turn three. With this qualifying system, which is new to me, you can not afford to have the slightest problem to qualify at the top. We made some changes to the car and as a result it is handling a lot better than yesterday, so I am looking forward to the race and hopefully scoring some points for the team
Jacques Villeneuve - 18thI am pleased because it was quite a good qualifying for me today, even if my last flying lap wasn?t perfect. Even if I had managed a perfect lap, it wouldn?t have made a difference anyway because the gap to eighth place is pretty big. Dropping 10 places because we had to change the engine isn?t ideal, but I?ve shown in previous races that I can work my way through the field. Our Bridgestone tyres have proved to work well here and that gives us confidence for tomorrow?s race.
Jenson Button - 19thThis was very disappointing because the car is quick. After this morning we decided to go aggressively with our tyres for qualifying. We took a risk with the choice but I had traffic on both my laps. Starting from the back could really kill our race, but we will still keep working until the end as you never know what happens.
TeamsI had my run ruined by traffic today in the first session which is obviously very disappointing. Having said that, the car just wasn't quick enough and we were not on the pace for the quick qualifying lap. It would have been nice to do two new tyre runs in the first session but we didn't have time. It's a shame because this is one of the circuits that I really enjoy but we'll just have to see if we can fight our way through from the back and salvage something from the weekend.
Ferrari - Jean Todt
Renault - Pat SymondsA fantastic qualifying! Tomorrow on the grid, it will be nice to see two Ferraris on the front row for the third time this season. A big vote of thanks to Bridgestone, who have provided us with exceptional tyres for qualifying. The team did a really excellent job, repairing the cars after the problems we had in the final free practice session. But we are well aware that the only thing that matters for the championships is the race result. Yes, having both cars on the front row means we are in the best possible situation to bring home a good result tomorrow, but we also know what key factors will make the difference: reliability (remember that we will run 70 laps in very high temperatures,) consistent tyre performance, strategy and the way the team handles the pit-stops.
Toyota - Pascal VasselonThe team's target for this afternoon was to get both cars on the front two rows, and we only partially achieved it. However, as is usual with our team, we have not compromised our optimum race strategy for grid position. So far this weekend, the Michelin tyres have withstood the demands of extremely hot track temperatures very well, offering good performance on a single lap and excellent consistency. We are certainly confident that Fernando can have a strong race against Ferrari, and that we can call on some strategic options that will help Giancarlo turn the race to his advantage.
McLaren - Ron DennisIt's obviously very satisfying to record our best qualifying performance of the season so that was a good day's work. When we introduced the TF106B in Monaco we announced that it would provide the platform for regular aerodynamic upgrades. Since then we have adapted our aero package at every race and now we are reaping the rewards. The whole weekend has actually gone very smoothly so far because our performance has been very consistent in all the practice sessions. So we already knew yesterday that we had a good chance to perform well and this is where we expected to be on the grid. This morning's practice session went well and as usual we stayed on used tyres to assess the race performance. In qualifying we had no major issues with traffic and both drivers put in good laps. We are also very happy with our Bridgestone tyres, which are consistent and also showed this afternoon that they have good first lap pace. So far so good, then, and now we can look forward to what will be an interesting race tomorrow.
Williams - Sam MichaelNot a bad qualifying for us and, as is often the case for everyone we encountered a lot of traffic. The grid positions reflect the tyre competition. This will be an important factor in the race, and we expect that our selected Michelins will enable us to be strong tomorrow.
Red Bull - Christian HornerIt?s a much tighter grid than at the last race. We decided to do an engine change on Nico's car before qualifying, due to us over-revving the engine during previous running. As he will take a 10-place penalty, he was on a different strategy. We had reasonable pace through practice and our target tomorrow is points. Unfortunately, Mark missed out on a place in the top ten by a couple of tenths. We?ve improved the car since the last Grand Prix, but there?s still a way to go. It will be a hot race tomorrow so the cars and tyres will be placed under considerable strain, while it will also be interesting to see what strategies other teams run here. We?re looking forward to it and we will be fighting for points.
BMW Sauber - Mario TheissenA solid qualifying performance by both drivers. David did very well to make the last ten for the first time since Monaco and we then elected to take a strategic approach to his final qualifying section. As Rosberg had already picked up an engine penalty, which dropped him ten places, we'll start from ninth and twelfth on the grid tomorrow, our aim is to try and gain some points.
Honda - Gil de FerranOur qualifying result was influenced by two factors. On the one hand our car here in qualifying was not as strong as in the previous races. Jacques Villeneuve, on the other hand, did not manage to get the lap time he needed for a good position. For the race this means our starting positions are particularly bad as overtaking here is difficult. Nevertheless, for Nick the clear target is to drive into the points. I hope with a good start, as in the recent races, he can lay the foundations for this.
Toro Rosso - N/AThis isn't where we expected to be today and that's very frustrating. After this morning's session we were hopeful to be in the top ten. However Jenson was plagued with traffic in Q1 and we just couldn't make the cut with Rubens in Q2. We lacked the pace with both cars to be at the sharp end of the fight today. Nevertheless we will do our best tomorrow and try to come away with some points.
MF1 Racing - James Key
Super Aguri - Aguri SuzukiWe're reasonably optimistic heading into tomorrow, because I think the tyre we chose is going to be good for the race. We've gone with the harder of the two compounds we had yesterday, and I think it's definitely the right decision given the track conditions. The qualifying times were extremely close and with a little luck, we might have been able to get both cars higher up into the second session - it was that close. Unfortunately for Tiago, he didn't make it through, which is a shame, but we'll think about race strategies to give him a shot at a better result. We can race competitively tomorrow, and that's what we need to make sure we do.
It was a good day today. Taku's car had a small problem this morning, but there were no problems for us during Qualifying and the fastest times of our cars are very close together. I am happy that we are closing the gap and that there is only a one-second gap between us and our nearest competitors. We are still in our original car, so this bodes well for the next Grand Prix when we shall be introducing the SA06. Tomorrow we need to finish the race with both cars and I especially hope that Franck sees the chequered flag at his home race, which would be very special for him and the team.