Pos  Driver        Team                      Time

1.  Barrichello   Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1h16:21.706

2.  Button        Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  +     2.866

3.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +    30.664

4.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +    31.131

5.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +    59.182

6.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +  1:00.693

7.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +  1:22.412

8.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +  1:25.427

9.  Fisichella    Ferrari               (B)  +  1:26.856

10.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +  2:00.000

11.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +  2:43.925

12.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +     1 lap

13.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +     1 lap

14.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +     1 lap

15.  Grosjean      Renault               (B)  +     1 lap

16.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Sutil, 1:24.739

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap

Liuzzi        Force India-Mercedes  (B)    23

Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)    20

Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)    16

Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)    1

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Kimi Raikkonen - 3rd: “I am happy to have made it to the podium once again, even if this time I needed a heavy dose of luck. It’s a nice result, for the championship, for us and for our fans here at Monza. I got a great start and I almost managed to also get past Hamilton, but even if I’d managed it, the result would have been the same in the end. I’m disappointed I couldn’t fight for the win, but we did not have enough speed. All in all, the strategy we chose prior to the race was the best one for us. In my battle with Sutil, I was never really in difficulty: I knew I only had to avoid making any mistakes and drive in such a way as to get the best out of the car. The tyres? The softer ones suited us better, as we struggled a bit on the harder ones, especially at the start of the stint. In the upcoming races, we will try and do our best: maybe in some of them we could even try and fight for the win.”

Stefano Domenicali: “A podium again, the fifth in a row, this time courtesy of a hefty dose of luck, which maybe hasn’t always been with us at other times. Once again, in this second half of the season, Kimi drove a fantastic race - in fact I’d say he was fantastic all weekend. He did not make any mistakes, giving his all and, along with the team, was able to get the best out of the car. Giancarlo had a good race, just missing out on a points finish: his weekend built up and up and I am sure that, as from the next race, he will be able to give the team what it needs in terms of points. Today, we were not quick enough, but we still managed to get one driver to the podium, a result which is good for morale and I believe, pleased all our fans. The European part of the season is over and there are still four races to go to try and finish this unusual season in the best way possible.”

Chris Dyer: “We were expecting a bit more in terms of performance, but we are pleased with yet another podium finish from Raikkonen, even if it owed something to luck. Kimi again drove an impeccable race, as he has always done in this part of the season. Giancarlo ended up just outside the points, but this was nevertheless a positive weekend for him and we are confident that he is capable of making an important contribution to the team in the final part of the season. We went for a two stop strategy for Kimi and it was the right decision, given the pace we had. Also in terms of our tyre useage, we feel we made the best choice: our car struggled more than others to get the best out of the harder compound, especially in the first few laps.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Barrichello finished over two seconds ahead of team-mate Jenson Button who used a soft - medium strategy. Kimi Raikkonen (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro) finished third with a two stop strategy, soft – soft – medium.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says
“Congratulations to Rubens for his second win of the season and Brawn GP for their fourth 1-2 finish this year. We saw an exciting race today and it was interesting to see how the different strategies worked. It is also always good to see a Ferrari driver on the podium on a glorious day in Italy. For Bridgestone, we were pleased that our Chairman of the Board, CEO and President, Mr Arakawa, and our other important guests were here to enjoy this great display from Formula One.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says
“This was a thrilling race with a fantastic strategic battle. Even though it was a one stop strategy that won the race, it is difficult to say whether a one or a two stop was better. Both Bridgestone Potenza compounds gave very similar overall performance so there was a good variety of different strategy uses. For Brawn GP in their championship battle this was a good day. We must also mention the fighting spirit of reigning champion Lewis Hamilton who pushed very hard right to the final lap where he was unfortunate not to finish.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Below is the weight of each car following qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, sorted by qualifying position.

Pos  Driver                             Weight (kg)

1.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes         653.5

2.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes     655.0

3.  Raikkonen    Ferrari                  662.0

4.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes         683.0

5.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes           688.5

6.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes           687.0

7.  Liuzzi       Force India-Mercedes     679.5

8.  Alonso       Renault                  677.5

9.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault         682.0

10.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault         683.0

11.  Trulli       Toyota                   703.0*

12.  Grosjean     Renault                  699.8*

13.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber               697.5*

14.  Fisichella   Ferrari                  690.0*

15.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber               697.5*

16.  Glock        Toyota                   709.8*

17.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota          706.2*

18.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota          708.6*

19.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari       706.0*

20.  Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari       706.0*

* Declared weight

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Kimi Raikkonen: 3rd 1.24.523 8 Laps. Giancarlo Fisichella: 14th 1.23.901 9 Laps Chassis: K. Raikkonen 279. G. Fisichella 280. Weather: air temperature 27 °C, track temperature 38 °C, partially cloudy.

One Ferrari on the second row and the other on the seventh: that was the outcome of qualifying for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, with Kimi Raikkonen starting from third place and Giancarlo Fisichella from fourteenth. Given how the day started, we can be reasonably happy with how things turned out, said Stefano Domenicali. I am very happy for Kimi, who produced an amazing performance. Giancarlo did the best he could given the circumstances: he was unable to prepare for qualifying as well as possible during FP3, which was a significant handicap on his Ferrari debut. Tomorrows race will be tough and difficult, fighting against very strong opposition, which now includes Force India, hardly a surprise any more. The choice of strategies could be different from one driver to the next, so it will be vital to fully exploit every opportunity. Our aim is to pick up as many points as possible to consolidate our third place in the Constructors’ classification, but it would be very nice to produce a crowd pleasing result in front of all our fans at this our home race.

Giancarlo Fisichella - 14th: “Overall, I am reasonably happy, even if I’m aware that a fourteenth place on the grid is not up to the Ferrari standard. Yesterday, I drove the F60 for the first time and this morning, because of a mistake by me, I lost valuable time to prepare for qualifying, as I crashed into the barriers. I want to thank all the mechanics who did a fantastic job of rebuilding the car for qualifying. I was a bit tense before the session, as I knew I didn’t yet have enough confidence in the car. Unfortunately, in Q2, I never managed to put together a perfect lap and so I couldn’t make it through to Q3. It’s a shame, as the potential was there, but tomorrow there is still time to have a good race nevertheless. Maybe, I can try and immediately make up some places at the start thanks to the KERS.”

Kimi Raikkonen: That was one of my best qualifying sessions of the year and we hope that tomorrow things can go even better. I am pleased with this result, for the team and for our fans. The car is not yet perfect, but it is good all the same. We knew the hardest task would come in Q2 as after that, the car is always very competitive with a race fuel load on board: all the same, it was a pleasant surprise to see how it handled in the final part. I am confident for tomorrow: at the start it will not be as easy to make up a lot of places as it was at Spa, because there are other cars fitted with KERS near me, but if everything goes well, we can fight for a place on the podium.

Stefano Domenicali: “Given how the day started, we can be reasonably happy with how things turned. I am very happy for Kimi, who produced an amazing performance. Giancarlo did the best he could given the circumstances: he was unable to prepare for qualifying as well as possible during FP3, which was a significant handicap on his Ferrari debut. Tomorrow’s race will be tough and difficult, fighting against very strong opposition, which now includes Force India, hardly a surprise any more. The choice of strategies could be different from one driver to the next, so it will be vital to fully exploit every opportunity. Our aim is to pick up as many points as possible to consolidate our third place in the Constructors’ classification, but it would be very nice to produce a crowd pleasing result in front of all our fans at this our home race.”

Chris Dyer: First of all, I want to compliment Giancarlo. After this mornings accident, the task facing him in qualifying was not an easy one and managing to take fourteenth place despite this is a good way to start his career with Ferrari. Compliments also go to all the mechanics who did a great job of repairing the car in a very short space of time. Kimi had a great qualifying, especially in Q3. Possibly, other drivers behind him have more fuel and that means we will try and make the most of the first stages of the race to make up ground. Yesterday, we saw that we have a good race pace and I think we can fight for a place on the podium.

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Bridgestone’s soft tyre carried Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) to his second pole position of the season for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Hamilton set a time of 1min 24.066secs in the last moments of a very close qualifying session. Force India F1 Team driver Adrian Sutil was second fastest and also earlier set the fastest time in the morning practice session, using the soft Bridgestone Potenza.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

What was significant about today’s running?
“Today we had an interesting result in qualifying and I think that the difference in lap times in Q3 means that there will be different fuel strategies for tomorrow’s race. The times through the day, apart from in Q3, were very close so competitors are using our tyres well here in Monza. Congratulations to Lewis for his second pole of the year, to Adrian for getting on the front row, and also to Vitantonio Liuzzi for qualifying in the top ten on his return to Formula One.”

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Kimi finished 9th fastest overall.

Free Practice Session One

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

1.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:23.936            26

2.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:24.332  + 0.396   27

3.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:24.471  + 0.535   24

4.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:24.477  + 0.541   21

5.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:24.683  + 0.747   25

6.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:24.703  + 0.767   35

7.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:24.706  + 0.770   21

8.  Fisichella   Ferrari               (B)  1:24.732  + 0.796   24

9.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:24.759  + 0.823   19

10.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:24.761  + 0.825   26

11.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:24.813  + 0.877   20

12.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:24.826  + 0.890   24

13.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:24.927  + 0.991   29

14.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:25.150  + 1.214   28

15.  Grosjean     Renault               (B)  1:25.612  + 1.676   18

16.  Liuzzi       Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:25.689  + 1.753   29

17.  Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:25.742  + 1.806   30

18.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:25.951  + 2.015    8

19.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:26.020  + 2.084   23

20.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:26.325  + 2.389   17

Free Practice Session Two

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

1.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:23.924            28

2.  Grosjean     Renault               (B)  1:24.163  + 0.239   31

3.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:24.297  + 0.373   35

4.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:24.482  + 0.558   41

5.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:24.622  + 0.698   40

6.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:24.634  + 0.710   36

7.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:24.693  + 0.769   34

8.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:24.796  + 0.872   39

9.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:24.799  + 0.875   36

10.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:24.884  + 0.960   44

11.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:24.902  + 0.978   32

12.  Liuzzi       Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:24.921  + 0.997   39

13.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:24.967  + 1.043   40

14.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:24.979  + 1.055   25

15.  Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:25.003  + 1.079   34

16.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:25.140  + 1.216   35

17.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:25.215  + 1.291   38

18.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:25.386  + 1.462   27

19.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:25.424  + 1.500   32

20.  Fisichella   Ferrari               (B)  1:25.543  + 1.619   36

All Timing Unofficial

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Giancarlo Fisichella: “I feel satisfied with this first day, which was particularly tough from a driving point of view. The major difficulties are in adapting to the different positions of the buttons and gaining confidence with the KERS. This morning, braking heavily at Ascari, I flat-spotted the left front tyre and that meant I had to fit the softer tyres earlier than planned: I felt more confident with those and I managed to drive at a strong pace. In both sessions, we didn’t go looking for performance and I had a lot of fuel on board. The potential is there to get onto the front few rows, but I need a bit more time to improve, especially in terms of braking and cutting the kerbs.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Bridgestone will bring the medium and soft tyres to the Italian Grand Prix on September 11-13 which takes place at the high-speed circuit of Monza, located just north of Milan.

This will be the second time this season that this tyre allocation has been used after its debut at the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, said:
“Italy is a fabulous country with a rich motor racing heritage. It is a country where Bridgestone has a strong involvement too, as we have a large factory, a sales office, a technical centre and a proving ground located near Rome. We also produce our GP2 Series tyres in Italy. Our proving ground is a state of the art facility and this is where we test our passenger vehicle tyres to the same exacting standards as we test our Formula One tyres. In fact, we even have a former F1 driver working for us as a test driver developing and giving vital feedback to help us make better products.”

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

What are the challenges of Monza?
“Monza has very high speed straights so there will be a lot of forces through the tyres as they rotate at up to 50 times per second. This means the tyre rubber can get very hot, even with the cooling effect of the wind on the long straights. At the end of the pit straight there is a heavy braking zone, so drivers have to be careful not to lock their brakes here. Low downforce car set-ups are used at Monza, so proportionally more reliance is made on mechanical grip.”

What are the primary tyre performance considerations?
“As we saw in Spa the allocation of the medium and the soft compound tyres has the potential to provide interesting results. The medium compound is the softest of our higher temperature working range tyres and the soft is the hardest of our lower temperature working range tyres. This means that their overall performance can be very similar, however their characteristics are different. In Spa we saw that different tyres suited different car characteristics, set-ups and driver preference, so maybe it will be the same situation in Monza, however it is a more severe circuit so good tyre management is likely to be a bigger factor. ”

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9th September 2009

These are very intense weeks: after the two consecutive races in Valencia and Spa now there is Monza on the calendar, this year’s last race in Europe. In Belgium we won and we want to go on like this in the last races, trying to stay on the podium. It’s one of the most important GPs of the year, because we race in front of our fans and it would be great to give them satisfaction.

The success at Spa was very important for the team: I could see the guys in front of the podium and understood how much this victory meant for them, especially in such a difficult season. It was great for me to listen to the Finnish and the Italian national anthems after such a long time. And it would be excellent to repeat it until the end of the season. Racing in Monza in front of our fans with all the Prancing Horse flags in the wind is a fantastic feeling. I’ve never won a race in Italy, but I always liked racing at Monza. For me there’s no extra pressure, but I know how much the team wants to have a great race here.

The track is the fastest of the season and the KERS should help us just like in Spa. You need to use the kerbs well and this wasn’t the strong point of our cars over the last years. We’ll see what will happen as of Friday. We didn’t do the usual test on the track so it’s difficult to say because the cars haven’t used this aerodynamic set up so far. I’ll have a new teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella. I always got along very well with him. He’s one of the most expert drivers and we will give our best to help Ferrari keep the third place in the Constructors’ Championship. The performance levels changed from one race to the next this year. There are team like us who stopped developing the car and others making pressure, because there are still several goals to reach.

Looking back I’m happy because I’m the driver who gained the most points over the last races (25): who would have said that after such a start of the season?

It will be a difficult weekend, but I can promise the fans that we will give our best as usual.

Source - Kimi’s Official Website

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