16th September 2009

Before we arrived at the Italian GP I said that a place on the podium was our goal and that for reaching it we have to do everything 100 percent. My forecast was correct: we got out the cars potential and me made it. The qualifying went very well. The F60 was set up well and the KERS was lots of help: in Q3 I had one of the best laps this season and I was very happy. Third on the grid was very important for a good result. We knew that many had opted for a one-stop strategy. The difference between the two strategies is extremely small on this track and those who did not use the KERS had a valid option with the one-stop strategy.

I had a very good start, but because Hamilton was not as fast I had to lift my foot and move to the left, where I touched the grass with two wheels. I managed to pass Sutil and that was the decisive move so that I was able to fight for the podium. We did not make any mistakes for the whole race: it was a piece of luck that we gained the third place, but in the end it is the result that counts. It was a perfect weekend, because we could not have done any better.

I am really happy for another place on the podium, especially because we gained it in front of the numerous Ferrari fans: when you see all the flags of the Prancing Horse in the wind you understand how much passion there is. That was a great feeling for me.

The Brawns seem to be there again, fighting for the title, while Red Bulls situation is more complicated. Webber and Vettel won’t give up, but they have to hope that the two Brawns will have some problems if they want to catch up. My goal is to help the Team keeping the third position in the Constructors standings and gaining as many points as possible.

The next race will be held in Singapore, where I did not finish the race last year. Nevertheless it is a place I really like a lot. We have to do the same we did in Monza: trying to get the best out of the F60 and gaining a place on the podium for the fifth time in a row. The more the championship proceeds the more difficult it is for us, because the others continue developing their cars, while we do not have any innovations coming up anymore.

Source - Kimi’s Official Website

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Report to follow…

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

Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP Formula 1 Team) used a medium - soft tyre strategy to score his second race win of the season after a thrilling and tactical high speed Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

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

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Lewis Hamilton took pole position for tomorrow’s Italian GP. Sutil will start from P2 and Kimi Raikkonen from 3rd.

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

12th September 2009

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

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Adrian Sutil and Force India finished fastest over all during today’s final practice session for the Italian GP at Monza.

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

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Kimi Raikkonen: “Overall, I’m reasonably pleased with the way things went in these three hours of free practice and the initial impressions are good. There is still room to improve the handling of the car, which we hope to do in tomorrow morning’s free practice. The new kerbs don’t allow you to cut them with impunity, which is not a bad thing given the difficulty we have experienced in this area in the past. Our pace on a long run isn’t bad and we will do our best to fight for a place on the podium. As for the tyres, the softer compound is definitely quicker, but it’s also quite consistent in terms of performance.”

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

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts