Kimi Räikkönen will start from fourth on the grid and Romain Grosjean sixth after qualifying for the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. Romain posted the seventh fastest time of the day, but was promoted one place after a penalty for Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.
On a warm and dry day at the Circuit de Catalunya the E21 proved pacey and reliable, with both drivers proceeding through Q1 using only the hard compound tyres.
Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03. Q: P4, 1:21.177. FP3: P2, 1:21.907
“That was more or less all we could do today. I didn’t make any mistakes on my fastest lap so that was pretty much all there was to come from the car. I wouldn’t say it was a perfect lap, but I don’t think we would have been much higher up the order if it had been. The Mercedes, as we’ve seen before, seems to be pretty fast in qualifying but hopefully in the race we can turn it around. Our race pace has been pretty good all year so let’s try and get on the podium. I’ll have to make a good start, then let’s see what happens.”
“We did a good job today throughout qualifying but on my last lap I made a mistake into turn one, so I decided to back off and save the tyres. Otherwise, I think we could have done a bit better and maybe sit one or two rows further towards the front. I was happy with the car and all the work we’ve done since Friday. For tomorrow, we will see what happens as the competition is very tight. As we have seen, conditions are variable this weekend and once more the tyres should be key.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director:
How was qualifying for the team? We’re pretty happy with today’s performance. We made some changes from yesterday then had a productive morning validating them on track. It was a reasonably straight-forward qualifying session with both cars saving two sets of the medium tyres for Q3 and no real dramas to speak of. Unfortunately Romain had a lock-up on his last lap, otherwise he would have been right on Kimi’s pace, but to have the slower of our two cars starting from P6 certainly isn’t a cause for concern.
Looking at race strategy, does the new hard compound or allocation of the hard and medium present any issues? It doesn’t cause us any problems. The new hard compound seems better suited to this track than the previous version, certainly with the temperatures we’ve experienced here. It works well for us. The allocation of the hard and medium compounds is not a life changing scenario either.
What’s possible in the race? P4 and P6 starting positions are pretty decent for us when you consider the race pace and tyre management we’ve been able to show so far this season. There’s certainly the potential to have a very good race tomorrow.
ZitatKIMI RÄIKKÖNEN CONFIDENT IN RACE PACE AT BARCELONA On previous form, P4 on the grid for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix should bode well for our Finnish maestro; but what does the man himself think?
DID QUALIFYING LIVE UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS? It was not too bad; better than last race for sure. It’s very close here and we could have been P1 or P10 in that final session, so P4 is not too bad. Of course, unless you’re on pole you want to be further up the order, but tomorrow’s when really matters.
HOW’S THE CAR FEELING? It’s been pretty okay over the weekend. Today in qualifying was a bit more windy than we saw this morning, which made the final sector a little more tricky. We didn’t have the pace get on the front row, but we should have a pretty good car in the race.
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM TYRE STRATEGY? I don’t know what the others are doing but we’re still working out what our plan will be. A lot depends on how the tyres are working in the race and that’s part of the job for the guys on the pit wall tomorrow. I don’t expect that we’ll do anything massively different from anyone else; maybe we’ll stop at a different time, maybe we’ll stop at the same time, who knows...
WHAT ARE YOUR CHANCES IN THE RACE STARTING FROM P4? You can’t really say on Saturday what will happen; you just have to make a good start and then see what you can do. We’ve got two fast Mercedes ahead of us and we’ll have to see how strong they are over a full distance. I’m sure the Ferrari and Red Bull will be competitive, so like any race we’ll just do our best and see where we end up.
ZitatKimi Raikkonen Q&A: We'll see an interesting race tomorrow 11 May 2013
Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen has been there or thereabouts at the top of the timesheets all weekend in Barcelona, but he ended qualifying on the second row of the grid in fourth position. After climbing out of the car the Finn spoke to reporters about his performance in qualifying and his prospects for the race tomorrow…
Q: Kimi, you’ll start from P4 tomorrow - one of your best qualifying result so far this season. What do you make of that? Kimi Raikkonen: Well, I have to make a good start and then I take it from there. What else do you expect I do? Mercedes have not been as strong in the races as they have been in qualifying so everything seems possible.
Q: After the morning session had you hoped for a spot on the first row of the grid? KR: It’s been pretty good all weekend long, but unfortunately during qualifying it was a bit more windy than it was in the morning session and that made it a bit more tricky in Sector 3. For sure we didn’t have the speed of Mercedes, but we have seen that before so I am open for anything in the race.
Q: Did you have had any idea before qualifying where you would fit in? KR: After I made it into Q3 it could have been P1 or P10. Everything is pretty tight, so I am satisfied where I am as it was the best qualifying result in quite a while.
Q: A penalty points system for drivers has been spoken about recently. Sebastian Vettel clearly said in the FIA press conference that he is not in favour of it. What is your opinion? KR: Why should I make a comment over something that is not finalized yet? Nothing has been decided and I am sure there will be changes made to the proposal. We always had penalties when a driver did something wrong - now they are looking at a new catalogue for handling misbehaviour. The best way to avoid being confronted with any penalties? Do nothing wrong, don’t break the rules - then you’re fine!
Q: Do you expect Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso will be in close combat tomorrow? Alonso sure wants to put on a show in front of his home crowd… KR: How would I know what’s on Alonso’s agenda! Go and ask him. " title="ha" />
Q: Do you think that you can do one stop less than the others or will it be an equal playing field? KR: We will sit down and discuss our strategy this evening. And you would have to tie me to a stake to get a word out of me! All I can say is that we will see a very interesting race tomorrow and that is what fans want to see.
Our Fox Sports comentators said this about Kimi after his post qualy statements:
"he always gives short but very precise statements" "he's vey fair he hasn't done or said anything wrong to anyone inside or outside the car" "he doesen't complain, (unlike Button) he just goes and fix things" "he gives no excuses for his performances" "he always gives his best" "for all this reasons and more, everybody likes him"
This race is really shaping up to be a cracker in my opinion...
I was blown away by the pace of the Mercedes in qualifying. But one theme that has seemed to ring true with the 2013 Pirelli rubber is what you give up for qualifying pace will affect your Sunday pace. The calls from Fernando for Tombazis to "improve their qualifying pace" are a difficult ask. If the meter is pushed too far in favour of qualifying, surely the Pirelli rubber will be pushed to an extreme that is not conducive to fighting for victory on Sunday. The major question I want answered is who has found the proper balance? Is it Red Bull who will try to replicate their Bahrain strategy by starting on the option and running primes all race? Is it Ferrari who come off the starting line like a bat out of hell and have better race pace than Red Bull? Or is it Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus who has struggled to qualify near the front of the starting grid, yet is kinder to his rubber and could possibly make one stop less than his rivals? In my opinion Lotus have made a step forward relative to the competition. If Lotus are able to replicate their Bahrain strategy - by stopping once less than the competition - and qualify on the front two rows, they may be serious title contenders. And this is the question that may be answered tomorrow. Kimi's long run pace in FP2 was bettered only by Ferrari, who usually are lighter relative to the competition. The iceman was quicker and kinder to his rubber than Mercedes - who will likely fall back in the pecking order - and Red Bull.
This race is shaping up to be a battle of the 'real' title contenders: Vettel, Raikkonen and Alonso. Can Vettel make his Bahrain strategy work to perfection again? Can Alonso's DRS stay closed and be effective over a race distance, and can his reliability return to the bulletproof nature we were accustomed to seeing in 2012 to give him a shot for victory on his home turf? Or can the Iceman - whom has been searching for that delicate balance between improving his qualifying and maintaining his rubber advantage - show us the form from 2007 that brought him his lone world championship and deliver another victory in 2013?
Even though the forecast calls for " title="sun" /> and stable temps.. I'm personally hoping for an " title="ice" /> cold chill sweeping over the top step of the podium tomorrow. And for once, Lotus and Kimi seem like the favourites rather than the underdog. " title="gokimi" />
Jokes Apart. A car that is fast... is fast. Its just a matter of time before they figure out how to sustain the speed. Afterall they dont run in qualifying pqce during the race ( even fuel corrected )
I don't know why everyone thinks that Mercedes won't be a factor in the race. Their race pace in Malaysia was not that bad and they worked hard to improve it. Overtaking in Barcelona is still quite difficult and Mercedes cars were veryy fast in S3 so it won't be easy to overtake with DRS. They probably can't win but I will be surprised if they won't be fighting for a place on the podium. Which would be great, as long as Kimi is on the top step h" title="hih" />
Sonny, man, i've never seen you so excited! " title="ii" />
my " title="see" /> is too blurry for this race...lotus did well in quali and this is so encouraging, this past week i felt like a deflated baloon " title="oh" />
i trust Kimi will do his best, as always... " title="holy" />
Zitat#f1 VET, ROS, HAM have 3 new sets of hard tyres for race, ALO has 2 and RAI and GRO just 1. Have to factor that in today.
that would mean that Vettel and Mercedes want to use the hard tyre mainly in the race whereas others more the medium. Ideal strategy accourding to Pirelli is medium - medium - medium - hard with stops at lap 16, 33 and 50; plan B would be medium - medium - hard - hard
This race is very difficult to predict. Mercedes are bound to be slower then Red Bull, Lotus & Ferrari. But it will be very difficult for the others to pass Mercedes, their tyres will last longer then at places like Bahrain. They might not have the pace but they will be more troublesome then at other places.
Kimi will be swamped at the start by Alonso I am almost sure that Kimi will be passed. But a lot depends on his strategy and how much traffic he will face. I don't know how feasible a two stop strategy is it depends on if you will be in traffic. But for once Lotus actually seems decent, this is the first race since Melbourne where I feel confident for Lotus. But then again there is a lot that could go wrong, I hope we atleast see Kimi on the podium.
Print view
Sat May 11, 2013 5:10 pm
reply
" title="ha" /> 
" title="dunno" /> 
h" title="hih" />
" title="sun" /> and stable temps.. I'm personally hoping for an 
" title="ice" /> cold chill sweeping over the top step of the podium tomorrow. And for once, Lotus and Kimi seem like the favourites rather than the underdog. 
" title="gokimi" />
" title="holy" /> 
" title="suomi" /> 
" title="lotus" />
" title="ii" />
" title="see" /> is too blurry for this race...lotus did well in quali and this is so encouraging, this past week i felt like a deflated baloon 
" title="oh" />
