Turkey: Excellent speed & consistency for Michelin

By Michelin Sport
August 27 2006

World championship leader Fernando Alonso was the fastest Michelin driver during qualifying for tomorrow's Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park. The Spaniard's 1:27.321 lap put him third on the grid at the end of a closely fought session.

Alonso's team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella joins him on the second row. They head a clutch of Michelin cars in the top 10. Nick Heidfeld was sixth today, but will start fifth because rival Ralf Schumacher will be docked 10 grid positions in the wake of an unscheduled engine change. Hungarian GP winner Jenson Button will line up sixth, ahead of fellow Michelin runners Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica and Christian Klien.

Nick Shorrock
Formula One Director
Michelin

"On the evidence of today we obviously need to work a little bit on our one-lap pace - something we will be addressing during the forthcoming Monza test - but we are very pleased with our excellent speed and consistency over a race stint. The track temperature increased significantly between this morning's final free practice and the qualifying session, a factor that helped tyre performance, and if conditions remain similar tomorrow I believe we'll be in good shape.

"Between them, our six partner teams have chosen five different products for the race and I'm sure the foremost among them will play a key role in what is likely to be another compelling grand prix."