Ferrari Take The Front Row In Qualifying

By Dale Calkins
March 11 2006

Michael Schumacher has taken pole position for the Grand Prix of Bahrain, with Felipe Massa completing the front row with 2nd. This puts both Ferrari drivers in an excellent position for Sunday's race and is a much needed boost for the Tifosi.

Ferrari Take The Front Row In Qualifying	Dale Calkins
Michael Schumacher Qualifying: 1st - 1'31.431 Michael Schumacher was right on the pace today as he took pole position for the Grand Prix of Bahrain. While a little surprised to do so well during the sessions, Michael is no less excited to be back at the front after such a poor season last year. If the Ferrari proves to be reliable and fast in the race, there is no reason why Schumacher can not take the victory in this race. This is what the 7-Time World Champion had to say about taking pole: "Amazing result. To be honest I wasn't expecting to be on pole, I thought we might be in touch with the leaders but not in front of everybody, so it really is a wonderful surprise. I'm so happy for the team because they all worked so hard to achieve this result, especially when one considers where we were at the end of last season. What happened in 2005 really hurt and it forced us to react. We have worked very hard and I would also like to thank all the test team for what they have done during the winter months. It is always very difficult to reverse a negative trend but last year's troubles have had the effect of making the team even more closely knit together: this is the mentality that makes Ferrari such a special team." Felipe Massa Qualifying: 2nd - 1'31.478 This was only Felipe Massa's first qualifying position for the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team but nonetheless, he was second quickest and will line up alongside teammate Michael Schumacher on the front row of the grid. Massa was even fastest during the final session, until Michael managed to go just a little faster. Felipe was extremely pleased to perform so well during the session and is very much looking forward to the race. Here is what the young Brazilian had to say after taking second: "This is a day that won't be easy to forget. To qualify on the front row at my first race with Ferrari makes me feel very proud of myself and for what the team has managed to achieve. It's a pity that the traffic on the last lap prevented me from perhaps improving on my time: these are things that happen with this new qualifying format. Maybe next time it might be my turn to take advantage of the situation! What is important is that now we have a competitive package right from the start of the season. Tomorrow it's going to be a difficult race: we know that our rivals are very strong but we'll give it everything we've got to try and bring home the best result possible." Ross Brawn Technical Director Ferrari's Technical Director Ross Brawn was very pleased with today's running and believes a very good race is in store for the team. Here is what Ross had to say: "Obviously the final qualifying session was with race fuel so until the race starts to develop nobody can be sure where they are in the sense that we don’t know what strategy the others were on. Knowing the fuel we have and the strategy that we have chosen, I’m quite encouraged by the performance today. It’s a good start. If we can hold our positions on the front of the grid tomorrow, then I think we can expect a good race."
March 11, 2006
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