US GP - McLaren Mercedes - QualifyingKimi Raikkonen will start tomorrow's United States Grand Prix from ninth position while
Juan Pablo Montoya failed to make the final phase of qualifying blaming traffic. The Colombian starts his race from 11th position as the team admit
that Bridgestone runners have the edge.
Raikkonen was the final driver to pit for tyres in the third phase of qualifying, perhaps indicating a heavy fuel load, while Montoya has little to lose by adopting a similar strategy.
Kimi Raikkonen "Obviously the Bridgestone runners seem to have a bit of an advantage today but that happens sometimes. We are not as quick as we would like, but we have a strong race strategy, so we will see what happens tomorrow. Ninth is not ideal but a podium should be possible in what I hope will be an exciting race."
Juan Pablo Montoya "That was a shame as I should have been in the last session today.
On my second flying run I had a bit of traffic, but the team reacted well and called me in to change tyres, however we missed the opportunity for a final attempt by only a few seconds. We have a strong race car, and we will now focus on establishing the best strategy possible."
Ron Dennis
"We knew that the Bridgestone runners would be very competitive in qualifying and consequently we adopted a race strategy which we feel will give us the best chance for a strong result. “
Norbert Haug
"The speed today was not what we would have wished – grid positions nine and 11 are definitely very disappointing. Nevertheless we think that our strategy is good as we know that our Michelin tyres will work well in the race."
Source McLaren Mercedes
