Zoom A chance to try various tyres on day two at Monaco

Felipe Massa claimed pole position on Bridgestone’s super-soft compound Potenza on the streets of Monte Carlo for the sixth round of the championship, the Monaco Grand Prix.

On a day of mixed weather conditions, Massa went fastest with a time of 1:15.787s, and will be joined on the front row for tomorrow’s race by Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen who set a time almost three hundredths slower than Massa. McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will line up on the second row, with Hamilton setting the faster time.

Hirohide Hamashima, Tyre Development Director
“Today was difficult for teams, drivers and Bridgestone as we had mixed weather conditions, although this has given us data for a variety of possible situations for tomorrow’s race. In the morning, teams were able to run with the wet tyre, which is a different compound from that we have used elsewhere. Competitors could also confirm extreme wet tyre performance."

"The track surface is still relatively green here and there is not as much rubber down as we would have seen if there had only been dry running. Abrasion was worse than we saw on Thursday, and we are now analysing the wear rate, however initial predictions are that this will not be a problem for the race. Congratulations to Massa on taking his second consecutive pole position this season. On this circuit qualifying position and initial fuel load is very important, and I think we will see an exciting race.”

E.A. © CAPSIS International