Fisi to start from the back
Sauber driver Giancarlo Fisichella's day, and possibly his weekend, was ruined by a gearbox failure which prevented the Roman from making a qualifying attempt on his home track at Imola. The fact that Imola is a notoriously difficult place to pass will not be of any comfort to Fisi who joins Kimi Raikkonen on the back row of the grid.
To make matters worse for Fisichella, his pre-qualifying run had placed in sixth. And for the first time this year the C23 chassis, which uses a rebadged 2004 Ferrari engine and gearbox, genuinely looked like it could the Italian a chance to shine.
"I'm really disappointed," said Fisi. "We made progress with the car today and it was better balanced than yesterday and slightly better on the first lap on new tyres. In pre-qualifying I thought I did a very good lap, but on the in-lap I felt a problem with third gear.
"Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to change it before qualifying, so here I am at the back of the grid. It's my home race, and I knew it will be very tough starting that far back."
Felipe Massa's qualifying session was less eventful. The Brazilian will start from 12th on the grid. "I was happier with the car today. I made a mistake in pre-qualifying, otherwise my lap would have been better, but everything went well for me in qualifying and given the strategy we have chosen I am satisfied with my performance this afternoon. Our car will be more competitive in the race."
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