Italian GP - Monza - Saturday
TV UNILATERALS
Q. Lewis, the man who you had to beat was your former Formula Three team-mate Adrian Sutil and it was very close.
Lewis HAMILTON:
Q. What a great recovery for the team. From the outside looking in, Spa and Monza are both very fast circuits but here a different car from your point of view.
LH: I guess we have to wait and see what the strategies are for everyone tomorrow. But we feel quite comfortable in the position which we needed to be in. I don't think we anticipated being as quick as we are this weekend, so it is a bonus for everyone in the team. They keep pushing and have done a great job with it.
Q. Adrian, on the front row. Must be a great feeling. All I can ask you to do is describe your emotions right now with Vitantonio Liuzzi qualifying seventh as well.
Adrian SUTIL: It is a great moment, a great day for me. The whole weekend was a big success already and we did really good work. The car is amazing. It is quick, unbelievable, so it is just so good for the team after a big success in Spa we continue it here. Just being competitive. It is just such a different feeling in the car now as you know you have a chance. The good feeling of being a race driver is back and it is just such a great feeling. I enjoyed every single moment and I am happy to be here next to Lewis and next to Kimi on the first row.
Q. It looked like you had a big moment at the Lesmos in Q1 and recovered beautifully from that. As a result here you are on the front row.
AS: The first session was quite difficult for us as I was missing the grip in the rear. The car was really oversteering. But in Q2 it was getting better once the circuit was rubbered in and the car felt really good and finally also in Q3 it was really good. I am quite happy in the end but it was not an easy qualifying. At the beginning it was quite difficult.
Q. And your former team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella driving for Ferrari and where you are now and where he was two weeks ago. It is an amazing change of fortune.
AS: He was saying already that maybe he has not that strong a car compared to us. He knew he could have won the last race. It was a very strong race from him but we have to understand an Italian driver's dream is to drive in Formula One with Ferrari. That was there. I think everybody
would have done this move. I think he did quite well now. He had a difficult weekend so far but 14th position is not so bad. We replaced the seat quite well with Tonio who did also a really good qualifying and I think he is really happy qualifying for the first time in Q3. I think it was all the right decisions.
Q. Kimi, it looked to be a reasonable trouble-free qualifying for you. At Parabolica the car seemed to be a bit loose at the front end but you got the lap done in the end.
Kimi RAIKKONEN: It is not perfect for sure but it shows us again that once we put the race fuel in the car it seems to be to always be stronger against the others. It is more difficult especially in the second qualifying than the first and last one to make sure that we get through. The car has been good all weekend. We had some issues with it but unfortunately we cannot fix them as well as we want. But, overall, on the race pace and with the race fuel the car is running nicely and I am pretty happy with it. I think it was one of our best qualifying and it was a good time in our home race to do it and hopefully tomorrow it is going to help us get into a stronger position for the race and try to fight for the first three places. But we will see. It is not going to be easy tomorrow but we will give it our best.
Q. Can you compare how you felt before the race at Spa to how you feel now in terms of how you think it will go on race day?
KR: In both races we knew that car was going to be stronger in the race than in qualifying. Of course if you start from sixth than third place it is a slightly different story. I think it gives us a better chance to have a strong finish. But it is going to be a long, hard race for the car. We give the best and hopefully we can give a good result for all the Italian fans and for ourselves. That's our biggest aim.
Q. Lewis, an amazing start here with a very wide track and very high speed braking into the first chicane. A packed field of cars. It is always an interesting first corner at Monza.
LH: It is. I have been quite fortunate in the two times I have started here in Formula One. It has gone quite well. I am in the best position to get round the first corner in a good spot, in a good condition, and we have just got to make sure we get a good start. We have got KERS which should help us, so as Adrian was just saying we just want to get round the first corner and then enjoy the race. I hope we are able to enjoy it as much as everyone else.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q. Lewis, you dominated yesterday morning. Not so quick yesterday afternoon because I think of a heavier fuel load. What sort of changes did you make overnight?
LH: I did not make any changes overnight. I was very happy and comfortable with the car that I had yesterday. In P2 we were obviously testing our long runs and we didn't drop our fuel load down at all at the end of P2. Therefore P11 we were quite happy with that and I was comfortable there. It is not qualifying, so I guess it is important that we tested the car and made sure we were 100 per cent happy with the tyres and the fuel load.
Q. So are you feeling pretty confident for tomorrow?
LH: As confident as you can ever be. I think we are on pole position. We feel comfortable with the performance of the car but clearly we understand that other cars around us are very quick. Adrian and Kimi, even Heikki (Kovalainen) back there. It seems to be very close. I don't know what to expect tomorrow. We don't know what the weather is going to do. All I can hope for is a good clean start and hopefully deal with it from then on. But hopefully we are in a strong position.
Q. What sort of effect has KERS had during qualifying and what do you expect during the race, particularly at the start, of course?
LH: It is pretty much the same from qualifying to the race. A little bit more of a gain in qualifying, but I think it makes up for the loss of downforce and perhaps drag that we have compared to others. Adrian is quicker than us down the main straight even though we have KERS boosting us all the way down, so we kind of make up for some of the bits that aren't so great on the car and we are still working to improve the rest of those.
Q. I think you have mentioned about a four-tenths gain. Would that still be about right?
LH: That is what they say but I am sure if we took it off we are probably gaining in other areas and could perhaps do the same time. It is obviously more beneficial for the race when you are competing with people. You are then able to get the tow, even though it is such a long straight, I was able to slipstream quite a number of drivers not last year but the year before. But KERS should help us big time, but hopefully I will not need to do that. We will see.
Q. Can you remember the last time the two of you were on the front row?
LH: Me and Adrian? Formula One at Zandvoort. Probably. I think that is when we finished our title charge together. That was a great era for us. We had great fun then in the same team and congratulations to Adrian. He has done a great job and truly deserves to be up there with us and finally able to show what he is capable of doing.
Q. Adrian, well done. Just one run in Q3. What was that like?
AS: It was nice to be in the car in the whole session. At the Nurburgring it was the first time for me in Q3 and I knew how it felt. It is a very difficult one because the first session is always tricky. The grip level is low, so you have a little bit more oversteering in the car and it is more difficult to drive and then it just gets better and better during the next session. That is what happened here as well. I had a difficult first session really but made it through and then the second session was much better and then finally the last one was the best one. As soon as the grip level was there again on the circuit the car felt really good.
Q. What are your feelings about having the KERS cars behind you at the start?
AS: Yes, it is not the best feeling really as I know they have a big advantage, especially at the start. We saw it last weekend with what happened to my team-mate. He lost the race just because of the KERS button. It is tricky but that is the situation. Maybe we are a little bit better in the corners because we have no KERS and they have more power. In the end it is equal but it is really hard to get the positions back, so it is going to be a hard fight for my position at the start, that's for sure.
Q. Tell us about your satisfaction getting this front row of the grid?
AS: Yes, huge satisfaction. I was waiting for this chance for quite a long time. I would never have thought that we would be able to be on the front row this year, and especially as three or four races ago we were fighting to reach the second qualifying. So suddenly the step has been so big with our last update package and it's working really well, so we are heading in the right direction, I think. I'm ready for it and now it feels really, really good.
Q. Kimi, tenth and eighth yesterday; you said there was room to improve. What changes did you make overnight?
KR: We made some changes to try to improve the issues that we had but even when yesterday I wasn't a hundred percent happy, it was still pretty fast. I think it's been a positive surprise how good the car has been all weekend. Today it was even better with high fuel.
Q. In comparison to Spa when you won but started further back, are you confident for tomorrow?
KR: Yeah, but OK, we are three places ahead of where we started in Spa, but now there is a McLaren with KERS in front of us. At the start, you cannot expect to jump them. We can jump the Force India but probably not the McLaren. So that's a different story and then we see how the race goes. It's definitely easier to overtake here than in Spa, so if they have the speed on the straight line, as it looks it will be difficult to keep people behind, it will be difficult to pass them. We will see what we can do.
Q. We've seen a lot of drivers weaving on the back straight; how much of an issue have tyre temperatures been here during qualifying and the race itself?
KR: For us it hasn't been a big issue. It's more or less the same as at any other circuit but maybe the first lap isn't always the easiest one, not the fastest one. It takes a few laps but I think it's the same for everybody. Some teams can use them on the first lap, straight away, very easily and some not. But they may pay the price later on in the race, the tyres would maybe not last, so it's a bit of a difficult situation.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q. (Ian Parkes - The Press Association) Lewis, gathering that both Brawns are on one-stop strategies tomorrow, presuming you guys are going to be running two, it looks like it could be close with those two cars as well if that's going to be the case.
LH: I'm not actually aware of what position they're in – fifth and sixth? – but obviously they are very competitive, they've been quick – especially in P3 – they were very quick in Q1 and Q2, so undoubtedly they will be very competitive throughout the race, and we have to obviously optimise – I have to optimise my strategy and hopefully hold them off but it's going to be a close race tomorrow. It should probably be one of the most exciting we've had here for some time.
KR: It is what it is. We will see in a few hours how much fuel everybody has, then we can make our plans, but until then there's not much point in thinking about it too much.
Q. (Will Buxton – Australasian Motor Sport News) Kimi, we're moving into the last few races of the season, who do you think has got the best shot of winning the championship?
KR: I don't know, there are a few people that can win. We still actually have a chance but it's not very... I don't think it's going to happen for us, so after that it doesn't really matter who wins. I think Brawn has picked up speed a little bit this weekend, so they are in the strongest position for sure.
Q. (Frederic Ferret – L'Equipe) Lewis and Kimi, how much time did it take you to get used to KERS at the beginning of the season? Was it easy?
LH: It was just like Playstation, so it was very easy.
KR: I had it the whole winter when we started to test, so it's not difficult for the drivers to use, I think it's more of a challenge for the engineers to get it working well.
Q. (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kimi, you talked about the new kerbs, how the last version was lower than these ones, but do you think that today it helped to get your position? And secondly, no Finn was ever able to win here. Are you superstitious?
KR: No. I will try tomorrow and we hope to have a good result. The kerbs are the same for all the teams and drivers, so it makes no difference. It was more fun with the old kerbs but this is probably a bit more similar for everybody. Nobody can really run over them anymore. It seems to be working OK for us, so no complaints really.
Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Adrian, you said your driver's feelings are back; can you say more about that please?
AS: Well, when you're at the back, it's sometimes quite hard to motivate yourself and after two years, consistently being at the back, you forget about how it feels to be when you're fighting for pole position, fighting for a race win, so it's very different driving. You really get the passion back, I would say. It's a really difficult situation when you run at the back and always give your best. It's what you do but it's just something completely different. You drive much easier with a smile on your face when you're at the front. That's normal.
Q. (Paulo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) The fact that Spa and here are two low downforce circuits is something that is helping you, but do you think that, considering the changes that you have made to the aerodynamics and everything, are we going to see Force India as competitive in the next few races and what is your goal for tomorrow?
AS: Yeah, I think these two circuits are really good for us. Our car has really good straight-line speed but also enough downforce for the mid-sector, for the corners. I think the package is really efficient for this circuit and although I think we shouldn't lose too much for the next races, the car is performing and there's no reason why we shouldn't be there for the next races. Straight-line speed is always important, there are a few long straights in the next races, so I do think our team made the step forward and we're going to be strong to the end of the season. There's always a question if you're fighting for pole position, fighting for a victory, this is still a big goal. I think this is a very special circuit for us. Tomorrow? Well, let's see how the race goes on. It's hard to say what's going to happen. I'm in a good position, on the front row. There are a lot of KERS cars around me. I think this is the most difficult thing to judge, to keep them behind, really. So the first few meters to the first corner is already going to be quite a big decider for the race.
Q. (Marco Evangelisti – Corriere dello Sport) Lewis, you have never had the possibility this year to really defend your world title. How frustrating was it for you and for the team to realise that, at the end of the day, the car could be quick?
LH: It was tough for us, of course. It was extremely tough for us, especially after two very competitive seasons where we were competing for both World Championships, so knowing that we had given it our all and arrived in Melbourne and not been competitive and at some point we anticipated we would catch up a lot earlier; I think we were talking about Barcelona and it didn't happen until Nürburgring. So it was definitely very, very hard for the team, all the people that are part of our team, all the sponsors and myself and the family. It was tough for us all because we love winning and that's what we go out there to do, that's what we wake up to do to make sure that we are competing for World Championships but it's one of those years. So much changed that we can't necessarily say it was a mistake by us, it was just one of those things and we will learn from it and we're pushing to make sure that we can compete for many more championships in the future.
Q. (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Lewis, are you as confident as you were in Hungary before the race, and who do you think is your main contender for the win tomorrow?
LH: Well, I genuinely don't build confidence up and say I'm more confident for this race than I was for another. I try to prepare myself the same for all the races, even if we're not on pole position. I feel happy with the car that I have beneath me, so I feel that we do have the possibility of winning, but I still have to do the job, as always. We have to do the job as team, but any of the guys behind me, especially the KERS guys - Kimi, Heikki – they are going to be very competitive in terms of the start but this guy (Sutil) has some serious end-of-straight speed and I'm sure he will do a fantastic job tomorrow and could be a strong force as well. So we have to make sure that we are on top of our game tomorrow, that's for sure.
Kimi Raikkonen: 3rd 1.24.523 8 Laps
Giancarlo Fisichella: 14th 1.23.901 9 Laps
Chassis: G. Fisichella 280, K. Raikkonen 279
Weather: air temperature 27 °C, track temperature 38 °C, partially cloudy.
One Ferrari on the second row and the other on the seventh: that was the outcome of qualifying for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, with Kimi Raikkonen starting from third place and Giancarlo Fisichella from fourteenth. “Given how the day started, we can be reasonably happy with how things turned out,” said Stefano Domenicali. “I am very happy for Kimi, who produced an amazing performance. Giancarlo did the best he could given the circumstances: he was unable to prepare for qualifying as well as possible during FP3, which was a significant handicap on his Ferrari debut. Tomorrow’s race will be tough and difficult, fighting against very strong opposition, which now includes Force India, hardly a surprise any more. The choice of strategies could be different from one driver to the next, so it will be vital to fully exploit every opportunity. Our aim is to pick up as many points as possible to consolidate our third place in the Constructors’ classification, but it would be very nice to produce a crowd pleasing result in front of all our fans at this our home race.”
Giancarlo Fisichella: “Overall, I am reasonably happy, even if I’m aware that a fourteenth place on the grid is not up to the Ferrari standard. Yesterday, I drove the F60 for the first time and this morning, because of a mistake by me, I lost valuable time to prepare for qualifying, as I crashed into the barriers. I want to thank all the mechanics who did a fantastic job of rebuilding the car for qualifying. I was a bit tense before the session, as I knew I didn’t yet have enough confidence in the car. Unfortunately, in Q2, I never managed to put together a perfect lap and so I couldn’t make it through to Q3. It’s a shame, as the potential was there, but tomorrow there is still time to have a good race nevertheless. Maybe, I can try and immediately make up some places at the start thanks to the KERS.”
Kimi Raikkonen: “That was one of my best qualifying sessions of the year and we hope that tomorrow things can go even better. I am pleased with this result, for the team and for our fans. The car is not yet perfect, but it’s good all the same. We knew the hardest task would come in Q2 as after that, the car is always very competitive with a race fuel load on board: all the same, it was a pleasant surprise to see how it handled in the final part. I am confident for tomorrow: at the start it won’t be as easy to make up a lot of places as it was at Spa, because there are other cars fitted with KERS near me, but if everything goes well, we can fight for a place on the podium.”
Chris Dyer: “First of all, I want to compliment Giancarlo. After this morning’s accident, the task facing him in qualifying was not an easy one and managing to take fourteenth place despite this is a good way to start his career with Ferrari. Compliments also go to all the mechanics who did a great job of repairing the car in a very short space of time. Kimi had a great qualifying, especially in Q3. Possibly, other drivers behind him have more fuel and that means we will try and make the most of the first stages of the race to make up ground. Yesterday, we saw that we have a good race pace and I think we can fight for a place on the podium.”
Sebastian Vettel (9th, Q3 - 1m 25.180s):
“Not a very good session for us today, ninth and tenth is not where we wanted to be, but let’s wait to see the fuel weights. It’s a long race tomorrow, anything can happen and our target is to score points.”
Mark Webber (10th, Q3 - 1m 25.314s):
“We’ll see how the strategy pans out tomorrow - we’ve got to try and grab everything we can now. I’m pretty happy with the job I did today and the guys (team) have done a good job all weekend, but we’re just lacking a bit of pace. We’ll do what we can tomorrow and salvage something from tenth - it’s certainly possible.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal:
“An interesting qualifying session. Both drivers did a good job to get to Q3 at a circuit which probably doesn’t best suit the characteristics of our car. Strategies have come into play in the final part of qualifying - and it’s a shame both drivers aborted their final laps: a tenth of a second difference for Sebastian could have been fifth place today, demonstrating how close it is. It’s a mix of KERS cars and non-KERS cars on the grid, which will make an interesting first lap tomorrow.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, principal engineer track support:
“I have mixed feelings today. We showed good pace in Q2, compared to what we saw in P3 this morning, so we’re satisfied with that, but unfortunately, after today’s qualifying, we are ninth and tenth. We could have easily been fifth today, there was just a very small amount of difference in the lap times, so it’s a bit of a disappointing end result. Tomorrow it will be difficult with the KERS cars - it will be a quick race, as Monza is the shortest race of the year, but it’s going to be a tough one.”
Adrian Sutil (2nd, Q3 - 1m 24.261s):
“After the results yesterday and this morning, we wanted to fight for the pole position. We knew the car was up to it and that's what we showed in qualifying today. We have a great package, this circuit suits us very well as we have an incredible top speed and also a good downforce package so the efficiency of the car is really good. I'm starting on the front row with Lewis for the first time since F3 and I'm really happy he is next to me, he's a good friend but we will fight hard for it. I have a lot of respect for him. It's going to be very difficult start with the KERS cars around me but the race is long, I'll do what I have to to defend my position and have a good strategy. If the race pace is OK we can gain positions and even if they get past me I have a good, fast car on the straights so it's going to be tight.”
Vitantonio Liuzzi (7th, Q3 - 1m 25.043s):
“Two weeks ago I didn't expect to be on the grid so this is a fantastic result - better than we expected. The team made a great effort and gave me a lot of support to reach this target. They never gave up and we had a great Friday and Saturday. The race will be difficult physically and mentally but I like the fight, the team are fighters and we will give the maximum in tomorrow's race. I'm definitely looking forward to racing in front of my home crowd.”
Dominic Harlow, Force India chief race engineer:
“Today's qualifying session showed that Spa was not merely a one-off but that we are genuinely competitive. Both drivers and everyone in the team have done a really excellent job so far this weekend and have put us in a strong position for tomorrow's race.”
Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal
“I'm absolutely delighted with this weekend's performance so far. We've been very strong all weekend and both drivers have been outstanding. Adrian has really showed a great maturity to achieve his best-ever starting position, while Tonio has been a revelation on his debut. Although qualifying is just one part of the equation we are feeling quite upbeat about tomorrow's race now.”
Qualifying
LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04
P3 programme
1m23.633s (18 laps, 5th)
Q1 1m23.375s (2nd)
Q2 1m22.973s (2nd)
Q3 1m24.066s (1st overall)
Following on from his strong showing yesterday, Lewis and his engineers began the day with some minor adjustments to the car, finishing P3 fifth fastest with a 1m23.633s.
For qualifying, Lewis was always on the pace, finishing the first two sessions in second spot before opting for two runs in Q3 on Option tyres. On his final run, he used the initial lap to prime his KERS before nailing his final lap when it mattered the most - setting fastest times in all three sectors and securing pole by two tenths from his former Formula 3 EuroSeries team-mate Adrian Sutil.
"It was a very close session," Lewis said. "The car felt very good, and I was able to really put the lap together. I had a single shot at pole - and that's the most exhilarating and exciting feeling you can have as a racing driver.
"We didn't anticipate being this quick before the weekend, but I'm now in the best position to make the most of the start and to get out of the first corner cleanly. It's fantastic to have Adrian starting alongside me tomorrow and we both want a clean start and to enjoy the grand prix."
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03
P3 programme
1m23.803s (20 laps, 6th)
Qualifying
Q1 1m23.515s (5th)
Q2 1m23.528s (9th)
Q3 1m24.845s (4th overall)
After optmising his car's balance this morning, Heikki attacked this afternoon's qualifying session, completing two runs in Q1 and Q2 before taking a determined gamble to complete a single, decisive run in the final minutes of the Q3 session.
The strategy worked, and Heikki posted an excellent 1m24.845s lap, on the Prime tyre, to line up fourth for tomorrow's Santander Italian Grand Prix.
"Pole position would have been better, but I'm happy with my position," joked Heikki afterwards. "Tomorrow, we'll see what strategies everybody is running: I think we're going to be strong. We're in good shape, have a solid and reliable car and are looking to be very competitive tomorrow.
"I've been quick all weekend and actually felt the car was working better with a heavier fuel load than on lighter tanks, so that's another positive for the race.
"Our KERS Hybrid is going to be very helpful - it's a boost at the start and will be useful throughout the race, particularly for overtaking and pushing out of the corners. My focus for tomorrow is to win this race - and I think that's a realistic target."
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
"It may be a Formula 1 cliché, but it's true nonetheless: our whole team did a fantastic job today - Vodafone, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, everyone. Both our drivers drove excellent laps, aggressive yet controlled, and both of them have good strategies for tomorrow. But, however pleased we are with our overall qualifying performance, the reality is that anything can happen on race day and we never under-estimate our opposition. Nevertheless, we look forward to a great Italian Grand Prix at this majestic circuit, and we confidently expect to be able to play a highly competitive part in it."
NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"What a final lap from Lewis and a great position for Heikki on the second row. This is Lewis's second pole in the last three races and shows that the team is working in the right direction to get back to the top. Thanks to everybody in the team, particularly the engineers - it is very easy to get it wrong in terms of qualifying strategy here at Monza, but our guys got it absolutely right.
"Congratulations also to Adrian Sutil and Force India for their second place on the grid - it is amazing what these guys are doing and proof that a technical partnership and a talented, hard-working staff in an independent low-budget team can achieve everything in Formula 1."
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today's running?
"Today we had an interesting result in qualifying and I think that the difference in lap times in Q3 means that there will be different fuel strategies for tomorrow's race. The times through the day, apart from in Q3, were very close so competitors are using our tyres well here in Monza. Congratulations to Lewis for his second pole of the year, to Adrian for getting on the front row, and also to Vitantonio Liuzzi for qualifying in the top ten on his return to Formula One."
What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow's race?
"Both the soft and medium Potenza have worked well here at Monza so far this weekend and we have no reason to expect any issues in the race. We have not seen graining and there has not been blistering either. This means that strategy options are very open. A one stop strategy is possible with our tyres so it will be interesting to see if this is used."
Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button qualified their Brawn-Mercedes cars on the third row of the grid for Sunday’s Italian Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza with fifth and sixth positions respectively in today’s qualifying session.
Rubens and Jenson ran at the front of the field throughout the hour with the BGP 001 cars performing well on both the prime and option tyres. Progressing easily through Q1 and Q2, with Jenson topping the timesheets in the second session, the pair favoured the harder prime tyre for the final session.
Both drivers completed just one run in Q3 with three flying laps to set their quickest time. With heavy fuel loads, Rubens and Jenson both put in great laps for fifth and sixth positions with just fifteen-hundredths of a second separating their times.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Free Practice Qualifying 1 Qualifying 2 Qualifying 3
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-03 P4 P4 01:23.483 P3 01:22.976 P5 01:25.015
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P2 P3 01:23.403 P1 01:22.955 P6 01:25.030
Weather Warm and sunny
Temperatures Air: 26-27°C Track: 38-43°C
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“That was probably one of my best qualifying laps at Monza and I really enjoyed myself out there. We had the ability to be on pole today but strategically we had to consider the pace of the KERS cars off the line and so we put a lot of fuel in the car and focused on what was right for our race. I had a great lap with the fuel onboard and fifth position is the best that I could have achieved so I’m really pleased that we got everything possible out of the car. It will be interesting to see the fuel figures but I’m confident that we’re in a good position. I just love racing here so I’m really looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
JENSON BUTTON
“I’m really happy with sixth position today. Rubens and I have been so close on lap times all weekend and he’s ended up just fifteen-hundredths ahead of me which is the difference between getting your head down on the straights. I obviously didn’t do it enough! We got the best out of the car today and it felt good on the heavy fuel load which is important because it‘s not just about qualifying, you have to consider your race. It’s been a positive day and I’m confident that we can have a good race.”
ROSS BRAWN
“Qualifying saw an excellent performance from Rubens, Jenson and the team today to put us in a good position for the race tomorrow. Rubens and Jenson drove extremely well in Q3 with our chosen one-stop strategy to secure fifth and sixth positions and the closeness of their lap times shows that they achieved everything possible from the car. We have the majority of the KERS cars just ahead of us so provided our drivers get a good start, there is everything to play for in the race tomorrow.”
Fernando Alonso - 8th: "We had a few doubts about reaching Q3 this morning so we are happy to have made it through. In the end we missed being in fourth or fifth position by a very small amount. I hope to have a good start of the race tomorrow and gain some places using the KERS."
Romain Grosjean - 12th: "This is my best performance in qualifying so far. Of course, I would have preferred to make it through to Q3, but I think I can be happy with my performance today. For tomorrow, the KERS should help us at the start of the race. My aim will be to finish in the top ten and if I can score some points I will be very happy."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "Today we had a very exciting qualifying session with Fernando in eighth place and just missing fifth by six hundredths of a second. We can see already that there is going to be a number of one-stop strategies in this race so a lot will come down to management of the car and the tyres. Romain was very unlucky not to get through to Q3. His last lap was looking very promising but a small mistake kept him out by a couple of tenths. We are now looking forward to a good race tomorrow."
Robert Kubica (13th, Q2 - 1m 23.866s):
“This is a very difficult situation for me, not only for this Grand Prix but also for the next races. I do not have many engines left. It is also unfortunate for Nick who was very competitive here. Although I was struggling a bit I was quite confident of making it into the final qualifying session. I was struggling a little bit with the car in the first qualifying session, but it was better right from the start of the second one. I managed to do quite a good lap, but unfortunately had traffic for the next two laps. The engine problem makes my position for the final races of the season very complicated.”
Nick Heidfeld (15th, Q2 - 1m 24.275s):
“It is a real shame having an engine problem after it all looked so promising. We had a good qualifying in Spa where I was third, and in this morning’s free practice I was third again. I was certainly expecting a good qualifying result after the car was quite quick here. Reliability problems are very exceptional for our team and, of course, it is very strange that Robert and I both had problems with two new engines within a few minutes. We will find out what the reason was. Qualifying 15th will make it difficult, but I will not give up and make the most of it.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director:
“Both drivers were stopped by engine failures in the second part of qualifying. As far as we can see from the data they both had the same problem. The two engines were new, therefore the reason cannot be too much mileage or too high stress. A thorough analysis will only be possible once we have dismantled the engines. Of course, this has a negative effect on our race prospects. We expected good grid positions on this track. Obviously the failures also influence our engine planning for the remaining races of the season.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering:
“Our lap times in qualifying were as we expected them to be after this morning’s free practice. Our goal was to get both cars into the top ten qualifying, which was realistic. However, the two engine failures upset our plans. From 13th and 15th in qualifying it will be difficult to score points tomorrow.”
Jarno Trulli - 11th: "I am happy with my lap in second qualifying because that was the maximum we could get out of the car. Of course it is not satisfying to be 11th and it's extremely disappointing to miss out on the top 10 right at the end of the session like that. I would have been really happy to be in the top 10 considering the performance in practice, which suggested it would be a tough qualifying for us. It is going to be hard tomorrow but 11th is not far away from the top eight so we need to fight and try to bring home some points."
Timo Glock - 16th: "It's frustrating to miss out on second qualifying when I was only sixth tenths away from the fastest lap of the session. We looked quite promising this morning but we didn't transfer all of that speed to qualifying, and I wasn't helped by traffic. On my last lap on the soft tyres another car went straight on at the chicane and I had to follow him, which destroyed my lap. I had the potential to qualify higher but if you lose a little bit of time like that it is very costly. It will be tough in the race tomorrow but we will work on a strategy to make up some places and do our best as always."
Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis: "It was the kind of result we were expecting but not the result we wanted. Again the field has been extremely tight and in each session we have seen that several cars are covered by just one or two tenths. Nevertheless, our level of competitiveness was nowhere near the level we had in Spa when we qualified on the front row and we are not happy about that. For the race we will choose a strategy to give us the best chance of moving up the field. We have more freedom with our fuel load compared to the top 10 and we will make the most of the opportunities available; there are still good chances to finish in the points."
Despite an intensive work programme to improve aerodynamic performance in low drag configuration over the past fortnight, the AT&T Williams team was unable to find sufficient performance gain to avert an uncompetitive qualifying performance for the Italian Grand Prix today. With aero performance key, and six cars benefitting from tactically important KERS systems on the high speed Monza circuit, maintaining the team’s unbroken run of eight points scores will be a significant challenge but one that will be tackled with resolve in tomorrow’s race.
Kazuki Nakajima:
It was a tough qualifying session for us – we knew it would be, but that doesn’t change the disappointment. The gap to making it into Q2 was very small and perhaps without hitting traffic on my last lap, something more might have been possible to give me a better start position for the race.
Nico Rosberg:
I started to find a bit more competitiveness during qualifying today and we made all the right decisions such as choosing the soft tyre, but I didn’t manage to put the ideal lap together as the car has not been at its best all weekend. Although we had a tough time with the car last race and we will struggle a lot here this weekend, I am convinced things will improve for Singapore and we will be back where we were in Valencia.
Patrick Head, Director of Engineering:
Obviously today’s performance is disappointing, but this was as much as our car can do here. Clearly we haven’t done a very good job with our low drag package for the car and we are suffering the consequences of that. Meanwhile, we are confident we can return to competitiveness for the next four races but here it is going to be very difficult to continue our run of points-scoring races. Nevertheless we will be doing our best.
Sebastien Buemi (19th, Q1 - 1m 24.220s):
“I did the best I could, but the session did not go well for me. I was held up by Hamilton, who did not know I was there. Another lap for me might have made a bit of a difference, but not much. As for Glock saying I held him up, I don’t think I did, as I was just trying to rebuild a gap after being slowed by Hamilton. They say it might rain tomorrow, so now we need to work out the best strategy for whatever conditions we might encounter in the race.”
Jaime Alguersuari (20th, Q1 - 1m 24.951s):
“I was not expecting much from this session, after problems in the morning with my gearbox meant I only did ten laps in free practice. Because of that, I did not have the time to try much in terms of setting up the car. Therefore, we carried over some unknown factors into qualifying and I have to say, I am still getting used to driving the car in this low downforce configuration. I hope I can still have a good race tomorrow and to be honest, I hope it rains.”
Giorgio Ascanelli, Toro Rosso technical director:
“Today, we ended up where we deserved to be.”
