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Mark Webber (1st, Q3 - 1m 30.399s)
“I’ve always enjoyed driving here, but you still have to put it all together. You don’t get these results without applying yourself. It was a very mixed session for all of us, even in the build up with yesterday’s rain. It was important to make sure every lap counted, as you never knew if it was going to be the one that counted for your main grid position, so even in Q2 you had to make sure you weren’t caught out. In the end I’m happy with the job we did; it’s easy to slip up in conditions like that from a logistical point of view and also from the driver’s perspective, so it was a good job by the team and we’re in a good position for tomorrow’s race.”
Sebastian Vettel (2nd, Q3 - 1m 30.431s)
“I think it was a difficult session with the changing conditions. I think when it starts to rain here it can be on different parts of the circuit, so it’s quite difficult to see where it’s wet and where it’s fine, so you rely on the out lap or the previous lap. If you go flat out and hit a damp area, it’s very easy to go off track. So, I think it wasn’t easy today, but in the end it was mostly dry. It’s a shame we couldn’t get the second run in Q3, I would have loved to have challenged Mark again, but he got a good lap. It was a very good result for us, especially with all the talk that was going on into this race, so it’s good to see that we’re still on top of our game and can produce quick lap times. Anything can happen tomorrow, I think this circuit is tough on tyres, so we will see what we get tomorrow.”
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Formula 1: Mark Webber Nabs Pole For British Grand Prix
Formula 1: British Grand Prix - Race Line Up
Fernando Alonso (3rd, Q3 - 1m 30.516s)
“I think that was the best qualifying of the year in performance terms. It’s true that the actual result was better in Canada - second - but I was further off pole position than I am today. Furthermore, we are at a circuit that definitely does not suit the characteristics of our car and to be just over a tenth off first is a great sign. The new parts we introduced here worked well and I think that tomorrow, we can put those who start in front of us under a bit of pressure. The team has done so much work and this step forward is down to them. We have also made progress in the way we manage the tyres: from what we could see in the few dry laps we did today, we can even make the Hard tyre work, while back in Barcelona they lost us a lap in less than half a race distance. Tyre performance will be very important tomorrow, whether as forecast it’s dry, or wet, which can always ambush you here. We will have to be ready for any eventuality: it will be important to get a good start, which constitutes the only really new element at this track compared to the past. Am I hoping for rain? No, especially for the fans who have already got wet for the past two days. Let’s hope we can put on a great show for this very large crowd.”
Felipe Massa (4th, Q3 - 1m 31.124s)
“I’d say this was a good qualifying for us: to be third and fourth on the grid is a nice result, especially when compared to some Saturdays earlier in the season. In Q3, at first I did not get a good lap, making a few mistakes: I thought I could make up for it on my second run, but the rain arrived and it was no longer possible. Fourth place is therefore positive, especially as I was able to keep both McLarens behind me. From what we can see, the car seems competitive. Sure, we don’t have much to go on, especially on full tanks and in terms of how the tyres will perform on a long run. It will be a bit like racing in the dark with so many things only coming to light during the race. How much was our performance affected by the new rules concerning the use of exhaust gases? All the cars, ours included, have lost aerodynamic downforce to some extent, some more than others, but I would say that the progress we have made compared to the others owes more to the updates we have introduced. How else can one explain the fact that, for the first time this year, we have also managed to get the Hard tyres to work in a correct fashion.”
Jenson Button (5th, Q3 - 1m 31.898s)
“Today was a bit of a topsy-turvy day. The balance of our car wasn’t great, and it’s always difficult when you find out at the last minute what you’re running: it isn’t a matter of a mere flick of a switch to change things. For some teams, the tightening of the regulations helped; but it hurt others. So I guess fifth place feels just about okay after what we’ve been through in the past few days. Hopefully, we can still take the fight to the guys in front at our home grand prix, and give the famous Silverstone crowd something to shout about.”
Paul di Resta (6th, Q3 - 1m 31.929s)
“I’m really happy with the result today. To be here for my first British Grand Prix and to be starting in sixth place feels great. The whole team did an excellent job and made sure we were out on track at the right times. The car has shown very strongly in every session and even in the wet yesterday we were very comfortable. Maybe there was a little bit of luck at the end of Q3 when the rain started again, but I think that in the worst case scenario I would have ended up in eighth. Hopefully we can carry the performance into tomorrow and come away with a strong result in my home race.”
Pastor Maldonado (7th, Q3 - 1m 31.933s)
“Our car is working well and we gave a good performance today. It is Williams’ home race so I’m happy for the team. I’m quite confident and really looking forward to tomorrow as I always enjoy racing at Silverstone. The circuit with its quick corners suits our car so let’s see what happens.”
Kamui Kobayashi (8th, Q3 - 1m 32.128s)
“It was a tricky qualifying with the constantly changing conditions. It was extremely difficult to predict what would be right and what would be wrong, but we have handled this quite well. In Q1 I struggled a bit because I wasn’t used to the car’s balance on the hard tyres, and didn’t have a chance to do a lap on the soft compound because the rain set in. In Q2 the track conditions were still tricky and damp, but in Q3, when I did my final lap on fresh soft tyres, everything worked out the way it should do. I am happy with this lap and I am especially thankful to my team because, due to their hard work, we recovered from what happened on Friday morning. Now I want to make the most of all this in tomorrow’s race.”
Nico Rosberg (9th, Q3 - 1m 32.209s)
“We have made good progress with our technical package this weekend, but P9 is not the best that we could have achieved today. At the end of Q2, I was in fifth place, but on my final lap in Q3, the track was wet in turn 15 and I just couldn’t improve in that final sector. With the pace of the car, hopefully we can make up some places in the race tomorrow.”
Lewis Hamilton (10th, Q3 - 1m 32.376s)
“I enjoyed the changeable weather conditions today, but it’s disappointing to have ended up so far behind. For Q3, we fitted a used set of Options for our first run when the others ran new tyres, and that hurt our performance. Then, when we fitted new tyres for the final run, it started raining so I couldn’t improve my time. I think there are a couple of guys in front of me who ought to be slower than me, so I’ll do my best to make progress in the early laps even though overtaking here is difficult. I hope we can still have an exciting race, but it’ll be tricky. I guess I’ll be hoping for rain tomorrow to increase my chances of getting a good result. Nevertheless, the fans here are the best in the world - they’re sensational in fact - and they’ll spur me on in the race. I really hope I can do something special for them tomorrow.”
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