Lewis Hamilton (1st, Q3 - 1m 15.105s)
“I grazed the barriers at the end of P3, which meant my mechanics had to change the right-hand-side suspension ahead of qualifying. Watching them working so quickly yet so efficiently to fix the car was amazing - like watching an orchestra playing! Really, really impressive. Before I went out this afternoon, I told them that I reckon I owed them pole position for all their efforts - so I was on a bit of a mission right from the beginning of Q1. At the end of my fastest lap, it was such a fantastic feeling crossing the line - the team came on the radio through Turn Two and told me I’d got pole. I knew it was a good lap - but, when they told me it was the best lap, it just brought back so many memories of my previous times here. It was exactly the same ecstatic feeling as when I took my very first pole position here in 2007. I think it’s going to be an interesting race tomorrow - I hope it stays sunny and that the track gets better. The Red Bulls are in an interesting position, because they’ll start tomorrow on the prime tyre. They’ll have to use the option at some stage, obviously, so it will be an interesting one. If there’s a safety car, it could have a very big influence on the result of the race. This track, this city, this country, these people - it all works out the best for me. I love it. It’s almost on a par with the feeling I get racing in the UK. I always have a good time in Montreal, the people are so friendly, and I have so many great supporters here. In fact, coasting to a halt on the slow-down lap was really enjoyable. I got to wave to all the fans - and I’d say it was a unique experience, in fact.”
Mark Webber (2nd, Q3 - 1m 15.373s)
“We thought we could do a good job in qualifying on the hard tyre and it turned out to be the case. We knew we would still try and have a crack at the front row, but we also knew the McLarens were very strong on the option tyre, which they elected to take. It’s a long race tomorrow, we’re planning to do the best we can and we’re hoping the tyres will be beneficial to us. We’re also mindful that there might be the odd safety car here and there - there are many different ways tomorrow’s race may unfold. But, we’ve stuck to our guns, done a great job and Seb and I are in the top three again.”
Sebastian Vettel (3rd, Q3 - 1m 15.420s)
“It was a pretty entertaining session, especially Q3. We went out on the hard tyres, which take a while to come in. We knew that and to be honest I didn’t get a good lap in until the very last lap, so it wasn’t perfect timing, but it worked. My final lap wasn’t that clean, so I’m happy I made it to third today; it’s good. Looking to tomorrow, I think I should have a good start as I’m on the inside. I’m happy that both Mark and I made it to these positions with what is, from my point of view, the right tyre. Yesterday’s practice showed that the soft tyre is quite difficult to last for more than a couple of laps.”
Fernando Alonso (4th, Q3 - 1m 15.435s)
“So far this weekend, we have always been in the fight for the top places. We have a good grid position and now we must prepare ourselves as well as possible for a race, which for the first time this season will feature a confrontation between different strategy options, with two of the top five cars choosing to start on the hard tyres. It will be a very long and tough race and it will be vital to maintain concentration throughout, because on this track a moment’s distraction can carry a heavy penalty. Usually, our car is rather kind on the tyres which could be a decisive factor tomorrow, as will be the management of the brakes. Realistically, a podium finish is a possible goal, while it would take something special to get the win. In Q3, if I had been able to use another set of tyres, then maybe I could have cut my time down by a few hundredths, but the same applies to other drivers, therefore it’s hard to say how it would have gone if everyone had driven a perfect qualifying. All in all, we can be pleased with today’s performance.”
Jenson Button (5th, Q3 - 1m 15.520s)
“I was happy with my Q3 lap, but I couldn’t touch Lewis - it was a phenomenal lap from him. He’s qualified on pole every time he’s been here, so he’s obviously a specialist around this place. Fifth place isn’t where I’d ideally like to be, but I gave it everything and I couldn’t have gone any quicker. It’s good to see that some teams were running different tyres in Q3 - that’s the first time that’s happened this year. Red Bull set their fastest laps on Primes, so it’s going to be an interesting start to the race, seeing if they can overtake. The Prime is the quicker tyre, but they’re going to have to change to the Option at some point during the race. And if they get stuck behind Lewis in the early laps, then I’m sure they’re going to get frustrated. So, overall, I think it’s going to be a good race - both fascinating and fun - and strategy will be very important: it will be all about tyre management, so going flat-out every lap might not be the quickest way to get to the end of the race in the shortest possible time.”
Vitantonio Liuzzi (6th, Q3 - 1m 15.648s)
“It’s good to be back in business after Turkey! We understood a lot of things from there and also Monaco and pushed really hard to make things better. We changed the chassis and brought some new updates that we tested on Friday and then this morning and, so far, everything is great. P6 is a good position to be in, but it won’t be easy tomorrow as the tyre wear will be high and I think it will make for a really crazy race. This circuit seems to suit us well, with our aero package and set-up, and we’ve seen a big step forward. It’s a great team effort and if Adrian and I can both finish in the points tomorrow it would make a brilliant reward for the hard work we’ve done over the past few weeks.”
Felipe Massa (7th, Q3 - 1m 15.688s)
“It was a very tough and closely contested qualifying. In Q3, I was getting quicker with every lap to such an extent that my best time came on lap four. I definitely cannot be happy with seventh place, but at least our car is more competitive than it was in Turkey. It was a shame I didn’t manage to produce a perfect lap, otherwise I could have been higher up the order: at the end, as the track continued to improve, a few drivers went just a tiny bit quicker than me. Tomorrow, we must try and get a good start and on the back of that, build a good race. It will be important to get to the finish on a track which usually puts a high premium on reliability and one’s driving, given that there is little margin for error.”
Robert Kubica (8th, Q3 - 1m 15.715s)
“It was another good qualifying session for us, but there was a difficult decision to make between the tyre compounds in Q3. During Q2 we clearly saw that the option tyre was quicker for qualifying, but, like yesterday, there was a lot of graining. So we made the decision to run the prime tyre for Q3 and, although that cost us some time in qualifying, it will hopefully put us in a good position for the race tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the race and it will be interesting to see how the tyre strategies unfold.”
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Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton Claims Pole For Canadian Grand Prix
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