Sebastian Vettel (1st, Q3 - 1m 35.585s)
“It’s a special feeling to be on pole - it was very close. The track is good here - in the first sector there’s not so much you can do, just hit your braking points at the right time, but the second and third sectors are quite entertaining with nice flowing corners, but it’s easy to make a mistake. It was a small margin for pole, but it was enough and it was a good result as yesterday we didn’t have smooth running. We had a puncture in the practice, so I hadn’t done too many laps on the new track, which makes it harder to get into a rhythm. You have to take every race as it comes, Japan was a good result, but now in Korea all the focus is on tomorrow’s race. The car was quick today, no doubt, but you still need to get the job done and the most important thing is that you remain calm, which we all did as we knew what we had in us. So, we got the job done today, but let’s see for tomorrow.”
Mark Webber (2nd, Q3 - 1m 35.659s)
“I wasn’t that happy on my first timed laps to be honest, so it was more comfortable for me to do two timed laps for my last run. It worked out okay, but obviously it was very close with Seb and I got second on the grid. It’s not a bad position to start the race, but it would have been nice to get pole, still -we can get a good result from there. I’m starting on the dirty side of the grid tomorrow and Fernando (Alonso, in third) will be solid off the line, but that’s not going to make or break the Championship, so we’ll press on from there - we’re certainly in a good position.”
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Formula 1: Korean Grand Prix - Race Line Up
Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel Grabs Pole at Korea
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Fernando Alonso (3rd, Q3 - 1m 35.766s)
“I am satisfied with how things went in qualifying and I think I showed all the potential of our car. In Q1, I felt that we could be really competitive, which was then reinforced in Q2 and Q3. Then, with pole having escaped me, I think that it is better to be third rather than second, because starting from the dirty side would be very difficult. We expected Red Bull to be very strong, as it’s not by chance they have taken fourteen poles from seventeen attempts this year. However, the gap is pretty close, which shows that tomorrow we can be in the fight. We must get a good start without taking too many risks at the first corner, because in the race, anything could happen and the most important thing will be to get to the chequered flag. In theory there are a couple of places where overtaking seems possible, but we will have to wait until tomorrow to see if that is really the case. Tyre degradation seems higher than at other tracks, so we will need to do a good job in managing them and in terms of the strategy: the softs give more grip while with the hards, we are all struggling to make them work at their best. Maybe it will be a case of doing more than one pit stop. On top of that, there is the unknown factor linked to the weather. The situation is definitely better than in Suzuka: the gap to the Red Bulls is smaller and we have kept strong rivals like Hamilton and Kubica behind us.”
Lewis Hamilton (4th, Q3 - 1m 36.062s)
“The team made a phenomenal effort to get all the new parts to the track for this race, and everybody has done a fantastic job at the track all weekend. We were very quick in practice, so I don’t know where the Red Bulls found an extra half a second in Q3. Still, it’s important to remember that we’re still in the fight: we make good starts, and there are some long straights here, which should suit us. I feel that we’re competitive - the car is the best it’s ever been and our long runs are strong. We just need to do the best we can with what we have - we can’t ask any more of the guys back at the factory, or the guys here, and I don’t think I could have asked for any more from me. So, yes, we can still have a very good race tomorrow.”
Nico Rosberg (5th, Q3 - 1m 36.535s)
“I’m very pleased with fifth place and it is the best possible position that we could have achieved today. It’s nice to be ahead of one of the McLaren and Ferrari cars and also Robert who has been very close to us recently. We’re in a good position for the race tomorrow. Strategy will be crucial with the tyre graining but we are strong in that area and with a bit of luck, it would be nice to give the team a great result.”
Felipe Massa (6th, Q1 - 1m 36.571)
“I am not happy, especially because sixth place means I have to start on the less clean side of the grid, which is a major handicap on a surface as dirty as this one. I was very pleased at the end of Q2, because the car was more competitive than yesterday and I thought I could fight for a top place. Unfortunately, I had a bit of traffic on the only run I did in Q3 on my last set of new soft tyres: a shame because the car was going well, but I was not able to get the most out of it. The situation in terms of grip has improved, even with the harder tyres and I expect that trend to continue tomorrow. I am expecting to have a very tough race. If it was to rain it could be even more slippery than usual, given the condition of the track surface.”
Jenson Button (7th, Q3 - 1m 36.731s)
“Yesterday and this morning I was very happy with the car; the balance was extremely good and we were looking strong. This afternoon I couldn’t get the tyres up to temperature and struggled a bit with locking fronts and rears. I didn’t have enough grip and couldn’t find enough pace. It’s going to be a bit tough tomorrow, whatever the weather does. But the good news is that I’ll be starting from the clean side of the grid, and there are a couple of long straights after the first corner, so it’ll be a fun first lap!”
Robert Kubica (8th, Q3 - 1m 36.824s)
“The car had more oversteer than during free practice and I wasn’t completely comfortable. If we had got everything perfect, we could probably have been a couple of tenths quicker, but we’re right on the limit here. Unfortunately, starting eighth also means that I will start from the dirty side of the grid. This morning, in the dry, there was a huge difference between the two sides, but if it rains tomorrow perhaps it won’t be such a disadvantage. It’s not going to be an easy race, because everybody is very close together in terms of performance, but I will try to do my best tomorrow afternoon.”
Michael Schumacher (9th, Q3 - 1m 36.950s)
“I had a busy qualifying getting everything together with some changes we made but I’m quite happy with my position. There was no room for much more today. The team did a great job getting both cars into Q3 and we will be starting from the better side of the track in my opinion. I’m quite optimistic for tomorrow and we should score some points, especially as our set-up is focused on the race. We had a good race pace in practice yesterday and I’m looking forward to the first Korean Grand Prix.”
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