PlanetF1

Sat: Merc, FIndia, Williams, Sauber

Saturday 10-September-2011 14:19

There were top ten grid slots for both Mercedes GP drivers while the Force India duo just missed out...

Mercedes GP:
Michael Schumacher: "Qualifying today went mostly according to plan. I don't think we could have taken much more; maybe I could have ended up one place higher. I didn't have an ideal fast lap as I tried to use the slip stream from Lewis but then he locked up in the second chicane which made me lock up too. However I will be on soft tyres tomorrow which should be better for my race. As our race pace looked quite good yesterday, I was more focusing on the race and trying to use the tyres in the right way. For tomorrow, I will try to get a good start and take it from there."

Nico Rosberg: "I'm happy with today's qualifying and the compromise that we made to be strong in the race tomorrow. The performance in Q2 shows that the car is working well here, and we saved two sets of options which is good. I'm the only driver who took part in Q3 who will be starting on the hard tyre, so it will be interesting and should help me a lot at the start of the race. I think it will be a really good race tomorrow."

Force India:
Paul di Resta: "Overall I'm pretty pleased with how things went today. I was very close to making Q3 and it's a shame to miss out by just six thousandths of a second, but that just shows how fierce the fight is in the middle of the pack. One of the things that made the difference was getting a slipstream, which is something I didn't manage to get for my final run in Q2. Even so, I'm pleased with what we did because we were on the edge in that session and that's as much pace as we had. Also, being P11 means I'm the first car to have a free choice of tyres, so perhaps that could work to our advantage, especially as I have a new set of soft tyes available. I'm looking forward to the race because our long run pace has looked pretty good in practice and hopefully that will carry over into the race."

Adrian Sutil: "It was another normal session for me without any issues and I think we can be quite pleased with the outcome. We knew it would be tough to make Q3, but we were quite close and I feel I got the maximum from the car. Points are definitely possible, but it's not going to be easy because Renault and Mercedes look quite quick here. Race pace could be a different matter, but we will have to fight very hard to beat them. Plus, there are also a lot of quick cars behind us to watch out for. There are still a lot of unknowns for the race because there are a few options with the strategy and the big question is whether to stop once or twice."

Williams:
Rubens Barrichello: "All in all it has been a difficult weekend in terms of performance for us, and although we would be happier further up the order, we've done better today than we thought. Starting 13th and 14th gives us hope that we can score points, so we will keep thinking positive and do our best tomorrow."

Pastor Maldonado: "It was difficult for everyone in the team today. The mechanics did a great job to fix my car in time for me to get out in Q1. I then had a big moment on the first lap. The tyres weren't ready so maybe I was a little too optimistic with the rear wing and I lost the car and touched the barrier. There wasn't too much damage, mainly the front wing which we were able to change. I think we are more competitive today and the team did a great job overall with Rubens in 13th as well, so now we are looking forward to the race."

Sauber:
Sergio Perez: "Of course we cannot be happy with our qualifying result, but also I think this is pretty much all we could do today. My fastest lap was a good one, so there is nothing to complain about. Now we have to cope with what we've got. I trust our race pace will once again be better than our qualifying performance, and for sure I still want to score points at my first Formula One Grand Prix in Monza."

Kamui Kobayashi: "I slightly flat spotted a tyre in Q2, but even without that happening I don't believe I could have qualified in a significantly better position. We have been quite far away from Q3 today. However, we knew the Monza high speed circuit would be a tough one for us, and in the end it is tomorrow's race what counts. Of course it will be very difficult to get into the points from where I will be starting, but chances can still open up, so we will see."

Related Links
Qualy: Seb slides his way into pole
Saturday's shots from Monza