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Okay, it has taken a little bit longer than I might have wanted in the second chapter of my career, but that makes it even sweeter. It’s just beautiful. We already thought that this circuit should suit us, and it’s the perfect confirmation of all the work from every team member in Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart - a big thank you to every one of them, because this is a team result. Of course, it’s unfortunate that I won’t start from the very front but that’s how it is. I will do as well as I can. We know that overtaking is tough but with DRS and KERS, you might as well try it - and you can be sure I will.”
Sat: Merc, Red Bull, McLaren, Lotus
2012-05-26 04:35:14Michael Schumacher was the man to beat in qualifying in Monaco but it’s M Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg who will start on the front row…
Mercedes:
Michael Schumacher: “It is simply a wonderful feeling to set pole after such a long time, and particularly here in Monaco
Okay, it has taken a little bit longer than I might have wanted in the second chapter of my career, but that makes it even sweeter. It’s just beautiful. We already thought that this circuit should suit us, and it’s the perfect confirmation of all the work from every team member in Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart - a big thank you to every one of them, because this is a team result. Of course, it’s unfortunate that I won’t start from the very front but that’s how it is. I will do as well as I can. We know that overtaking is tough but with DRS and KERS, you might as well try it - and you can be sure I will.”
Nico Rosberg: “I am pleased with the result today and especially for what we have shown as a team in the past few weeks. We have had a couple of difficult races since the win in China but there has been a lot of hard work to turn it round, and today we were on top as a team which is great to see. Thank you to everybody back at base who has brought us back to the front again. I had a pretty smooth qualifying session, and managed to save two sets of new super soft tyres for the race, but it was just so close out there this afternoon, it’s incredible and fantastic for Formula One. Congratulations to Michael, he did a fantastic job. Of course, I am sorry for him that he must take the penalty, but that means I will be on the front row in Monaco. And at a race where overtaking can be so difficult, that’s a great place to start.”
Red Bull:
Mark Webber:
Sebastian Vettel:
McLaren:
Lewis Hamilton: “I’ve had a good feeling all weekend, but his afternoon was massively tough: one of my toughest qualifying sessions for some time, in fact. And there are two great drivers ahead of me who’ll make it even tougher for me tomorrow. I’m fortunate to be one place higher owing to Michael’s [Schumacher] penalty, but we struggled a little today, particularly with the very low-speed stuff. It was difficult to get the tyres to ‘switch on’ and give us the grip we needed. Still, qualifying was so much fun - I really enjoyed it - and the tyres and strategy can play a big part around here. If I get a good start, we’ll suddenly be in fighting position for the win. Anything can happen at Monaco and I’ll give everything tomorrow.”
Jenson Button: “Monaco is all about qualifying - that’s just the way it is - but I didn’t quite have the pace this afternoon. The car felt good this morning and we looked strong, but then we couldn’t translate that performance when it mattered. It’s strange, because it’s there at certain points of the weekend - even this morning, in P3, the car felt good and I was pretty happy. I’m hoping that our pace will be better in the race - but it’s very tricky to overtake here. The drivers around me are going to be on the same strategy, so it’s going to be tough, but as always we’ll do our best. I’ve only finished in the points at Monaco three times before -in first, second and third positions. I hope I get another one of those tomorrow!”
Lotus F1:
Romain Grosjean: “We are not as high on the grid as we wanted to be, but things were very tight today. I did a very good lap in the first part of Q3 but then I couldn’t improve on my second set of tyres. This was a shame because our strategy was perfect for the last part of qualifying. The traffic wasn’t too bad but I missed out in sector two. I think pole position was within reach. P4 is not exactly where we wanted to be but the race will be long. It’s Monaco, it will be difficult; nonetheless we know that the car is quite good on high fuel and with the tyres, so let’s see what we can do and put the best strategy into place.”
Kimi Raikkonen: “For sure we’re not very happy after that session. Since the first practice we’ve been a little bit behind where we should have been and we’ve been trying to catch-up. The car is fine, the biggest problem today was trying to get the tyres working as it seemed to be a bit tricky to get them up to temperature. I could have been a bit faster on my best lap, but I went a little bit too deep in the swimming pool section. It’s a bit disappointing but you can’t get it right every time. At a normal race track you would be able to gain positions through overtaking, but in Monaco this is difficult. That said, anything can happen here so hopefully we can achieve something good tomorrow.”
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