Team reaction after qualifying in Shanghai (part 1)

Red Bull Renault

Sebastian Vettel: “It was tough today. I was not happy yesterday and this morning, as Mark was quite a bit quicker than me. We made some changes to the car in Mark’s direction, but it was still extremely difficult. I was struggling in the first sector, but then I got a purple (fastest) time in sector one on my last lap, so I think we made a good
step forward! I found a better line that worked, remembering things from last year. I lost my way a little bit in free practice this morning, but I had two very good runs in Q3. I think the first would have already been a good time, but I was too wide in the last corner. The second run was better – it was a fantastic lap. We got a fourth consecutive pole position for Red Bull. We’re proving that we have a very good car, no matter what the circuit. I’m very pleased with today. Thanks to the mechanics, as they had zero lunch due to all the changes that were required between free practice and qualifying.”

Mark Webber: “In P3, things came a little bit my way on some of the settings and it was a good battle again between me and Seb. He did a good job in Q3. I’m on the front row – which is not a bad position to start from. It’s a big credit to the team that we’ve locked out the front row again, after doing the same in Melbourne – it’s very positive. Thanks to the mechanics too. There was stuff coming out last night for our cars that should never have got here with the volcano exploding in Europe. It wasn’t easy for the team to arrange, so it was a great team effort. We’re set for an interesting Grand Prix tomorrow – I’m looking forward to it.”

Christian Horner: “I have no idea where Sebastian produced that last lap from, it was quite phenomenal. Mark was in great shape throughout qualifying today and got pipped right at the end there. So, both cars at the front of the grid again for another Red Bull one two. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”

Fabrice Lom (Renault): “I’m very, very happy – it’s the fourth pole in a row for Red Bull Renault at a very difficult track for the engine due to the long straight. We are ecstatic to be on the front row again – but its Sunday that counts, so we have to concentrate on tomorrow’s race and try to score as we did in Malaysia.”

Ferrari

Stefano Domenicali: “Overall, we can be pleased with the way things went today. We knew the Red Bulls would be hard to beat in qualifying and that was the case, but Fernando, who did a great lap, managed to take third, which means he is in with a fighting chance tomorrow. A shame for Felipe, who did not manage to put together a perfect lap, which sees him relegated to the fourth row: in a championship in which at least four cars are all within a few tenths, it only takes a small error to find yourself in a position that does not match up to your potential. Tomorrow’s race looks like being very hard to predict. In this early part of the season, we have seen that over a long run, the pace of the F10 is very competitive and we will try and make the most of this characteristic. Furthermore, the weather is forecast to take a turn for the worse and we will probably need to be ready to tackle what could be a wet race.”

Fernando Alonso: “At the moment, I’d say this result is an accurate reflection of our qualifying potential. The Red Bulls seem unbeatable, but it’s definitely not a surprise, because they are always strong on Saturday. I am happy with the way things went: third is a good place to start such a long race. We can do well and aim for a podium finish. Today, I was more comfortable on the hard tyres, as the soft ones were trickier to use. I am pleased with the benefits of the new aerodynamic package in terms of performance and it is thanks to these parts that I was able to take part in the press conference for the top three drivers. The team is working well, with a clear philosophy that it’s in the race that the points are given out, not in qualifying. If it rains, a lot will depend on when the tyres will need to be changed: getting it right, along with making the best tyre choice, can bring you the win, but if you get it wrong, you could lose everything. It’s hard to say where we are in terms of being competitive in the wet, because during winter testing, we were never all out on track under the same conditions and on the same fuel loads. However, in Australia, it went pretty well…”

Felipe Massa: “I’m a bit disappointed because I wasn’t able to do a clean lap on my last run in Q3. Unfortunately, I made a mistake at the final corner which lost me at least a few tenths. Up to that point, I was in line for a lap that would have seen me into the top five, but when everyone is so close, it takes very little to find yourself dropping down the grid. It might rain tomorrow, so there’s a chance it could shake up the order, but it is clear that starting seventh, it will be hard to fight for the top positions. In terms of race pace, we can hold our own, as was the case in yesterday’s free practice: the soft tyres seem to degrade more than the hard but maybe with a bit more rubber on the track, the situation could improve. It will be very important to get a good start and make up some places immediately.”

Chris Dyer: “A really great performance today from Fernando, who was able to get the most out of the car, putting himself in a strong position for tomorrow’s race. Some disappointment for Felipe, who was not able to put together his best lap in Q3, but there is still every chance he can have a good race. There is a high possibility of rain playing its part tomorrow: even if we don’t encounter the same extreme conditions as last year, it could definitely create some surprises and we must be ready to tackle every eventuality.”

Mercedes GP

Nico Rosberg will start from the second row of the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix after achieving fourth place in qualifying today at the Shanghai International Circuit. Team-mate Michael Schumacher starts from ninth position.

Nico and Michael progressed easily through Q1 in second and ninth positions respectively after completing two runs each on the prime tyre. Nico needed just one run on the options in Q2 to secure second place with Michael completing two runs, also on options, to go through in tenth position.

A competitive final qualifying session saw Nico complete a further two runs on the softer compound with his quickest lap achieving a strong fourth position, just 0.010s away from Alonso in third place. Michael struggled more with the balance of his car throughout the hour and qualified in ninth position.

Nico Rosberg: “Fourth place is quite a nice surprise and I’m very pleased that we seem to have made a step forward this weekend. We really got the most out of the car in qualifying and I’ve worked well with my engineer Jock and the team to improve the car and get the set-up right this weekend. We didn’t think we would be this far up the grid today as we were struggling in practice this morning compared to the McLarens but to be level with the quickest Ferrari and a bit closer to the Red Bulls is very satisfying. It’s a good step for us and we’re well placed to have a good race tomorrow.”

Michael Schumacher: “I am obviously disappointed about my qualifying. It didn’t really come together today. In certain areas I was just not quick enough and at some corner exits, I struggled a bit with rear end grip. I haven’t really found the balance of the car all weekend. It will be tough to be too optimistic for tomorrow from my grid position but then I had some good starts lately and there is always room for lots of things to happen in Formula One races. We can still achieve some good points and I am definitely going to go for it.”

Ross Brawn: “Well done to Nico and the team for an excellent performance in qualifying today. Fourth position is certainly ahead of where we expected to be this weekend and Nico drove very well in all three qualifying sessions to put himself in contention for a strong race tomorrow. Michael has not achieved such a good balance on the car this weekend and had a less satisfying day. However he will give it everything in the race tomorrow and should have the opportunity to show the progress made since the start of the season.”

Norbert Haug: "A great job from Nico and the team on a very demanding track. Nico’s lap puts him in fourth place and less than one and a half tenths from the front row and closer to the pole time than in the previous races. Hopefully we can repeat a similar performance tomorrow. We were the third fastest team today, ten thousandths of a second down to the second fastest, so a good job from everybody. Michael was not so happy with his car but he is in a good position to score the points tomorrow that he could not achieve in the last two races through no fault of his own. There seems to be a chance of rain during the race so it will be interesting to see how it develops."

McLaren Mercedes

Jenson Button: “I was struggling a little with the car in the first two sessions. By Q3, though, it was much better, but it was a little bit too late by then: the car felt quite different, balance-wise, and I had to play around with the diff and the front wing to find a good feeling in the car.

“So it wasn’t a bad lap; it’s just a bit frustrating that it took us that long in qualifying to get the balance right. But fifth is just about okay, and I think we’ll have a good car for the race tomorrow.

“It’s probably going to rain tomorrow anyway, so the set-up we have may well be pretty good in the wet conditions.”

Lewis Hamilton: “I’m a little disappointed – we wanted to get pole today, and thought we could –, and I don’t really know where the time went in Q3.

“The tyres felt fine – pretty much exactly the same as in Q1 and Q2, when the car felt great – but in Q3 the car started moving around a lot more, and it felt like the front was bottoming.

“We’d been quick all weekend, but sixth was the best I could do in Q3. I think we ought to have been further up the grid – but we’ll fight our way as far up the field as we can tomorrow. I’m sure it will be a good race.”

Martin Whitmarsh: “Lewis recorded good times in Q1 and Q2, but his Q3 lap was about 0.3s slower than we’d hoped for. We don’t yet know the reason for that – it could be a number of things – but of course we’ll analyse it. It’s a pity, though, because without that 0.3s deficit he’d have been on the front row for tomorrow’s race.

“As for Jenson, he put in a very good lap in Q3 on used Option tyres – but, again, so close were the times of the drivers who qualified between P2 and P8, that a tenth or two would have made a significant difference to his grid slot.

“So fifth and sixth aren’t ideal, but tomorrow the weather may well be more changeable than it was today, and both our drivers have great ability in such conditions.”

Renault

Robert Kubica: It was good qualifying session for me - probably my best performance this year from a driving point of view, and I was particularly pleased with my laps in Q3. If you had said to me yesterday I would start the race from eighth, I would have been happy, so it’s a good result and puts us in a good position to score points in the race.

Vitaly Petrov: I’m pleased with my performance, which is my best result from a dry qualifying session, even if my ultimate objective has to be to make it through to Q3 because Robert has shown this is what the car can do. Overall, things are going in the right direction for me: I’m improving my driving and getting more comfortable with the car all the time. I also need to say a big ’thank you’ to my mechanics, who did a fantastic job to repair my car in time for qualifying after my accident in free practice.

Eric Boullier, Team Principal: We were very pleased with the performance of the car, which shows the progress we continue to make as a team. Robert’s eighth place is a good result and we are now between the two Mercedes in qualifying, and we can expect even better race pace. As for Vitaly, he did a good job to bounce back from his accident in free practice this morning, which is all part of the learning curve for a driver in only his fourth Grand Prix. He is pushing himself hard, as well as the car, and his performances are improving every weekend. He did well to qualify 14th, which was the strongest performance of the rookies."

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: It was a good session from both drivers with Robert solidly into Q3 and Vitaly doing well to qualify 14th. It was satisfying to get ahead of one of the Merecedes with Robert, and eighth is a good position from which to start the race. After Vitaly’s crash this morning, the mechanics did a fantastic job to repair the car so that Vitaly could take part in qualifying. Overall, it was a good effort from the two drivers and we know that our car works better on high fuel, so we’re well placed to aim for points with both Robert and Vitaly tomorrow. The weather forecast suggests we may get some rain for the race, but we’re happy whether it’s wet or dry.

Force India Mercedes

The Force India F1 Team experienced a mixed qualifying session ahead of Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. Adrian Sutil will start the race from 10th position, however there was disappointment for Tonio Liuzzi as he will start from 18th position after getting caught in traffic.

Adrian progressed through to the second segment of qualifying with the 12th quickest lap and then, on his very final lap of Q2, posted the ninth fastest time to enter Q3 for the fourth time this season. In Q3 Adrian used the softer tyre compound to post a time that was only just bettered by the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher in the dying seconds of the session.

Adrian Sutil: Another Q3 qualifying performance for us, I think we can be very pleased with that. Again, it’s P10 - I know this position very well from the last races in Australia and Bahrain! The car is behaving very well and we can be happy about the balance we have. It’s a bit difficult in the mid sector though as the grip is missing a little bit so we have a touch of oversteer and it’s hard to drive on the limit. However from the team’s point of view we can look forward to the race tomorrow: I think our long runs were quite good on Friday.

Tonio Liuzzi: We were fast in the morning and the car was reacting well to changes and seemed to have a good pace. Again, though, for the third time in four races I got caught in traffic, again with a Williams and an HRT. But that’s how it is, it happens, we have to look at why and then work on this. Tomorrow I think we are in great shape for the race as the speed has been there when we were on the longer runs but when you start in 18th place it makes life much more difficult. We are still optimistic though and we keep pushing whatever happens.

Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer: We’re very pleased to have another top ten qualifying with Adrian here, with some very good laps. It was still tricky with quite low grip and ultimately we felt that another position or two could have been within reach in Q3. Tonio was very unfortunate with traffic today in Qualifying, so couldn’t actually put together a representative lap. It does seem to be a lottery sometimes early in the session given the pace difference between some of the cars. With the possibility of another change in the weather conditions tomorrow, we’re confident of a very exciting race and we’ll be looking to add to our points total.