Team reaction after qualifying in Yeongam (part 1)

Sebastian Vettel: “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: “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.”

Christian Horner: “A fantastic team performance today. A one two start on the grid at this new circuit is a great result and the drivers were again split by the narrowest of margins. They elected to take different strategies in Q3, Sebastian focused on two one-lap runs while Mark elected to do two laps on his last run. The difference between the two of them was almost identical to the gap in Japan, so a great team performance. We need to continue this tomorrow and hopefully the weather won’t interfere with the race.”

Fabrice Lom (Renault): ”A really impressive performance from our two drivers on this new track – we are the first team in history to have pole and the first front row on the grid in Korea, so we are very proud of that. It’s also good for the Championship as Alonso is behind us with the McLarens further back, so we are in good shape. Let’s hope there’s not too much rain, as predictions are not good for tomorrow’s weather – but we will prepare with our usual professionalism.”

One car on the second row and the other on the third: this was the outcome of qualifying for the first ever Korean Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari, with Fernando Alonso in third place and Felipe Massa sixth.

Stefano Domenicali: “It was a very closely contested session, with closer gaps than usual. We did our utmost and we can say that, overall, we are reasonably pleased with this result, even our aim is always to try and be in front of everyone. In Q3, Fernando produced two great laps: it would have been hard to do better and it is very important that he has avoided starting from the dirty side of the grid. Felipe is back on great form this weekend: it’s a shame that for his only run on new soft tyres in Q3, he was not able to show all the potential demonstrated in Q2, but I firmly believe he can have a good race tomorrow. And that’s the day that matters, when the points are given out. On a track one knows, the usual parameters apply – the start, reliability, strategy, the work of the team and the drivers – on a completely new one like Yeongam, there will also be the unknown factor of how the track will evolve, as well as how that might be affected by the rain forecast for tonight. All we can do is concentrate on our job and do our best in a race which looks like being very unpredictable.”

Fernando Alonso: “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.”

Felipe Massa: “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. It it was to rain it could be even more slippery than usual, given the condition of the track surface.”

Chris Dyer: “We had another day with no technical problems on either car, which is always positive. Qualifying was a bit different to usual, especially because the difference in performance between the two types of tyre Bridgestone has brought here is greater, which made the decision on how to manage the sets of tyres during the various parts of the session less obvious. After a couple of Grands Prix where this part of the weekend has been difficult for us, here we managed to get both cars into Q3 and with Fernando, we just missed out on pole. As we have seen so often this season, our main rivals managed to find something right at the last in order to get ahead of us. Tomorrow, we can expect a very unusual start, because getting away from the clean side will, in theory, produce a significant advantage: therefore, for Fernando it was better to be third rather than second, while unfortunately Felipe will start from the dirty side. I am expecting a very interesting race, where the tyre performance over a long run will heavily affect the outcome. So far, both the hards and the softs have presented us with problems and the track conditions could change still more. Then again, if it was to rain tonight, as predicted, everything could go back to zero again.”

Lewis Hamilton: “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.”

Jenson Button: “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!”

Martin Whitmarsh, Team principal: “The conditions in qualifying today were pretty challenging – low-grip Tarmac combined with low-ish track temperatures – and as a result it was difficult to get the tyres up to optimal operating temperature fast enough.

“Both our drivers drove sensibly and well to get safely through to Q3 – and, once there, we elected to give them each two single-lap runs. They both drove very good laps – but as things turned out it wasn’t easy to nail a time on a single lap.

“However, we’re very positive about tomorrow’s race. We’ve got a very good race car, with strong straight-line speed, and as a result both Jenson and Lewis will be able to drive attacking races.”

Mercedes GP drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher qualified in fifth and ninth places today for the first Korean Grand Prix which takes place at the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam tomorrow.

Both drivers felt they got the best out of their MGP W01 cars around the new 5.6km track with Nico having a particularly good lap to achieve fifth place and line up on the third row of the grid.

Nico Rosberg: “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.”

Michael Schumacher: “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.”

Ross Brawn: “We have seen another solid performance from the team and our drivers here with Nico putting in a particularly good lap in qualifying today to achieve fifth place. The team have got the most out of the car and adapted well to the new circuit. We have good straightline speed and the car seems reasonable on high fuel so we can look forward to an exciting race tomorrow.”

Norbert Haug: "As in recent races, we achieved the best possible result with our current package today. A superb lap from Nico on this challenging new circuit puts him in fifth place on the grid and Michael also has the opportunity to score good points from ninth place. The forecast predicts rain for Sunday so we may be able to benefit as our drivers have shown strong performances in these conditions. Our ultimate goal is to fight for pole positions and race wins however it is satisfying for everyone in the team when we achieve the best result possible. Compliments and thanks to the organisers here in Korea for building a thrilling new race track. With very hard work, the track is ready ‘just in time’ and I am sure everyone in the paddock wishes for a great race tomorrow as a reward.”

Robert Kubica: 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.

Vitaly Petrov: I was hoping to get into the top 10 today, to minimise the effect of the grid penalty, and it looked reasonable after Q1. During the second part of qualifying, I
made a mistake by pushing too hard, touched the kerb and spun. The tyres were
then so dirty that I couldn’t set a proper competitive lap time afterwards. It’s a pity,
but I must now focus on the race, and take every opportunity that comes to me.

Eric Boullier, Team Principal: We looked competitive during every practice session, so it is clearly disappointing that we were unable to repeat that level of performance in qualifying. However, we must now focus on the race. We know that our car is quick on the straights and we hope it will be competitive in race trim. We can look forward to aggressive performances from both drivers, and our goal will be to make up as many
positions as possible tomorrow afternoon.

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: After our performances in practice yesterday and this morning, we cannot be happy with eighth and 15th places in qualifying. Robert was complaining of more oversteer than this morning, when he had been pretty happy with the car, so we need to look at the data and understand what happened. As for Vitaly, he had a difficult session and will also incur the five-place grid penalty from Suzuka. We will need to be creative tomorrow if we wish to get both cars into the points.

Qualifying for the inaugural Korean Grand Prix yielded another top ten grid slot for Rubens Barrichello today, his tenth of the season, when he closed Q3 with the tenth quickest time of the afternoon. Nico Hulkenberg’s final opportunity to post a flying lap in Q2 was compromised in turn 12 by a momentary lack of rear end stability. Consequently, Nico will start tomorrow’s race from eleventh on the grid with the benefit of electing his first stint tyre choice.

Rubens Barrichello: That was a great qualifying in that the spirit was very high. I went into Q3 knowing that we had four tenths to make up; I did a good lap and made up the difference so I’m delighted. We are still at the tail end of the top ten, and we don’t seem to be as competitive as we expected we would be, but that’s where we are. The track is quite slippery so I’m predicting a lot will happen in the race and I’m hoping we will get some points out of it.

Nico Hulkenberg: It was as tight as we thought it was going to be out there today. It’s always disappointing not to get into Q3. The lap I was on would have pushed me into the top ten, but I lost the rear in turn 12 and was forced to abort the lap. P11 is still a good position to start from. We have the flexibility to choose our tyres so we will give that thought overnight and come up with a good strategy. There are overtaking opportunities here so there’s still a chance to score points tomorrow.

Patrick Head, Director of Engineering: Of course it’s disappointing not to get two cars into the top ten, but I don’t think we’re as strong here as we have been at other tracks. It’s going to be a very interesting race as we understand there’s some rain coming. That will make tyre strategy interesting, so we’re looking forward to it.