Formula 1 News

2010 Monaco GP, qualifying: Team quotes 

Ross Brawn: “We had the chance for a better position today so we are disappointed with our performance in the final qualifying session. We didn’t quite get the track and the tyres together at the right time for both drivers and we didn’t keep them well enough informed of their relative track positions in Q3. The performance in Q2, particularly from Nico, is more indicative of what we should have been fighting for and it is obviously frustrating that we didn’t realise that potential. However the car is going well here in Monaco and it is a long race tomorrow so we are still in a reasonable position to have a good outcome to the weekend.”

Norbert Haug: “Not the qualifying results that we wanted to achieve here in Monaco. Nico posted the fastest time in Q2 with just a single outing which proved that our speed is there. Traffic in Q2 for both Nico and Michael, and a slight mistake in Nico’s only fast lap he could do under these circumstances, made it impossible to get better places on the grid than sixth and seventh. We certainly had the speed to end up in row one or two but could not use it as planned. This was today and tomorrow can possibly be a different story. Lots of things can happen during the race on this traditional street circuit and we certainly will not give up too early.”

Mike Gascoyne: “A good day out there for us. We took another step forward in performance terms, showing in final practice and in qualifying that the upgrades we brought to the last race, combined with a good engine package, continue to help us close the gap to the teams ahead, this time to under three seconds. In qualifying I think we did as well as we could have hoped for – Heikki put in a very strong lap early on, and Jarno did the same at the end of the session to take us further away from the other new teams, so I’m very pleased.”

Tony Fernandes: “I’m very happy, and I know I keep saying that after every qualifying session. Today we again finished best of the new teams but there was a real drive from Heikki and Jarno to try and get into Q2. In the past few races there’s been an inevitability that we’re not going to get there, but today there was a real belief that we had a chance, which caused Heikki to push really hard. He spun, but that showed that he was pushing. So it’s been good today – to be 2.3 seconds away from the best time in Q1 is something we should all be proud about. It’s also important that the whole team is very pumped up, they feel like we’re making progress every race and after six races morale is very high. Looking forward to tomorrow, anything can happen here – obviously from where we’re starting we need to make up seven places to get a point, and that’s quite a hard task, but who knows, we may be able to spring a surprise. The drivers are very pumped up, we’re learning a lot about the car, and after six races we are clearly moving forward and closer to the pack. Well done to Heikki, Jarno and the whole team.”

Giorgio Ascanelli: “There’s not much to say after today’s qualifying. I would not describe it as disappointing, because when all is said and done, this is Monaco which sets its own challenge. In Jaime’s case, it was his first time here in a Formula 1 car and he struggled a bit and Sebastien’s result shows pretty much where we are. We did not get it completely right, but then nobody really does here and we had our share of traffic and mistakes, but it was not a major drama.”

Sam Michael: “It was a good effort to get one car into the top ten, but we were not quite fast enough to get both through. Rubens extracted everything he could from the car and Nico performed well considering it’s his first time in a Formula One car around Monaco. The development parts worked well here and we have more coming to the next three races. We’ll now focus our attention on getting good starts in the race.”

Stefano Domenicali: “The way this day has ended is very regrettable. We had the potential to do very well, but Fernando’s accident immediately diminished our chances. It’s a shame, as we had shown right from the start of this weekend that we were very competitive. Tomorrow, we will effectively run two races. Felipe is perfectly placed to get a good result, while Fernando, who starts from pit lane, will have a mountain to climb, a veritable Alpine peak. We will try and bring home as many points as possible and then we will see where we stand in both championships.”

Chris Dyer: “It’s been a very difficult day for us. We had a car that had the potential to fight for pole on a difficult track like this one, but we were only able to do so with just one car. The rules do not allow the use of a second chassis on the same day and the damage to Fernando’s car, after his accident this morning, was too serious to be fixed. Felipe did very well in Q1 and Q2, but he did not manage to put together the perfect lap in Q3 and had to settle for fourth place, which is still good enough to have a strong race tomorrow. Fernando will start from pit lane: a few years ago, someone in a similar situation managed to finish fifth in a Ferrari, so we hope we can improve on that performance!”

James Key: “Ultimately a bit disappointing where we are after Barcelona, but this was always going to be a more difficult circuit for us. The competition was very, very close, within a few tenths, and I think that the car had those extra tenths in it. But with the traffic and all the difficulties in qualifying, unfortunately on the last run we just couldn’t quite put the sectors together to be closer to the top ten. It’s very tight, and we have to keep it as clean as possible tomorrow, bring the cars home and make the best of our position.”

Martin Whitmarsh: “Over the weekend so far, we’ve seen strong long-run pace from both our drivers, but we’ve found it a bit more difficult to get sufficient pace from the tyres in the early laps. Unfortunately, we couldn’t rectify that issue to the extent that we’d ideally have liked prior to qualifying, and the consequence was that both Jenson and Lewis had to dig very deep to get through Q1 and Q2 and into Q3. As always on race day at Monaco, grid positions will be crucial, and undoubtedly we’ll have a battle on our hands tomorrow. But, as I’ve said before and don’t apologise for saying again, both Jenson and Lewis are supremely combative race drivers – and, even at Monaco, where it’s notoriously difficult to overtake, they’ll be doing their utmost to convert their starting positions into the maximum possible points haul for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.”

Colin Kolles: “Before the third session, we changed some parts and the gearbox on Bruno Senna’s car and we could see clear improvements that reduced the difference to the leading time. In qualifying, times improved from the morning session. Overall, to avoid the walls and to bring the car home in one piece to qualify in Monaco is one of the toughest exercises for a driver and I am pleased with our result.”

Eric Boullier: “Robert’s second place today is a great result for the team after an awesome qualifying session. The car has been very quick throughout all the sessions and this performance confirms the progress we have made recently. It’s also a great to see three Renault engines in the first three places. Obviously we are a bit disappointed for Vitaly because he has done a good job all weekend and was looking on course to make Q3. It’s a reminder that it’s very easy to get caught out in Monaco. We are now looking forward to an exciting race tomorrow and hopefully coming away with a great result.”

Alan Permane: “To qualify on the front row here is an excellent result for the team. The car has been working well all weekend and Robert has been exceptional. Starting near the front is very important at Monaco so today’s result is especially rewarding. It’s also nice to see three Renault engines at the front and we are looking forward to racing the Red Bulls tomorrow. Vitaly will start in 14th and was unfortunate to get caught out at the first corner in Q2 because he was looking competitive and would have been very close to making Q3. I’m sure he will race hard tomorrow and hopefully challenge for some points.”

Nick Wirth: “Overall, an encouraging day. Lucas had a good trouble-free morning session whilst Timo was put on the back foot by a steering rack leak which stopped him on-track and lost him the whole session, which at Monaco is very difficult to recover from. Nevertheless, both Lucas and Timo did a good job in Qualifying and despite Timo’s lost time, it was very encouraging to again measure the downforce gains that the new parts fitted to Timo’s car yesterday which gave the expected boost in aerodynamic performance. There is now a substantial difference in performance between the old and new cars and I’m looking forward to Lucas getting that spec the next race in Istanbul, as the data clearly shows he would have been faster than he was today with the new car. The next step is to build on the two-car finish from Barcelona again tomorrow with a solid and reliable race.”

Christian Horner: “A great team result. Six out of six poles is quite an achievement and they’re evenly distributed between the drivers. Mark found a good rhythm and a good gap on track to set a time that was remarkably quick. Sebastian was only a tenth off a front row lock out, but third on the grid is a good place to be starting here. It’s important that we convert today’s result into a good points haul tomorrow. It’s testimony to the hard work that’s going on from the whole team to achieve this performance and I’d also like to congratulate Renault on a one-two-three.”

Fabrice Lom: “A superb result. A sixth pole position is very good, especially at Monaco, which is a special venue. We know that here power is nothing but that drivability and all the other engine qualities are important. We have three Renaults in the top three starting places and are very proud of all the work that’s been done at the factory and the track to improve the drivability and the efficiency of our engine. We can see it works for both teams, Red Bull and Renault. Congratulations to Kubica for his good lap and let’s hope we get a perfect result tomorrow.”

Vijay Mallya: “Tonio had a very strong qualifying and really deserved to be in the top 10. He has had some issues with traffic in the past but today he and the team negotiated it well and he was able to get the most out of the car. Adrian was not so lucky with the traffic however P12 in Monaco is still quite a promising position to start the race from. We could see a double points finish from where we are, this has got to be the aim, so we’ll put everything into making it happen.”