Saturday: Button and Hamilton fail behind Vettel
For nine thousandths of a second, Jenson Button once again witnessed Sebastian Vettel's superiority in the flying lap exercise. A final flying lap that Lewis Hamilton couldn't complete, hindered in his late out-lap by Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher.
Jenson Button – 1st and 2nd
This is the closest I’ve been to pole since the start of the season, but it’s still not the pole: there will be the same distance between first and second place on the grid tomorrow. But I’m satisfied, because I didn’t leave anything on the track today: I feel like I did everything to get the most out of the car. I think the whole team felt encouraged because we arrived here without any significant improvements. We have a less effective rear wing, particularly with the DRS, but we have a very fast car on high-speed circuits. We were fast at Spa, and we’re fast here too, it’s not really a surprise. Our long runs on Friday with high fuel levels weren’t perfect, but we saw that the form varied significantly between Friday and Saturday, so tomorrow it could be very different. The important day is Sunday: we’re starting second but it’s very, very tight. I really hope we’ll be fighting with Red Bull tomorrow.
Lewis Hamilton – 2nd and 3rd
I’m happy to be third: I’ll start from the clean side of the track, and we can have a good race from there. And I’m delighted that we have been competitive all weekend. We’ve definitely seen an improvement: being close on a high-speed circuit like this shows that we’re doing a good job. It’s very encouraging because if we had had this car at the start of the championship, I think the championship could have been different. In Q3, my last attempt was compromised when I approached the last corner of my out lap and, out of nowhere, Mark took the inside. Michael went around the outside and went onto the grass, so I couldn’t get back to the line to start my lap. I may be starting third, but I know I’m as quick as the two guys in front of me. It hasn’t been a fantastic weekend for me, that will change tomorrow.
Martin Whitmarsh
« The whole qualifying was extremely difficult today. In terms of pace, we are encouraged by our performance – it’s the closest we have been to the Red Bull in some time and, with one driver second and another third, we are in a good position for the race tomorrow. Jenson did a tremendous job in qualifying. In fact, he has driven brilliantly all weekend: missing pole by nine thousandths, which represents 68 cm at 280km/h on the finish line, is very unlucky. But he is on the front row, and in a good position for the race. Lewis did a great job too, with an incredible lap in Q2 and in his first Q3 lap. It was a bit tight on time when we left the garage for his last stint, but he lost time in his out lap and couldn’t reach the finish line in time to do a last lap. We might not have been clear enough with Lewis on what he needed to do in his out lap. Apart from that, our car is very well-balanced, both drivers are confident and I’m sure we can have an exciting race tomorrow ».
