Saturday: Alonso walks on water for Ferrari, Massa misses the boat

Fernando Alonso – 1st and Pole position:

« I’m very happy! When qualifying takes place under these conditions, it’s very difficult to put together a clean lap and it’s very easy to end up in the grass, gravel, or the wall! It’s like a fight for survival: above all, you have to make it to the end and then see where you finished. And then, you hear on the radio that you have pole position, it’s extremely satisfying because it feels like you’ve given it your all. The car was great in all conditions, which is encouraging because it means we’ll be in the mix no matter what, whether it’s dry or wet. In Q2, we went out immediately, hoping to set a time on the first lap because we knew the rain would intensify. In the end, we put on the Rain tires because we wanted to have at least a small idea of what the conditions would probably be in Q3. This last part of qualifying was very problematic because there was aquaplaning, so much so that we didn’t use the KERS and couldn’t use the 7th gear on the straights. Securing pole in such extreme conditions is really gratifying! Tomorrow, I expect the strategies won’t be too different among the leading teams, but with a good degree of flexibility. Thinking about the championship, I clearly can’t be disappointed that two strong competitors like Hamilton and Webber are starting on the fourth row, but we know that can change quickly. The start will be important but not decisive, since we have 67 laps to go. A Spanish pole in Germany on an Italian car? I don’t want to get political, but it’s certainly an interesting set of circumstances! »

Felipe Massa – 8th and 14th [13th on the grid]:

« I am very disappointed with how the qualifications went. I didn’t manage to set a time at the start of Q2 because I went wide at turn 8, and therefore I couldn’t do a good lap in the window where it was possible. At that part of the circuit, the asphalt is different, and it’s very easy to lock the wheels and thus lose a lot of time. Then it rained so heavily that there was aquaplaning: I had to try to stay on the track to improve my time, but the conditions made it impossible, even with the Rain tires. It’s really a shame because the car is competitive, both in wet and dry conditions, but tomorrow I’ll be starting too far back to fight for the top positions. I’ll do my best, as always. It will be important to choose the right tires at the right time: we have some ideas, but it’s certain that we couldn’t do many long stints over these two days. »