Saturday: A new pole for Hamilton and McLaren

Lewis Hamilton – 9th and Pole position

Qualification is an intense experience, we all put a lot of pressure on ourselves, but it’s probably the moment of a race weekend that I enjoy the most. On my fastest lap in Q3, I lost a little time in the last corner – maybe a tenth and a half – so it’s very encouraging to still be on pole. It’s good for the team to achieve a complete front row, it’s a great achievement on everyone’s part, but we must make sure to keep it up because the guys behind us are not going to give up.

« Tomorrow, there is a long distance before the first corner, but I will make sure to get a good start and stay ahead cleanly. The key to the race will be managing the tires well – they will suffer, especially with 150 kg of fuel. But we have a car that has a better race pace than in qualifying, so that is encouraging. »

« It has been a good weekend for the team so far, but we need to keep pushing to achieve a good result tomorrow. »

Jenson Button – 6th and 2nd

My qualifications have been good in the last two races. We have worked well as a team, and it’s nice when your engineer talks to you on the radio at the end of Q3 and you can hear all the mechanics celebrating. I was very happy with my fast lap, but there will be a long and hot afternoon tomorrow, so I will work hard to make sure I’m prepared and well-hydrated for the race.

This place is so physically tough – not just for the single-seaters and drivers, but also for the mechanics – they wear fireproof suits during the stops, which people often forget, so hopefully they’ll be ready for a few stops tomorrow. It’s also difficult for strategists, the heat and humidity are so high that you don’t really know how the tires will perform and which strategies will pay off best.

The most important thing is that we are on the front row. The race will be long tomorrow – I think everyone in the top 4 can hope to win the race, but our pace on long runs was consistent during free practice and I believe we have great confidence in ourselves as a team.

Martin Whitmarsh – Team Principal

Today, it was very close and very difficult. Lewis put in a fantastic first lap in Q3, and Jenson managed to pull out a good lap at the end of the session – both our drivers did a fantastic job despite enormous pressure.

Lewis could probably have found another tenth in his fastest lap, but it wasn’t worth taking any risks at the end. Jenson and Lewis are free to race until the first corner. After last weekend, I’m sure Lewis will want to come out of that first corner in the lead, but it’s a long and difficult race ahead of them tomorrow.

«I am proud of every person who works for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team – the front row is a good place, but nothing is done yet: we will have a great fight to deliver tomorrow, that’s for sure.»