Saturday: Hamilton gives wings to his McLaren

Lewis Hamilton – 4th and 2nd

« First of all, I want to congratulate the entire team that did a great job today. Everyone at the factory and here on the track worked incredibly hard, and that’s why the car was so fast today. I think we all underestimated how good it actually was.

To slot in between the two Red Bulls and get ahead of the two Ferraris is a fantastic effort from the team. We have a big job ahead tomorrow, of course, but today, I’m over the moon: this lap was a real boost.

I acknowledge that today’s qualifying session was one of the best I’ve ever done, definitely the best of this season. The car was great, we had a really good balance, and I think it’s one of the best laps I’ve done in the car. We’re already at the limit in the first lap of Q3, and generally, when we improve in the second run, it’s only by a tenth, but today, it was by four tenths. I don’t really know where this time came from, and to be honest, I’m going to ask for a recording of my onboard lap because I would love to see that.

Jenson Button – 5th and 6th

« My car was performing quite well this morning, but this afternoon, during the qualifying, I couldn’t find enough grip, whether on the soft or medium tires. We’ll look into it tonight to have a better understanding of what happened.

However, Lewis did a brilliant lap to be second on the grid, so congratulations to him. In fact, his pace is encouraging for me as well because it proves there’s more speed to be extracted from the car, if we find it.

Yesterday’s tests also showed that our pace on long stints was quite good, so that’s encouraging as well.

So, considering that the last two days have not been easy, I suppose that a seventh place is a solid base from which we hope to score as many points as possible during tomorrow’s race.

As always, here at the Nürburgring, there is a chance of rain, and the changing conditions have worked in my favor this season. But whether it rains or shines, I approach the race calmly.