Brazil: The qualifications seen from the stands

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton – Pole position

Jenson Button – 2nd

Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal: « Today at Interlagos, on a track that was a bit slippery at the start of the qualifying session and dried out with the appearance of the sun, Lewis and Jenson both drove magnificently, expertly managing the changing conditions and then setting very fast laps in Q3 to place first and second for tomorrow’s Brazilian Grand Prix. They are only separated by 0.055 seconds. This is the 62nd all-McLaren front row in Formula 1 history, setting a new record of which we are all proud within the team. It’s also Lewis Hamilton’s 7th pole of 2012 and the 8th for McLaren-Mercedes.

Rain is expected tomorrow and as we know, bad weather always makes things a bit more difficult to predict in motorsport. But we are extremely well positioned, and whether it rains or not, we are happy that our drivers will start from the front row of the grid. Moreover, Lewis and Jenson are very competitive, clever, and remarkably skilled drivers in the rain and are therefore fully capable of fighting for victory tomorrow. We clearly have a very fast car, and our pace on long stints yesterday suggests that our race pace is good as well.

To conclude, I would like to say “Thank you and good job” to all the McLaren employees, the designers, the engineers, the technicians, the mechanics, not just here in Interlagos or in Woking, but also in Brixworth where Mercedes [as engine supplier, editor’s note] is based.

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Red Bull

Mark Webber – 3rd

Sebastian Vettel – 4th

Christian Horner, Team Principal: Having both our cars on the second row of the grid is a good result, especially after the rain that fell just before qualifying. We navigated our way through Q1 and Q2, with Seb’s best time in Q2, and then McLaren found an even better rhythm in Q3. However, Mark put in an excellent lap, extracted the maximum from the car, and is in 3rd place, with Sebastian alongside him in 4th place. Our focus now shifts to the race, and if you believe the forecast, it’s going to be wet, but our goal now is to maximize points from these grid positions.

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Ferrari

Felipe Massa – 5th

Fernando Alonso – 8th [7th on the grid]

Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: « Clearly, this is not the result we were hoping for this afternoon, but we have seen so many times this year how the results from Saturday are not that conclusive. This has been the case throughout the season, and if you add to this the uncertainty related to the weather, with rain expected to play a role at the start, then we should be contenders. This result more or less reflects our average for the season, unfortunately, we cannot be surprised by how things have turned out. Now, all we can do is prepare well for tomorrow, the decisive day of this championship.

We know exactly what we need to do: be perfect and ready to take advantage of every opportunity. We can promise one thing to our fans, many of whom are here in the stands; each of us will give 120% to achieve our goals: maintaining our second place in the constructors’ championship and above all, allowing Fernando to clinch the drivers’ title he deserves more than anyone else.

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Williams

Pastor Maldonado – 6th [16th on the grid]

**Bruno Senna** – 12th [11th on the grid]

Mark Gillan, Chief Engineer in charge of operations:

« Having had difficulties yesterday, we worked hard last night to improve the car’s balance for qualifying, while keeping a close eye on the possible arrival of rain for the race. Both our drivers were much happier with the balance of their cars today and drove well in the wet track conditions at the start of Q1. Bruno was unlucky not to make it into Q3 in the end, and Pastor had a good end to the session with a solid 6th place. The weather forecast predicts rain tonight, and we are looking forward to an eventful race. »

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Sahara Force India

Nico Hülkenberg – 7th [6th on the grid]

Paul di Resta – 11th [10th on the grid]

Robert Fernley – Deputy Team Principal: We seemed competitive approaching qualifying and knew we had a chance to get both cars into Q3. The shower just before the session, combined with some excitement in Q1, led to quite a hectic 20 minutes. In Q2, the track was relatively dry, but with conditions constantly improving, it was important to cover many laps and be on track at the end of the session. Paul was a tenth away from entering Q3, but Nico was able to regain the pace of the last practice sessions. This seventh position reflects our competitiveness and allows us to finish the season on a positive note.

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Lotus

Romain Grosjean – 18th

Kimi Räikkönen – 9th [8th on the grid]

Alan Permane, Director of Track Operations: Kimi has had a terrible weekend so far in terms of reliability, with an ignition coil issue in free practice 1, followed by a blown engine in free practice 3. His only complete session was the second one on Friday, in intense heat. Therefore, bringing the car into the top 10 was a very impressive effort. Additionally, he only did one timed lap in Q3, at a moment when the track was not at its fastest. We therefore believe he will be better for the race tomorrow.

A very good result is possible tomorrow for Romain. Even if he starts from the 18th position, after an unfortunate incident with Pedro de la Rosa, the car he has in his hands is certainly much faster than those around him, regardless of the conditions. He will also have many new tires at his disposal to move up the field. There is no reason to believe he cannot fight for big points, and that will be our goal, without a doubt.

There was a light shower before the qualifications today, and our forecast suggests that tomorrow the rain will be of similar intensity, rather than the deluge that seems imminent tonight. We have confidence in the car’s performance in both wet and dry conditions and have opted for settings that take potential weather changes into account. It looks like an intermediate start, but you never know what might happen here. In the past, we’ve experienced spectacular storms. In any case, we have prepared for anything the heavens might throw our way.

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Mercedes

Nico Rosberg – 10th [9th on the grid]

Michael Schumacher – 14th [13th on the grid]

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: « The conditions were a bit tricky during qualifying after the shower, especially in Q1, but the team managed the situation perfectly. Our results are about what we could get from the car today given our current level of performance. It’s so tight in the midfield that a few tenths can make the difference, and Michael found himself on the wrong side in Q2. However, we know he’s a real fighter, and with the difficult conditions expected, we should be able to admire his talent in the race. I’m optimistic that we will be in better shape for the race with the car we have. »

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Sauber

Sergio Pérez – 13th [12th on the grid]

Kamui Kobayashi – 15th [14th on the grid]

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: « Overall, it was a better day than yesterday. We made progress with the car’s balance and grip. Given that, we expected more during qualifying, but we have to accept our positions. In dry conditions, it won’t be easy to climb up in the race, but if it rains, anything can happen. »

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Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo – 16th [15th on the grid]

Jean-Eric Vergne – 17th

Laurent Mekies, Chief Engineer: « It was an entertaining Q1 with changing conditions, as the track was wet at the start in some parts of the circuit. Both of our drivers managed to make it to Q2, even though it was very close. By the time we started Q2, the track was back to dry conditions. Unfortunately, in these conditions, we trailed behind other midfield members, even though the gap to those directly ahead is actually quite small. Tomorrow, we expect very variable weather during the race, and we feel that we will find a better race pace, especially on the wet. There are a few cars not so far in front of us, and we have seen in almost all recent races, when we started behind them, that we managed to get ahead and score points by the end of the afternoon. It is inevitable that tomorrow’s race will be exciting, as always here, where anything can happen, and we must be ready to seize any opportunity that comes our way. »

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Caterham

Vitaly Petrov – 19th

Heikki Kovalainen – 20th

Caterham has not published statements from the team officials.

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Marussia

Timo Glock – 21st

Charles Pic – 22nd

John Booth – Team Principal: « Both cars made good progress during this morning’s free practice 3, and it was pleasing to see that the balance had improved compared to the difficulties we encountered yesterday. It was clear that track temperature played a role in this situation. The rain 30 minutes before qualifying meant the team had to stay calm, and we are happy with the times we’ve achieved in qualifying. Unfortunately, with Timo, we were unable to complete an additional lap by a few seconds. That being said, our positions are in line with our expectations. Weather forecasts clearly predict rain for tomorrow. This will make for an interesting race for the team. I think both drivers are in a position to fight regardless of the opportunities. »

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HRT

**Narain Karthikeyan** – 23rd

Pedro de la Rosa – 24th

Toni Cuquerella, Technical Director: The weather conditions made qualifying a gamble. Even though the track was wet, we decided to run with the tires intended for dry conditions. The track was improving lap by lap, and it was important to stay out until the end. Narain did a good job, as did Pedro given the circumstances. Unfortunately, he was hit by another car in one of the most dangerous sections of this track, and it was even worse considering the track conditions. The rear suspension of his car was damaged, but we can repair it for tomorrow. We have several different strategies planned for the race, but everything will depend on the sky. It seems like it should rain tomorrow morning, and the track will dry during the race, but we must be prepared for all possibilities.

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