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1. Lewis HAMILTON (McLaren
Mercedes), 1m19.997s
2. Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), 1m20.099s
3. Fernando ALONSO (McLaren Mercedes), 1m20.147s
Q: Lewis, you’ve scored the fiftieth pole for the McLaren Mercedes
partnership, your third pole of the season, and the first British driver to
be on pole for his home Grand Prix since 1996. A fantastic qualifying
session, the last to come in for new tyres, you timed it perfectly.
Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, I can hear everyone outside… No, it was an extremely
intensive qualifying session. Obviously, the Ferraris are extremely quick
and so was Fernando and it was all down to the last lap, making sure… The
first timed lap on new tyres in Q3 wasn’t very good. I lost a bit of time in
turn one, and really I just had to pull it all out. I think I really did
quite a sweet job of putting the lap together and I’m very very fortunate to
have done it, but I couldn’t have done it without the team changing the
tyres quickly and getting me out on time. So thank you to them but I’m very
excited about tomorrow now.
Q: You were fourth fastest after that first new set, and as you’ve been
saying all weekend, very difficult conditions; talk us through the lap.
LH: Well, I’ve been struggling in sector one. It’s where I’ve been losing
two tenths of a second, especially to Fernando, so this time I came across
the line and going up to the first corner flat out, trying to hold it flat.
I didn’t do it flat out but I nearly did and so I knew that I had already
gained a tenth and a half, nearly two tenths. Then trying to maintain it for
the rest of the lap was obviously extremely difficult, but I was able to do
it at the last couple of corners. I knew I was up, about three tenths or
something. When you’ve got that sort of pressure on you – I could see so
many fans out there, it’s been fantastic today and really to see the support
that I’ve got, it’s unreal. I pulled out the lap, I was really really happy
when I came across the line and saw the reaction of the fans. It’s great to
be home and I get an extra buzz.
Q: What was your slow in-lap like with the crowd?
LH: I nearly lost my voice! I came across the line and I could hear the
crowd – I don’t know if they could hear me but I was screaming just as loud
as them.
Q: Kimi, it looked as if the pole was in your hands as well. We saw you
running just a little bit wide coming out of the last corner but what was
the rest of the lap like?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, it was good, but unfortunately I ran off the circuit
exiting the last corner, so we lost a lot of time but that’s not something
we can change any more so there was definitely speed enough for pole
position.
Q: You’ve been looking very fast since Friday morning, your first front row
start since the Australian Grand Prix at the start of the season; you look
to be in confident mood.
KR: Yeah, but a bit disappointed really now, but hopefully we can get a good
start and then it’s a long race so we will see how we can do.
Q: And the conditions here at Silverstone? It seems pretty bumpy and also
very gusty.
KR: Yeah, I think the wind has been quite difficult all weekend. It wasn’t
as bad today as it was yesterday so for me it’s not too bumpy but it’s the
wind which makes it more difficult and tricky.
Q: Fernando, fastest qualifying time of the three sessions but going into
Q3, what were your aspirations and how was that last lap for you?
Fernando ALONSO: It was quite good, no big problems with the lap. I’m quite
happy with the car, how we performed all today: P3, Q1, Q2 and Q3. Obviously
we want to be on pole position but third place is the best we could do today
and hopefully tomorrow a good set-up on the car for the race will pay off
and hopefully we can overtake people in the race.
Q: And we’ll see, of course, what strategy you’re on tomorrow, but you have
looked very quick from the start of practice on Friday.
FA: Yeah, on Friday we tried to work a little bit with the set-up in terms
of race pace and things like that, tried to understand the tyres as well,
how they performed. Yesterday I was not completely happy with the car and
our pace, maybe, didn’t seem too good but overnight we did some changes to
the set-up, the team did a fantastic job, and today I found a completely
different car, much quicker and I was able to be quickest in nearly all the
sessions so no reason not to be optimistic for tomorrow.
Q: Lewis, I’m sure you’ve felt the pressure here. Tell us what it’s like for
you this weekend, and also, just to add to the pressure that every time
you’ve won the pole, you’ve also won the race.
LH: Yeah. I feel quite relaxed coming into this weekend. I don’t know about
other drivers but I’ve been someone – I don’t know if it’s part of my
personality – but I like to make people happy and when I’m out there and I
sign extra autographs, to see the amount of support you have, to see the
flags waving, and when I drive round, I do see the Hamilton flags and all
that. So I get a big buzz from that and a lot of energy, so I’m finding this
weekend quite a positive weekend for me and for sure, there’s pressure but
the most pressure comes from myself. So going into tomorrow I’m going to do
the best job I can and we’ll see what happens.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, you should have seen your father in the pit lane, or maybe you
did, on the big screen!
LH: I was too busy celebrating myself in the cockpit. I nearly lost my
voice.
Q: Were you digging deeper than ever for that lap?
LH: Yeah, I was, because unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough in the previous
runs and throughout the whole weekend, we’ve been struggling to… well, I’ve
been struggling to a certain point to really fine-tune the car and also my
driving because each time I’m improving, I’m finding something new and a lot
of it’s to do with the experience and experience on this circuit… It’s so
quick through the first sector, you really need to slowly build up to the
limit and I’ve been building and building and building. So for that lap, I
knew that I was fourth or something and it was all down to that lap. I came
into the first corner and I tried to do it quicker than ever, and it was the
same for the rest of the lap. I just had to maintain the pace that I already
had from turn one and really, that’s as deep as I’ve had to dig for a long
long time.
Q: You also thought it was a bit tight on time; in actual fact you had
thirty seconds.
LH: I was quite relaxed. I know that the team – they’re very very good at
calculating how much time we had and I came in and I knew I had plenty of
time. I wasn’t actually asking how much time we had left, I wanted to know
the gap, how much quicker I was. But I think the team did a fantastic job to
get us out, in and out as quick as possible, for me and Fernando, but just
through the whole weekend there’s been a lot of pressure not only on me but
also the team.
Q: What do you think the crowd is worth per lap, how many tenths is the
support worth?
LH: I wouldn’t be able to say just how much time you gain but you definitely
get a confidence boost and to see the support, it’s just not one group of
people in the stands like it often is in certain areas, certain places. But
here it’s just the whole grandstand and I can’t believe how many people are
here today. It’s been fantastic and I really do appreciate the support.
Q: Kimi, obviously you feel disappointed not to be on pole.
KR: Yeah, because I made a mistake in the last corner, or exiting the last
corner. It’s basically straight already but I was on the grass so it didn’t
help. I didn’t lift, but I just lost all the traction. The sand was flying
everywhere, so it’s a bit disappointing really.
Q: How difficult do you feel it’s going to be to make up that place?
KR: First of all, they’re on the good side at the start, and I think that’s
the biggest issue. In the race, it depends a lot on how much fuel we have
against the others, but I think we have a fast race car, so we wait until
tomorrow.
Q: And you’ve been so quick over the last couple of days.
KR: Yeah, we definitely have good speed in the car, good set-up, so we
haven’t lost anything yet, but it makes life much more difficult, starting
from the second place than from the first. But it’s still not impossible,
definitely not.
Q: Fernando, fastest in Q2 which is the ultimate speed. That must have been
very satisfying.
FA: Yeah, all day in P3, Q1, Q2 being fastest. Also I was quite happy with
the car. Regarding yesterday, we had a couple of problems with the balance
of the car. I was not totally happy and overnight we made some changes and
today I felt much more confident. For the race, it’s looking good, it’s
looking quite good for us and hopefully I can make up some places
immediately after the start of the race and around the pit stop area.
Q: What areas did you improve on the car?
FA: The rear end of the car. Yesterday it was a little bit loose and (I was)
finding oversteer a little bit everywhere and that was costing us a lot of
time. With some changes, with some new ideas from the engineers, they did a
fantastic job and today the car felt completely different and I was able to
really enjoy the lap.
Q: And just one and a half tenths difference between yourself and Lewis.
FA: Yes, enough to be third, so at the end of the day, I think in qualifying
it doesn’t matter how much time you are in front or behind. The important
thing is the positions and I’m third, so hopefully tomorrow I can change
this position.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Ian Stafford – The Mail on Sunday) Lewis, every week people keep asking
you: ‘Can you believe this?’ And I’m sure you kind of get used to what’s
happened to you this season. But you are pole at your first British Grand
Prix. Are you still pinching yourself that all this is happening to you?
LH: Yeah definitely. I don’t believe I have got used to it. It has been
eight races and they’ve all been fantastic. But it’s still been very
difficult experience to get used to. I think it is a good thing that it is
always fresh, always new and always exciting for me and I hope that
continues. It’s been really tough. I hoped to come here and win pole
position, it wasn’t looking that good at one point in qualifying but it
turned out quite good.
Q: (Mike Doodson – Auto Action) Lewis you’ve said you like to make people
happy. The last two British champions were Nigel Mansell in 1992 and Damon
Hill in 1996. Can you remember being excited by them doing well at
Silverstone or would you be supporting other people?
LH: Back then Aryton Senna was around and he was always my hero. For sure I
supported the British drivers and Nigel Mansell… I was only six at the time
so I didn’t really understand everything. When Damon won, I won my first
British championship and I met him that year. To have been watching him all
that year and see him do so well… obviously I got a big boost of confidence
when I did meet him. But I was watching Aryton the whole time.
Q: (Sean McGreevy – Motoring and Leisure) Congratulations Lewis.
LH: Thank you.
Q: (Sean McGreevy – Motoring and Leisure) There is obviously fantastic
support for you this weekend. You’ve talked a lot about this but how are you
dealing with going from relative anonymity to globally recognised sportsman
and how does it feel to receive so many plaudits from people in F1? People
like Sir Frank Williams who described you as superhuman.
LH: Well, it’s overwhelming to hear such good things from people like Sir
Frank Williams and a lot of people in the Formula One world. Obviously I
came here to do a solid job, there has been a lot of pressure on from day
one and there has not been that many negative comments made so I have been
able to keep all this positive energy and it’s definitely comforting to hear
such nice things. But having my world turned upside-down is… I’m very lucky
I have very god balance and sense of awareness so even though it’s turned
upside-down I can still get on with my life. But it’s been really tough
obviously walking on the streets and people coming up to you. It is strange.
Taken from my past experience when I used to go up to Formula One drivers I
wanted to be slightly different. I wanted for people to be able to approach
me and to try and give them as much time as possible. That’s what some
Formula One drivers didn’t do when I was younger.
Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Lewis, the feelings you are
experiencing right now… How does it compare to your first win in Canada? And
secondly you were disappointed with your start in France last week with Kimi
behind you there. Are you confident that you are going to nail it tomorrow?
LH: Yes, I feel confident. We have worked hard this weekend to improve our
starts and I think being on the clean side definitely helps. And my
feelings? It definitely feels… I think qualifying is always exciting. Even
for you to watch but when you are in the car and you know you are on the
last lap, the slightest mistake and you lose it… and you put it all together
while you are sitting on a knife edge all the way round. You come round and
you see that you did the time… it’s a phenomenal feeling, it really is.
Q: (Ian Stafford – The Mail on Sunday) Lewis, I just wanted to ask what were
you saying when you were shouting into the radio to almost lose your voice?
And what will you do if you win tomorrow celebration wise?
LH: I wasn’t shouting in the radio. I made sure it was switched off. I was
just shouting to myself, you know, “Yes”. But I did that in Canada too, the
whole way round and it’s a long, long lap when you are just sitting in top
gear and cruising round.
Q: (Juha Päätalo – Financial Times Germany) Kimi, can you just describe what
happened in the last corner exit? Why did you slip onto the grass?
KR: I just ran wide on the exit and that’s what happens, you lose time.
Q: (Carlos Miquel – Diario AS) Fernando, you are only a human driver, but in
this English party do you think it is possible to fight with your teammate
until the end of the race?
FA: A difficult question. We will see what happens tomorrow. Today I did not
have an easy day in P3 but tomorrow I will try to win the race that is for
sure.
Q: (Andrew Frankl – Forza) Lewis we were talking about sponsors pulling you
from pillar to post. Are you getting any rest? Are you getting any sleep?
LH: That’s definitely been one of the toughest challenges - trying to manage
your time and maximise the time you have off. We haven’t had much time off,
at least I haven’t. Obviously the marketing department work extremely hard
to make sure we don’t have too many days but especially here, coming after a
race in Magny-Cours, we didn’t get many days off and we were straight back
into appearances and everything. So to be able to divide out your energy,
and it’s mostly mental energy that you are losing, to try not to empty that
bottle that you need the whole weekend and keep everyone happy, keep a smile
on and make sure you say the right things is really, really tough. It is
probably one of the trickiest parts of the job.
Q: (Anne Giuntini – L’Equipe) I just wanted to ask Kimi and Fernando if you
will shout in the radio tomorrow if you win?
KR: Probably not. (Laughter)
FA: Probably not.
Q: (Ian Stafford – The Mail on Sunday) Lewis, if you can just tell us what
happens between now and when the green light comes on tomorrow. What are you
going to get up to? Are you going to chill? Watch DVD’s? What’s the plan?
LH: After this we have to go back and sit in our room and analyse the data
and find out where I could have found more time. Always got to improve and
try to anticipate how the car is going to be tomorrow. We can’t make too
many changes to the car, or any changes. But there are certain changes you
can make to the GIF and traction control so we will go and analyse that and
try to find some more time. For me this evening it is just about refilling
the fuel tank, the energy tank. I’ll just make sure I get back in, relax,
spend some time with my family, chill with my brother, play some
Playstation, whatever it is to take my mind and my focus off racing. Then
I’ll be back here tomorrow morning as fresh as can be.
Q: (Juha Päätalo – Financial Times Germany) Fernando on your fastest lap in
Q2 I didn’t see the white stripe on your tyres so I suppose you didn’t have
soft tyres. So how much confidence does that give you for tomorrow’s race?
FA: I think I was the opposite to the other drivers. I think I was using the
soft in Q1 and the prime in Q2. For me it was very close for tyres in terms
of timed laps so it was just a check for which tyres we use in Q3 and I’m
not sure about which tyre was best for me. So I’m very confident because
with both tyres I can do exactly as quick timed laps. I was quickest in P1
and quickest in P2 so for tomorrow’s race, given that we have to use both
sets of tyres at some point, I am very confident that in my case both tyres
work exactly the same. |
