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1. Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (McLaren), 1m14.320s
2. Jenson BUTTON (BAR), 1m14.759s
3. Fernando
ALONSO (Renault), 1m14.904s
TV UNILATERALS
Q. Well done Kimi, finally on pole position and no penalty so that's where
you're going to start the race from too.
Kimi Raikkonen: Yeah, it's nice. I think we should have been up here also in
the last two races but in the circumstances it was not possible. But the
whole weekend the car has been working well, it wasn't as good in qualifying
as it had been in the morning but it was good enough and we got pole
position.
Q. It was a beautiful-looking lap, with a nice oversteery moment coming out
of the second last corner though.
KR: Unh, yes. I had a little bit of oversteer for a few corners which is why
I wasn't too happy with the car but that's normal. It didn't slow me down
actually, I gained some time in comparison to the morning so it didn't
matter really.
Q. Your thoughts on the race, the weather conditions, the potential
strategies around you?
KR: It doesn't matter what they are. We have a strong package and we should
be able to fight for wins so we see what happens.
Q. Interesting championship situation with Fernando sitting alongside you
now. Some thoughts from you on the championship, and some thoughts on this
race at this point of the season.
KR: It's an important race. We have lost out on points in the last two races
so we really need to try to gain some points this time and get back in the
championship. But there are still many races to go so we just need to keep
doing the best we can and hopefully we can catch them up.
Q. Jenson, a great looking weekend for you so far. How do you feel about the
car, in terms of competitiveness for the race?
Jenson Button: Yeah, it's always very difficult to tell. In qualifying, I
wouldn't say my lap was the best. I think we had a bit too much front end on
the car. I had a few moments, especially coming into the stadium but it's
nice to be on the front row. Our aim for the race is to be as close or
hopefully closer than we were in Silverstone to Renault and McLaren.
Q. Do you feel you've made progress testing with the car in that period
since Silverstone?
JB: Yeah, we've made progress but it's not enough to challenge them, I don't
think. Maybe I should be a bit more upbeat but that's the way it is.
Hopefully we will be closer here which we'll be very happy with and we can
keep moving forward throughout the year and hopefully get a bit closer and
maybe challenge towards the end, I don't know.
Q. Is Hockenheim a circuit you like? You've been very quick here in the past
and as you say, the car looked very energised on that lap. Can you just talk
us through your thoughts on Hockenheim, on Germany and racing here?
JB: Well, it's a circuit that I've enjoyed a lot, the shorter Hockenheim,
but I've also had some good races on the long circuit. My first year here I
finished fourth in the wet behind DC (David Coulthard) and it's a great
circuit, I always enjoy it here. I have never qualified inside the top 12,
so it's nice to be on the front row and it's a lot easier starting from this
position.
Q. Fernando, just wondering where your lap went. It didn't appear, on the
times, to be brilliantly quick in sector one, but on the TV it looked OK.
Fernando Alonso: Yeah, it looked OK, but I lost nearly three or four tenths
in turn one, five tenths compared to this morning, so it was not really
perfect in the first corner and also braking for turn two, but then after
that I knew that I was down and at that stage I really needed to push the
car to the limit in the last two sectors and I did and I was lucky to be
third. I think in normal circumstances we should be on the front row but
actually I think it's even better to start third on the clean side, so I'm
extremely happy with the result.
Q. What was the problem going into turn one and turn two?
FA: I don't know. I think, like these guys, we all felt a little bit of
oversteer in our qualifying lap, a little bit more windy as well, so my lap
was probably a little bit windy in turn one. It's a high speed corner so if
you lose the confidence there you also lose under braking in turn two so it
was a little bit of everything going on in these first two corners.
Q. Where do you feel you are in terms of race speed and competitive racing
against the others?
FA: We are always much better in race pace than in qualifying. The
qualifying lap is our worst point at the moment, so if we are in the top
three, hopefully tomorrow we can be second at the start if everything goes
well, so we are in a good position. I think strategy-wise we are really in
good shape because we have prepared for the race in a perfect way so I'm
very confident that tomorrow we can fight for victory.
Q. Kimi, just returning to you: a dramatic final corner for your teammate
Juan Pablo Montoya. Your thoughts on that and also turn one has not been
particularly kind to you here at the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
KR: Yeah, I don't think I've finished any races here so far. I usually end
up in the same tyre wall at turn one but hopefully this time it will go
slightly better. Yeah, I was not happy with my qualifying lap at all. The
car was not easy compared to this morning and I don't really know what
happened to Montoya. He just lost the rear end. I also had a moment there,
so unlucky for him but it happens sometimes.
Press Conference
Q. Kimi, even though you may not have finished here, you have been quickest
throughout this weekend, the team has, you have, how high is your
confidence?
KR: It is good, a good position to be in for the start but it doesn't change
the confidence at all. The main thing is the race tomorrow, it is going to
be long and hard, so we just need to make sure we do the best job we can and
if we get everything going well then we should be in a position to win the
race, so just wait and see.
Q. You have a margin of over four-tenths on Jenson. Could it have been more,
are you surprised how big it is?
KR: Actually I thought the gap could have been bigger but the car was not
exactly right in the qualifying. I had a bit of oversteer in many corners so
it wasn't the easiest one but the lap time was still pretty good so I am
happy the way things are going.
Q. You were asked about your feelings on what happened to your teammate,
presumably you would have liked him to be beside you as long as he was
behind you beside you?
KR: I think for the team it would have been very good, we have been very
strong as a team here so the team championship it would have helped but
unfortunately whatever happened to him happened and he has some work to do
tomorrow.
Q. Jenson, hotter conditions I think, the temperature went up and down quite
a lot, did that favour you?
JB: I don't know, for me the car had a lot of oversteer in it, it wasn't a
perfect lap. I think it was the same for all of us, we didn't expect to have
so much oversteer in the cars. I had quite a big moment coming into the
stadium, which probably lost me quite a bit of time and a few other places
on the circuit so considering that it is not too bad a lap time.
Q. It unfortunately puts you on the dirty side of the track, have you
suffered in the past from that?
JB: From the dirty side? I don't think it is just the dirty side, somehow.
These two seem to be quite a bit better at the start, but anyway it is a
good position for us and our main aim for tomorrow is to be a bit closer to
the Renaults and McLarens, because we finished quite a bit behind them at
Silverstone. And if we are closer then that is a positive change for us and
a move forward, so that is our aim. I have to say, the team has done a great
job this weekend and Honda with the engine and it is great to be back on the
front row again.
Q. But you are worried about Renault's starts really?
JB: Yeah, the McLarens and Renaults seem to be very good off the line so it
is going to be interesting to see where we end up in turn one, but we will
see.
Q. Fernando, actually, at the first sector you were 14th fastest behind the
13 other cars. You had to pull out all the stops if possible. What were your
feelings then?
FA: I knew from the information on the steering wheel that I was really slow
after two corners so I really had to work hard in the last two sectors to
make a good position. I was lucky, the car performed well after these two
corners and we managed to be in the top three. But for sure we lost too much
in the first two corners, the car was a little bit oversteering, it was
quite windy and I think there was some grass also on the track, so I think
it was not perfect conditions for my lap in the first two corners.
Q. And the margin of 0.4 seconds, 0.3 of that was in the first sector.
FA: Yeah, we know we are competitive, I think the McLarens have been strong
all weekend, quicker than anybody, but we know we are quick as well. We
tried to show it in qualifying, it was not possible, but I think the race
will be much closer than it has been all weekend.
Questions From The Floor
Q. Fernando, can you describe the day as a whole, do you feel very
satisfied? And secondly, Montoya starting from the back of the grid, is that
good news for you?
FA: The day has been good, we tested some new solutions in the car that we
thought of at night and it really worked well. Both drivers were happy with
the car so I am confident for tomorrow, normally the race pace is our
strongest point so hopefully we can do a good race tomorrow. And for
Montoya, I think it is a help for all of us, for sure. The top six or seven
drivers in qualifying will now have a little bit of an easier race than if
Juan Pablo was in a normal position, so hopefully we can finish in front of
him and for the constructors championship it is also good because we are
fighting with McLaren very close and if they lose an opportunity to be first
and second in qualifying it is good for us.
Q. Kimi, you are in a position in the championship where you need help from
others to catch Fernando. How angry are you about the mistake of Montoya in
the last corner?
KR: I am not angry. I think he is angry in himself. Of course, it would have
been good for the team to have both cars on the front but that was not
possible and at the same time as it would have been good for the team it
would have helped me, but it is just how things go sometimes.
Q. Fernando, is your approach to the race tomorrow to bring the car home or
to fight for the victory?
FA: I think at the moment we fight for the victories. Some places we will
not be able to fight for the victory, maybe tomorrow we should think at the
start to overtake Jenson, we have a good start normally, we are on the clean
side so hopefully we can be fighting with Kimi from the beginning of the
race and then, for sure, if we can do it we will try tomorrow to do it, and
if not obviously second place is best one, if not third the best one, and I
think for the rest of the season it will be the same approach as always. |
