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1. Lewis HAMILTON (McLaren
Mercedes), 1m35.908s
2. Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), 1m36.044s
3. Felipe MASSA (Ferrari), 1m36.221s
Q: Lewis, difficult to know where to start. What about the emotions you have
faced and the ups and downs just to get to this point?
Lewis HAMILTON: This weekend? It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster and quite
an emotional period for me. I was turning up after the great weekend in Fuji
and getting here nice and early and finding that they were going to
investigate the way I behaved under the Safety Car in Japan. I thought
immediately, I am going to get a penalty, but thankfully I didn’t and with
the team support we pulled through it. Yesterday was a tough day with the
testing and that in the back of your mind. It is not easy to forget about,
not knowing if you were going to have your points or your win taken away.
But I think it was a good decision by the FIA. Then we came here this
morning, still not really having the pace of these two here and Fernando.
But I was just chipping away and I’m thrilled to get pole position because
going into qualifying I didn’t think I had the pace of Fernando. I knew that
if I just worked at it and didn’t overdo it, I might just be able to do it
and I did, so I’m really happy.
Q: As you say, most predictions seemed to suggest that Ferrari would have
the edge but you are on the pole. What about that and the strategy to use
the harder of the two Bridgestone tyres on the first of your two runs?
LH: I was quite confident we would have the pace of the Ferrari, over one
lap anyway even if generally they have been consistent and, I think, looking
after the tyres a bit better than us. I really needed to see which tyre was
the best, the option or the harder tyre, so I did the first run on the
harder one and then I took the risk and went for it on the soft for the last
run.
Q: You were the first to come in, therefore giving yourself a bit of cushion
in terms of being able to warm up the soft tyre?
LH: Yeah, it gave me a bit of breathing space to relax and use the tyre a
little bit better.
Q: Kimi, a strong performance. You had hydraulic problems at the end of P3.
Did that have any impact and how was your qualifying session?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, it was okay, no problem. We had good speed yesterday
and also in practice this morning. And also in qualifying. I’m very happy
with the car and I think we will have a good car in the race and I think
there could be different fuel loads in the cars. It has been a good weekend
so far.
Q: Kimi, a great drive from you, like Lewis, in the Japanese GP. The weather
forecast for tomorrow is for rain. Your thoughts on a wet Chinese GP?
KR: Last time when I was here it was wet. It won’t be as bad as Fuji, I
think the visibility should be better and so I don’t think it will be too
bad and I am not too concerned about the weather.
Q: Felipe, Kimi implied that there could be some strategy going on in terms
of fuel load, so your perspective on qualifying?
Felipe MASSA: It was okay. I did a very good lap on the first attempt and
then just lost the car on the second one. I wasn’t able to fight at the
front because of that. The car was pretty good but I just came into Turn
Eleven too quick, too aggressive, and just lost the rear end. So it was not
a very good lap on the last set of tyres but it’s okay. I’m starting in the
top three and let’s see what is going to happen. The forecast is for rain
and so it could be a bit of a lottery.
Q: The detail of that incident you had – was it a different feel on that set
of tyres or was it just you pushing a bit hard?
FM: No, it wasn’t the tyres, it’s just that in qualifying there are four
cars and nobody knows who is going to be first. You need to push and take
some risks sometimes and sometimes it doesn’t work. It was like that. There
was nothing wrong with the set-up of the car.
Q: Lewis, you don’t need to be told it could be a special day tomorrow. How
are you going to prepare for it? Indeed, it could be a wet race as well?
LH: I am not particularly bothered if it is wet or dry. With the experience
in Fuji, that has given me confidence in the wet. I haven’t been here
before, so obviously it will be tricky either way but I’m in the best
position to start the race and I feel very optimistic. I’ve got a good car,
I know the team will do a good job and for me the way I approach tomorrow
will be the same as every race. I want to win, do a good job for the team
and if I do that it might be a good day for us, so fingers crossed.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, you looked like you enjoyed that one?
LH: I always enjoy getting pole position. Even just qualifying generally, if
you don’t get pole it’s still quite intense and quite a rush. It’s not an
easy thing knowing that you only have one opportunity on the tyres and it’s
the difference between pole position and fifth or something. But the team
did a very good job. We changed our strategy a bit getting me out earlier,
which gave us a bit more leverage time-wise and I’m very pleased.
Q: What was the strategy behind using just the one set of soft tyres?
LH: I wasn’t sure which was best. Normally the soft is best but I was
struggling to manage the tyre and make it last for a single lap. So in Q1 I
used the hard tyre and in Q2 the soft, and I was still unsure which one was
better. So in Q3 we went into the first run with the hard tyre and then I
said, let’s just go for it, and I went for the soft tyre and risked it. Also
the Ferraris have been on the softer tyre which seemed to work, so I just
had to do it.
Q: We are expecting bad weather tomorrow. How much did that colour your
strategy for qualifying and even the set-up?
LH: Well, there’s a 70-80% chance of rain tomorrow but the weather looked
pretty good although the wind was picking up and you never know what is
going to happen here. It rained here last year but we couldn’t go into
qualifying saying let’s set the car up for the wet, we just had to do the
best job we could. Everyone will be in the same boat tomorrow if it does
rain so, strategy-wise, we stuck to what we were going to do anyway. We’ve
covered the ground and I think we are in a good position.
Q: And from a championship point of view? Obviously pole position couldn’t
be better.
LH: Absolutely. It’s the place I needed to be and obviously this weekend I
came here on Friday, I was quite happy with my first lap yesterday, being my
first time here. I only walked the majority of the track in the dark. But I
managed to do quite a good time at the beginning and to improve on that was
not easy and I think the more experienced guys had a slight advantage. It’s
not an easy circuit, so I’ve just been chipping away at it and chipping away
and after P3 I still didn’t have the exact pace I wanted and straight out in
qualifying I managed to find the majority of it (interrupted by sound
problem). Is there a DJ in the house?
Q: Because in fact up until now, you’ve been fourth most of the time in the
sessions, so have there been set-up problems?
LH: Well, as you know, you go into qualifying with one set-up and you can’t
change it. The only thing you can do is opt for a little bit more or less
front wing. I’ve been really happy with my balance. The car was right, I
just needed to adapt my driving in certain areas and there’s so little time
to do that. You attack one lap and you plan to do something and you might
overshoot the corner or whatever, so bit-by-bit I was trying to improve my
driving style and out there, there was a better time I was looking for and
for that lap, I think the car was pretty sweet and it was a very smooth lap
and the rhythm was really good.
Q: Kimi, you’ve been fastest in all sessions; a bit disappointed not to be
on pole?
KR: For sure we would rather be on pole position but I think we have very
good speed in the car. It’s been good all weekend, so probably there’s
different fuel loads in the cars, but nevertheless, I’m pretty happy. I
think it’s good.
Q: The problem this morning, did that affect you at all?
KR: No, it was just the power steering. It was an unfortunate thing but it
didn’t hurt us really. We planned to do some more laps but it didn’t really
hurt us at all.
Q: The fact that you’re on the front row with Lewis means you have direct
possibility to fight for this race, for this championship.
KR: I think for this race. The championship isn’t looking too good but you
never know. I think we should have a good car for tomorrow, whatever the
conditions are, so I’m quite confident.
Q: Is it too much of a gamble to go for a wet set-up?
KR: I don’t know. We haven’t done so. It’s up to everybody to choose
whatever they think is going to happen tomorrow but some cars probably need
some different things for wet and then dry for others.
Q: Your wet and dry set-ups are relatively close, are they?
KR: We had exactly the dry set-up in the last race and it seemed to work
pretty well, so I’m not worrying about it if it’s raining.
Q: Felipe, obviously important for you to be ahead of Fernando to help Kimi
but how much of a supporting role can you play?
FM: Well, it depends on Lewis. There’s not so much that can be done in a
race like that. For sure, I’m going to start tomorrow trying to win. That’s
what I’m going to do. If you see that maybe Lewis is not in the points, and
Kimi still has a chance, then maybe we think about the team, but I think
Lewis needs to be behind sixth or sixth for Kimi to still have a chance to
fight in the last race. So I’m going to start tomorrow for him.
Q: A good qualifying for you?
FM: Yeah, I just lost a little bit on the last attempt. At the first attempt
I did a very good lap and on the last one I just lost the rear going into
turn eleven and for sure, I lost very important time which, in qualifying
like that, when you see four cars completely on the limit and very close to
each other, you need to risk and try the best you can. Sometimes it works,
sometimes it doesn’t and this time it didn’t work when I tried on the last
set of tyres.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Mathias Brunner – Motorsport Aktuell) Lewis, you’ve pointed out how much
the wind has picked up since yesterday. How much did that affect driving?
LH: For me, not that much. Obviously we have a tail-wind going into turn one
and so just a little bit more understeer than perhaps this morning or
yesterday but everywhere else it seems to help through turn seven and turn
eight, so it doesn’t really hurt or make the lap any harder.
Q: And is there a cross-wind on the straight?
LH: I’ve not noticed a cross-wind.
Q: (Jia Chen – King Sports) Question to Lewis. You have already won two
chaotic races in Canada and Japan, so do you hope it will rain tomorrow?
LH: No, not really. I think it would be good to have a dry race. We’ve
experienced wet conditions in the last race and it’s tricky for everyone and
it’s just – I wouldn’t say easier – but it’s just different, so it’s a cool
race when you’re… perhaps a little bit closer when it’s dry and you don’t
get all the spray and it’s not so difficult to follow each other and so I’m
not bothered. Either way we’ve got a good car in the dry and wet and as you
can see from last weekend, the car’s very good in the wet, so if it rains, I
will be just as happy as if it’s dry.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Lewis, do you hope that the storm comes
and the race will be cancelled?
LH: No. Do you know what? I’m really surprised that you’ve asked me a
question because all season you’ve not asked me one question. Whenever you
get the microphone I know the question’s going to Kimi. No, I think no, I
just want to race. I’m going into tomorrow not thinking hey, this is the
championship. There are still two races left and that’s the way you’ve got
to look at it. I will try to do the best job I can tomorrow, finish in the
points and then we’ll see what happens afterwards but I want to race. I hate
all this preparation and then the race is stopped or you finish on the first
lap. I love to have a real battle and a challenge.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Question to all drivers. After
everything that’s happened in the last few days, is it clear now what the
rules are, how to behave behind the safety car?
LH: I don’t think it’s ever been that clear. I think it’s clearer but I
think we understand a little bit better but I put my hand up after yesterday
and perhaps I didn’t do the best job under the safety car in the wet but it
was my first experience in the wet conditions behind the safety car. It was
tricky for everyone, visibility was the biggest problem but I think we have
a better idea or at least, if I was leading again in those conditions under
a safety car, I would do the best job I can to do a better job. I don’t know
about these guys…
Q: (Jia Chen – King Sports) A question to Kimi. I wonder why you came back
into the pits after only one lap in Q1.
KR: We just wanted to check the car after we had that power steering failure
in the last practice session, just to make sure everything was fine.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, to win the race tomorrow
would be the perfect way to win the championship. Are you going to try to
win the race or are you going to play it more conservatively considering
that you can also work on your advantage?
LH: I’m going to try to win the race. When I play golf, and I’m in the
bushes, I don’t play safe, I go for the trees and it’s a similar thing
tomorrow. I’m not going to go out and let people past. I’m going to try to
win the race but obviously be sensible and the important thing is to finish
the race, to do the best job I can.
Q: Lewis, I want to know, do you think you can replace Alonso, the former
champion and will create your own times?
LH: I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it but it’s been a
phenomenal season and I really don’t know what to say. I came into the
season just hoping to do a good job and it’s just been a mind-blowing season
for me and I think for my whole team and for everyone in the Formula One
paddock with everything that’s gone on. It will be great to win the World
Championship. If not, there’s always another… I’m only 22, so I’ve got a
long long time here hopefully.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Was there any moment yesterday
evening when you were talking to the stewards that you feared that you might
get a penalty?
LH: Well I’m the type of person that as soon as I heard that they wanted to
see me, I always think the worst, that’s just like my dad. He thinks of the
worst things that can happen and thinks that that is going to happen to you
and they were going to call me up and I just immediately accepted the fact
that I would almost probably get a penalty here and for what, I don’t know.
Obviously when I went in I told them my views and they listened to the other
drivers and they came out. For me, it was obviously the best decision. I
think it was right and so I was quite happy and I was quite relieved last
night. I was able to get rid of that heavy bag that was on my shoulders and
there’s already a huge weight on my shoulders from leading the World
Championship but this and all these extra bits, it wasn’t really needed. |
