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1 – Jenson BUTTON (McLaren)
2 – Kamui KOBAYASHI (Sauber)
3 – Pastor MALDONADO (Williams)
Jenson, your 50th race for your team and what a way to mark it, with your
first pole position for them?
Jenson BUTTON: It’s been quite a long time since I got my last pole position
– that was back in 2009, Monaco I think. It was pretty emotional. Sunday’s
have been good for the past few years, but Saturdays have not gone perfectly
you could say. So, a great qualifying session and it’s so important to come
back after the break, such a long break, with a good result on Saturday. I
know the race is tomorrow but this is close to winning a race for me because
it’s been so long.
Kamui, your first front row in Formula One and also the first front row for
a Japanese driver in Formula One, so yoku dekimashita to you.
Kamui KOBAYASHI: Really? Thank you. It’s quite far from yesterday’s practice
where we struggled quite a bit and we really had no idea what we were going
to do. But this morning in that hour we changed the settings and we improved
better, definitely. Quali? Of course we don’t know what is really a fact,
how much there is an improvement of track condition. But we have good
confidence at Spa and after the summer holiday everybody wants to have a
really good potential in the car. In these three months there are going to
be like nine races, it’s quite busy but very important for us so I’m very
happy to have a great result here.
Pastor, your holiday included a return trip back to Venezuela. The rest
might have done you a bit of good as well, with another top three
qualifying. Not the most straightforward qualifying for you but in the end
it all came good.
Pastor MALDONADO: Yeah, I think we’ve been quite consistent in qualifying
all season, especially since Barcelona and now it seems to be a bit more
strong, the car. We’ve been working so hard, even in the break, trying to
analyse and understand all the problems we had in the past, to sort it out
for the second part of the season and that means we are quite competitive.
Especially this morning we were struggling a little it with the set-up but
we understand and we knew where to work on the car. I’m very happy because
the team reacted. The spirit is high in the team. We are working so compact
now. I’m looking forward to the second part of the season. The races were up
and down in the first part and looking forward to the second part to recover
what we lost at the beginning of the season.
Jenson, you mentioned an emotional day for you but there were three laps
that were more than good enough for pole. What was the secret? Why was today
such a good Saturday, when others have been such a struggle?
JB: If I knew, it would make everything great! We just got the balance right
this morning. The car’s been working really well all day. It’s limited
running we’ve all had but every run we’ve done the balance has been
reasonably good and we just tickled it, especially through qualifying. Yeah,
the balance is to my liking. I obviously have a style where it’s quite
difficult to find a car that works for me in qualifying but when it does we
can get pole position. So, big thank you to the whole team, especially Dave
and Tom, my two engineers, who on Saturdays, some of the time, have found it
pretty tough. But today is a good day and it makes it a lot easier for us
tomorrow being in this position but it’s still going to be hard day I think.
Kamui, we saw the Saubers very impressive in the final practice session, the
only dry session before qualifying. Was this a result you expected today or
did it still come as a massive shock?
KK: Of course we expect like really high for this weekend because Spa is one
of our favourite circuits. I think our car should be good here as well. Of
course I didn’t expect second in qualifying. We’re basically quite strong in
the race, but not strong in quali with other tracks. I think we have a
really great opportunity for tomorrow as well. I think this is a really good
start for the rest of the season. We need to be really strong in quali.
Definitely, I think in this summer break, the guys had a lot of work and
they did a really great job. We had really a lot of chats with them and
we’re happy to be here and confident and we showed that in quali. It’s
really great and thanks to the guys.
Pastor, Williams third on the grid. Did you expect that coming to Spa or is
this just the team making good fortune out of others’ misfortune in the
qualifying session?
PM: We were optimistic for this race. Maybe this morning I was a little bit
more worried because the car doesn’t look quite good. But during the
qualifying I was adapting myself to the car and adapting myself to the
different conditions and the track was changing and improving at the same
time. After Q1 I saw the potential we had, a bit less in Q2, we were nearly
out, P10. I was a bit worried about that because the lap wasn’t that good.
In Q3 I pushed very much, at the maximum. I got a clean lap. We are not that
fast, like Jenson, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow. In the past we’ve
had very good pace in the races so looking forward.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Jenson, it hasn’t been a particularly kind circuit to you – does this make
up for it?
JB: Over the years in qualifying it hasn’t been particularly that kind to me
but twelve years ago for my first race here I qualified third on the grid,
back in 2000, so I have some good memories from qualifying here. And this
definitely adds to that. It’s a very special circuit for all of us and to
get a pole position here does mean a lot, especially because it’s been quite
a long time for me.
I think this was touched on [in the TV unilateral] have you basically found
the secret to qualifying, your qualifying, or have you just hit the sweet
spot?
JB: I really don’t know. Maybe a five-week break between every race is what
I need – getting old now so maybe that’s the case! But no, all day the car’s
been reasonably good. We’ve been tweaking it all through P3 and in
qualifying even. On both tyres the car’s felt good. It’s difficult to get a
lap together this year with these tyres I think. And even a pole lap, it
still doesn’t feel like the perfect lap. After the qualifying the adrenaline
is running high and you look back on it and think it’s a great lap – but
when you analyse it, it’s very, very difficult to do a perfect lap with
these cars, and that’s something I’ve struggled with, with the way that I
drive.
How much satisfaction has it given you that you’ve beaten everybody else?
JB: Yeah, definitely. Today we didn’t put a foot wrong all through
qualifying. And I say ‘we’ meaning the team and myself. The engineers have
really been on it today. It’s difficult when it’s just one hour of practice
– and basically you get about twenty minutes on the circuit in a one-hour
practice session – and yeah, they’ve really been on it. So, congratulations
to them. Obviously this isn’t a win – the points are tomorrow – but this is
very important to us.
Kamui, Sauber and yourself seem to have been on top of it all weekend so
far, is that the case?
KK: Well from yesterday it was totally different conditions. But today, even
in the morning we had quite good confidence with the car. I think Spa is one
of our favourite tracks with our car, so we had quite [a lot of] confidence
coming here but we didn’t expect to be in second. Front row is a really good
finish in the quali and we usually struggle in the quali and in the race I
think we are not really worried. But this is where we want to improve and in
Spa of course this is a favourite circuit but we didn’t expect second. And
I’m very happy of course. I think the team had a really great time during
this holiday and they do really quite well and that’s why we are here. But I
think very important for tomorrow to score much more points for us.
And this is your best qualifying position by two places as well…
KK: Well, my best quali I think but I’m always focussing on Sunday and not
on quali – so this is a good point but I want to focus on tomorrow. Second
in quali we still cannot get any points, so just y’know, we see tomorrow,
and if we can be on the podium that’s really something we need to do.
Someone yesterday mentioned what a good overtaker you are – but you’ve only
got one person to overtake…
KK: Well yes, of course – but always in the top three or top five it’s
always more difficult to battle. If we’re P15 or something it’s easy to do
something. So, I think definitely tomorrow is a different story and of
course we need to fight and we need to watch tyre management. But tyres are
a little bit strange because we have different tyres from previous event, so
we need a little bit to take care and we need to finish the race.
Pastor, how important was this third place after the results recently.
PM: It was important especially because we are here in Spa, which is a
special track, I think, for all the drivers. We are expecting this race for
all the year and yes, it’s something special to be in the top three here in
Spa.
And you and the engineers seem to have found the right setup straight away.
PM: Yeah, I think this morning we were struggling a little bit with the
setup, especially with the option tyres, and then we were analysing and
trying to push very hard to see what was the problem – and we solved the
problem. The qualifying looked quite consistent and strong. The only problem
was Q2. We were at the limit, P10, but yeah, the lap wasn’t that clean. But
in Q3 I push, I see where I’m mistaking in Q2, where to improve the car, and
we did pretty good I think. That means that the team is working so good,
especially after the break, so we stay competitive. The spirit is so high at
the moment, so looking forward for tomorrow and even for the rest of the
season.
We did see on the screen that you and Nico Hülkenberg have an incident being
investigated by the stewards. Is that a concern as far as you’re concerned.
PM: To be honest I don’t remember that.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Adrian Huber - EFE) Pastor, would you be happy repeating this position
tomorrow and being on the podium or are you aiming for a win?
PM: I think we need to go for the best we can do. For sure it's going to be
important to be on the podium, it's going to be important to score some
points tomorrow but if we can go for more, we will do so.
Q: (Simon Cass - Daily Mail) Jenson, presumably it's going to be quite
difficult for you to be the sporting role for Lewis tomorrow, given your
positions on the grid. How irritating has that talk been for you and just
how easy has it been for you to focus on the rest of the season, just in
terms of forgetting all the talk about where you are in the championship and
making sure you're in a position to win races?
JB: Obviously not that difficult. It's halfway point and maybe we haven't
had enough to talk about over the five week break so you get asked unusual
questions and very unusual for this point in the season. It's part of
Formula One and I've experienced it before. The important thing is that
within the team we've got a very good relationship and we're working
together to build the best car we possibly can and on the weekends trying to
extract everything from it. Today is a very good day for us, and I'm sure
Lewis is disappointed to be where he is but for me, a great day and
hopefully this makes our life a little bit easier tomorrow but still, as I
said, we really don't know what's going to happen in the race here. We
missed Friday because of the weather and it's going to be difficult to know
what the consistency is of everyone here. A little bit unknown, but we'll
run through everything tonight, every scenario I'm sure and make sure we're
ready for tomorrow.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri - La Gazzetta dello Sport) How crucial is it for you to
win this race tomorrow, trying to come back and catch up some of the guys
who are ahead of you?
JB: It's very important. A lot of people have asked me if I can still fight
for the championship. It is a long shot; I'm 80 points behind Fernando. I
need to be on the podium and finishing in front of Fernando at every race
for the rest of the season, which is not easy, given his consistency but
this is a good start. Yeah, a win is very important tomorrow, to fight for
the championship.
Q: (Leonid Novozhilov - F1 Live) Jenson, how do you motivate yourself today
before qualification?
JB: Same as always. You know, I'm doing the best job in the world. I get to
drive Formula One cars every other weekend. It's something that we all dream
about as kids, I think. It's easy to motivate yourself, especially when
you're working with a team like McLaren, a team with such history and a team
that really is behind its drivers and supporting them all the way. And also
when you have your friends and family that come here to support you it makes
a big difference. It was pretty easy to motivate myself and also it was such
a long break for us to get back in the car is a really really good feeling.
Nothing leaves you; you don't forget how to drive but there's a little bit
more of a buzz there when you jump back in. We were unable to really use
that yesterday because of the weather but today it was great to actually
push a Formula One car to the limits. I enjoyed today very much.
Q: (Oana Popoiu - F1Zone.net) Pastor, you were talking about ups and downs
this season. What is the reason for your bad races? Do you think it was
pushing or not pushing too hard?
PM: I think we still need to push hard. Yes, I've been involved in many
accidents and a lot of bad luck at the beginning of the season, but the most
important thing is to be competitive, to be consistent from now to the end.
I think we have everything to do that and concentrate on this second part of
the season. The team is pushing hard as well so everything looks quite good
for us so I'm looking forward to the end of the season.
Q: (Pierre van Vliet - F1i.com) Kamui and Pastor: do you think that the fact
that you are not title contenders compared to your direct rivals tomorrow...
can you take advantage of that, maybe taking more risks than others?
KK: I'm not going to take any risks, of course. Races are something
different. Starting second I think is not a risk, it's quite important, it
will be important to manage the race. I definitely have to say it's not a
risk race, we need to manage it well tomorrow.
PM: I think it's difficult for me to predict the races but starting from a
very good position off the grid, for sure the points will be important for
the team, it will be important for me as well, so I will always try to do my
best against top teams and even Sauber and whichever team is fighting with
us. But for sure, again I repeat it will be very important to be in the
points tomorrow.
Q: (Michael Schmidt - Auto, Motor und Sport) Jenson, you already mentioned
there was restricted practice time. What do you think is the biggest
question mark for tomorrow: the tyre degradation, the choice of tyres later
on in the race or whether the choice of set-up with less or more downforce
is the right one?
JB: All of that. We're not sure whether we've got the right downforce for
tomorrow. Our straightline speeds seem pretty good which is important for
the race, especially when you've got a lot of fuel on board but then the
negative is,you spend a lot of time in the middle sector. Possibly you can
damage the tyres more with less downforce but maybe that's not the case.
Maybe with more downforce you generate more heat so I don't know, we have to
wait and see. It's all very unknown at the moment. I think the important
thing is that I thought we expected the guys with higher downforce to maybe
be quicker compared to us in qualifying. It's a nice feeling being on pole
by three tenths and these guys are obviously still pretty quick in a
straight line compared to others but it's nice to have that advantage.
Q: (Vladimir Rogovets - Znamya Ynosty) Jenson, for the last three years,
your friend Sebastian Vettel was very often in the press conference on this
day. Today he is missing. Do you like this situation and what would you like
to say to comfort him today?
JB: Nothing! I'm not the person to be comforting Sebastian Vettel. I think
he's eleventh on the grid, is that correct? I've started worse than that and
finished on the podium so it doesn't mean his weekend is over, it does mean
that it's a lot more difficult than maybe it was for him last year, starting
on pole. He'll still be quick. There are many places to overtake here. I
think we'll still see Sebastian fighting for some very good points.
Q: (Kate Walker - Girl Racer) Jenson, earlier on in Q1, we heard you
complaining about understeer and then seconds later, top of the time sheets,
you were really fast on it and stayed that way. What happens? Is this the
tyres coming in or psychologically you just think sod it and you get on with
it and do the business?
JB: I wish it was that easy. Especially with these temperatures and limited
running it's been difficult to get the tyres in the working range. This
morning it was the other way around, they were working very well and then
later on in the run they weren't working so well. In Q1 it was the other way
around: lap one, I just had no front grip at all as you probably heard me
say, and then it was better on lap three. It's really difficult to
understand how hard to push on an out lap and also if you're doing a three
lap run, on the second lap how hard to push, whether you should put more
heat into the tyres, the bulk or the surface. It's not just drive round as
fast as you can any more. It was good to get the balance today and get it
right.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kamui, you are one of the
drivers that people love the most because you are always attacking
everything. Lately there are a lot of rumours - even from the fans - that
would like to have you in Ferrari next year. Is it something you are
thinking of, considering?
KK: It's the first time I hear that. Nobody has told me, so I'm really
surprised to hear that. At the moment, after the holiday, our results
compared to our speed of the car, I'm not very happy with how many points
we've scored, so I am focusing on the last nine races to score more and
still, of course, nobody's discussed about next year so it's not a bit too
late and of course there's a good option to stay with Sauber as well, but we
never know what's a surprise. Definitely my target is focusing on my races
for the last nine races. |
