Sat: McLaren, Ferrari, Toyota, Renault

Saturday 19th July 2008

Lewis Hamilton clinched pole for the German GP, while both Ferraris, Jarno Trulli & Fernando Alonso made it into the top six.

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton: What a lap! My first run during Q3 wasn't bad, but my final lap was very smooth and I expected to set an even better time. The wind made today's conditions quite tricky and sometimes it was difficult to stay on the racing line, particularly in the stadium section - where the wind seemed to change a couple of times. The team did a really good job to adjust to these conditions and to prepare the car perfectly. We've been fast and consistent all weekend, we have good pace, and I'm confident for tomorrow."

Heikki Kovalainen: In the final session my car felt the best it has all weekend. But on my first run I lost the rear-end entering the stadium section and ran wide. And on my final run I did a little bit of rallycrossing at the last corner. Taking that into account, it was a good lap."

Ferrari
Felipe Massa: I am pleased with this result. Of course you'd always prefer to be on pole position, but all weekend long we have been trading fastest times during the sessions and, in the end, our main rivals managed to find a little extra, even if the fuel load is an unknown quantity. It will be a very difficult race: our aim is still to win, but it will be important anyway to pick up many points. We must try to get a good start and make the most of what we have."

Kimi Raikkonen: All weekend long, we have been struggling a bit to find a good set-up for the car. At the end of yesterday, it seemed we were on the right road and this morning we tried to improve still further down this path, but it was not the right one. Then, in qualifying, we went reasonably well with low fuel, but in the final session, the car was not as good. Clearly sixth place is not satisfying and tomorrow we won't be in for an easy time, but it's definitely not the end of the world. It will be a long race tomorrow and that's when the points are allocated. For our part, we will do all we can to get a good finish position."

Toyota
Jarno Trulli: It was a very good performance so I am really happy. The car handled very well and we made many small changes through the session to get closer and closer to the perfect balance. At the very end of Q3 I put in a very strong lap to give me fourth position, which was very satisfying. I am particularly happy for the team because they are working hard at the track and at the factory so it is a pleasure for me to show such a good performance. We have a good chance tomorrow now, even if it will be difficult to battle with Ferrari and McLaren. We will do our best and we know we are competitive so I am confident we can have a good result again. Clearly the goal is to score plenty of points and fight for the best possible finish."

Timo Glock: Up until the last lap it was not a bad qualifying because we easily made it through Q1 and we were looking pretty strong in Q2, with a good chance of getting into the top 10. But we couldn't improve on the last run when it was really important. I don't know how many times I have just missed out on Q3 by the tiniest of margins and it has happened again. It is extremely disappointing but of course I will fight as hard as possible in the race and we'll see what is possible."

Renault
Fernando Alonso: Our performance today is a nice surprise because we still had some doubts this morning and the first two parts of qualifying were not easy, and the field was very closely matched, as Nelson found out. The track conditions were slightly different to this morning and there was a bit more wind. We must now aim to maintain this pace in the race, which has been our weak point so far, and, if we can do that, we can hope to have a great result in the race tomorrow."

Nelson Piquet Jr: After a very promising practice session this morning, I am of course disappointed not to have passed through the first stage of qualifying. During my lap, Vettel was in front of me, which unsettled me a little, although the FIA felt that he did not impede me."

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