Sat: BMW, Toyota, Toro Rosso

Saturday 11th October 2008

Robert Kubica joined both Toyota and Toro Rosso drivers in the top ten in Saturday's Japanese GP qualifying.

BMW
Robert Kubica: Yesterday we were struggling with low grip, so the rain last night and this morning definitely didn't help us as it washed away the rubber. The balance of the car was fine, but it was just lacking grip. I tried everything I could, and this was the best I could manage. Sixth is not bad under the circumstances."

Nick Heidfeld: Now we know it was the wrong decision to stay on the harder tyre compound for the second outing in Q1. After my initial run on the first set of those tyres, I knew I could improve on the Prime tyres, so we took the risk and put on another set. I actually did improve, I was about half a second quicker, but still it wasn't enough and I missed Q2 by one tenth of a second. Robert just made it. Of course from so far back on the grid it will be very difficult to do something in the race. But we have seen everything happen in Formula One and I shall never give up."

Toyota
Jarno Trulli: We've done quite a good job overall this weekend preparing for qualifying and the race. I had to make some adjustments during the first part of qualifying but in the end fortunately I got the set-up right. That meant that I could find the right balance and get back on the pace. In Q2 I was 4th and Timo was 5th so it shows that the Toyotas are going well. Q3 was a bit of a mystery because as soon as we put the fuel on the car was rather unbalanced and we lost a lot of grip. So I wasn't so happy about the pace of Q3 but maybe its down to the different fuel levels. Now we must go for a strong result for everyone here in front of our own fans and we must fight really hard until the end tomorrow."

Timo Glock: We have to be happy with how qualifying went in the end. This morning's rain didn't really help us because we would have liked to have more rubber on the asphalt. Instead it was quite low grip but still Q1 was quite easy. I was quickest and I had a really good feeling. But after that we struggled to get the most out of the softer tyre on heavy fuel and we are slightly further back than we'd hoped. There are a couple of places where you can overtake here so let's see what happens tomorrow."

Toro Rosso
Sebastian Vettel: At the start of qualifying the track was still quite green because of the rain, but we made it to Q3 again which is good. Then in the final part, I was struggling a bit with the heavier car, as it did not feel as good as before and I made a couple of small mistakes. But the gap to the next fastest was a bit too big. It will be a tough race on the cars and especially the tyres, so I think the key to success will be to keep the tyres in good shape. I hope our strategy turns out to be a good one."

Sebastien Bourdais: It was a good qualifying and I'm happy to be close to Sebastian on a track with a lot of corner entries on the brakes which is where I usually struggle with the rear end of the car, so I had to hold back a bit. I think the car has improved a bit after the team found a couple of things on the aero side which has helped. I think we are in good shape for the race."