Qualifying Quotes - European Grand Prix.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:


"It feels fantastic to be on pole, especially here in Germany. We had a difficult time in the practice sessions with various problems, and we were not sure how quick we would be compared with our competitors. The only chance I had was to go for it in qualifying, and we really got our act together and made the most out of the situation."



"We had a lot of discussions about when to go out, and it was difficult to know what to do, as no-one can predict what is going to happen but, in the end, we got it right. When I went out at the end, I saw that the track was drying very quickly, and I talked to my engineer about what we could do. We only had four-and-a-half minutes, and we took the decision to come in so that that mechanics could change the tyres in the pit-lane - that was a really key decision. At the end, though, I was fuelled for seven timed laps, so I was carrying too much fuel because I decided to come into the pits again."


"Today, we did an absolutely perfect job. The race will be tough, but we will just have to do our best. I have to apologise to my team, as there was some friction between us about choosing the right moment to go out, and at one stage we were all shouting at one another. It was a chaotic practice - and it's unbelievable that I am on top of it."


"I am sure that [the McLarens] will blow me off at the start and then disappear tomorrow - but, seriously, I was amazed at how good the car was despite not having had much practice. I am pretty confident that we will be looking strong in the race tomorrow."


David Coulthard:


"I think today's qualifying was a good session to watch on the television - but I think, for all the teams and all the drivers, it was a bit frustrating. You didn't know when to go out, how much fuel to run, or when to change tyres. It all became a lottery but, as always, we tried to make the best of the situation. The engineers took the right decisions in the circumstances, and kept a good set-up for the car. It worked in my favour."


"With Heinz on pole, it obviously makes it a different [kind of] race for us all. Given the nature of the circuit, it is quite difficult to overtake here, so it will be a strategic race as always."

Mika Hakkinen:


"I wasn't too worried about the rain, as the car is so good I knew that we would be competitive. Of course, the changeable conditions made life quite difficult, and to be third on the grid is always disappointing, but I think we did the best we could today, and we should be happy about the result. Naturally, we hope that the weather will hold good for the race, but I feel confident that we have a car with good set-ups for any weather conditions."


"I don't feel that the traffic would have made that much difference [to my lap time]. If I had had a clear run at the end, I doubt that I would have made a brilliant time, but in my fastest lap, I had quite bad traffic going through the last sector in particular. I was not able to get on the throttle as early as I wanted to, and lost some time."

Ralf Schumacher:


"Today's qualifying session was a true gamble. When you have qualifying like this, you can win everything or lose everything. I am very happy, because I ended up in a strong position but, if you look at Alex and Frentzen for example, the first lost it all and the second won it all. With such weather conditions, everything is about being out on the track at the right time. You could go out at the last minute and waste a fast lap with yellow flag, or with a slow car in front of you, as happened to Alex - so you always need a bit of luck."

Olivier Panis:


"It truly gives me great pleasure to start from fifth place on the grid. All weekend, I have worked closely with the engineers and the rest of the team, and Alain Prost, Alan Jenkins and Vincent Gaillardot judged the track conditions perfectly this afternoon. We did well to wait until the final minutes to go out - I was really on the limit in my last lap, and it was just as I hoped and imagined. Rain is predicted for tomorrow, but that will create conditions which I like very much, and the car is well balanced for the wet - I am very confident."

Giancarlo Fisichella:


"Unfortunately, I missed the chance to improve on my last flying lap. I came out of a corner on the white line, which was still wet, the car skidded and I lost a couple of tenths. Sixth position is a satisfactory place to start the race, but the car felt good today, and it is frustrating not to have qualified a bit higher up."

Damon Hill:


"I am pretty happy with today's session - it was very exciting and could have been so easy to slip up, time things wrong and end up way down the order. So being just outside the top six is not bad. At one point, I was at the sharp end, which felt great. I feel very good and positive about the car, and am very pleased for Heinz-Harald and the team for getting pole position, because it shows that we can be competitive on twisty tracks as well as high speed ones. Eddie is sitting on a very strong team at the moment."

Jacques Villeneuve:


"There was a lot of traffic right at the end, but my best lap was clear and the car again felt very strong. My first and third sectors were almost as fast as Frentzen's, but I made a mistake in the second and backed off a little. Without that, I think we could have set fourth quickest time, not eighth."


"The car feels well balanced between front and rear, and I'm happy with the handling. The new clutch should allow me to get a good start in the race and be aggressive. We may have a problem if it rains, because we haven't got much experience in the wet with this car, but it feels good, and I'm pretty confident for the race."

Eddie Irvine:


"I am very disappointed, because we were capable of getting onto the front row today. On my penultimate lap, I was held up by traffic and then, on my last lap, I locked my rear brakes on a damp patch, went onto the grass and that was the end of it. This is a poor result, but we have not given up - the race will be a different story. Assuming it is dry tomorrow afternoon, I am confident that I have made the right tyre choice. Combined with out good, reliable, car, this will allow me to be as aggressive as I need to be."

Jarno Trulli:


"After the first run on wet tyres, I had a good feeling about the drying track. I was second after my second-to-last run, and I went out for a last run, with five minutes remaining, on a track which was almost dry. Unfortunately, I was slowed by traffic on my fastest lap as a Sauber and Ferrari were on their way back to the pits. I must check the data with my engineer, as I struggled to find the same performance in a straight line as I had [earlier] today. I think it will be an interesting and open race."

Eddie Jordan:


"That was a fantastic qualifying session for Jordan. It was all very nerve-wracking but, in the end, it worked out perfectly, with the decision to come in to change tyres in the pit-lane allowing Heinz to take pole. Damon did an excellent job, too, but went out that little bit early. It is a great day for Jordan, with our second ever pole, and a great day for Mr Honda, who arrived just in time to see the end of the session!"


"We had a number of different strategies, but Heinz-Harald decided to call the shots himself, so all credit to him. It wasn't the team today - he knew when to go and, perhaps being German and from around these parts, he knows the lay of the land. We won at Monza when people didn't gives us a chance, but we've probably got a better chance here."

Ron Dennis:


"Whilst this type of qualifying is somewhat of a lottery, you are still able to minimise the odds. We had to cover our main opposition but, at the same time, make every effort to be on pole. We compromised the set-up for the conditions which, along with the usual end-of-qualifying traffic, only saw us achieve second and third places on the grid, which is not so bad in the circumstances."

Jean Todt:


"Qualifying was run in difficult conditions and, unfortunately, Eddie spun on his fastest lap. The difference between the cars is very close, but our cars are in the middle of the grid, while our closest rivals are in the top three places. Tomorrow, as today, the weather conditions will play a determining role - choosing the right strategy will be equally important."


Alex Wurz:


"I was held up by a McLaren on my first two flying laps, and then, on my second one, my tyres lost performance. The car is good in both wet and dry conditions, though, so we should be competitive in the race tomorrow."

Mika Salo:


"Our strategy did not work out, and the track dried too much at the end of the session. When it was drying, I had another car in front of me on my quickest lap - it is amazing how some people do not look in their mirrors. This position is not the best start for tomorrow but, with a strong car and a well-planned strategy, I am confident that we will be much stronger in the race."

Pedro Diniz:


"My last lap was easily good enough for a place in the top ten, until Irvine went off the road and came straight back on in front of me without looking. I'm really disappointed that he did that, because the car felt so good. Nevertheless, I still think that I'm well placed to score points tomorrow."

Johnny Herbert:


"It was annoying to have the problem on my first out lap - the car simply died on me, so I had to run back to the pits and get in to the spare. I found the throttle pedal on the spare quite limp, however, which took some getting used to."


"I missed out on getting another lap in before the end of the session by a couple of seconds. I came up behind one of the Arrows heading onto the straight and got round him with the light still green but, as I crossed the line, I looked up to see the red light. it was shame because we made a set-up change before my final run, and the car felt much better over the kerbs, and I'm sure I could have improved my time."

Rubens Barrichello:


"It was an eventful session - I was a hero for the first half-hour when I was quickest in the wet but, by the end, I finished 15th, so I haven't made things easy for the race. I caught traffic on my last flying lap, which didn't help because my target was the top eight. We decided to go for just one long run at the end but, in hindsight, the strategy didn't work because, just when I had the tyres working, I found myself without a clear track."

Jean Alesi:


"I didn't like the figures I saw from the wet set-up of the rear wing I was going to use at the end but, rather than alter them, it was quicker to use another wing with dry settings in the limited time available. The track was quite consistent in the final stages but, because of the wing situation, I lacked downforce, so the car was not at its optimum."

Ricardo Zonta:


"Qualifying in these conditions is like a game, because the person who waits longest will have the most advantage. I am very disappointed with this grid position because, although we improved the set-up since this morning, it was not good enough for us, and I always had too much understeer."


"'Rocky' Rocquelin, my stand-in engineer for this weekend, is doing a great job, considering that it is his first time as a race engineer, and the qualifying conditions today were difficult. I will try my best tomorrow in the race to make up for my low qualifying position."

Alex Zanardi:


"Everybody knows that, in the last minutes, a qualifying session like this becomes a jungle. Unfortunately, in my first new-tyre lap, I found Salo and Villeneuve in front of me, which slowed me down - particularly Jacques - as they did not want to be delayed themselves on their following laps. There is nothing you can do in this case, but I lost more than a second there."

Luca Badoer:


"This morning, during free practice, I had a very good feeling with my car, so I would have preferred a dry qualifying session in order to continue the day's work - which was already going well. I believe that, under normal track conditions, it would have certainly been better for us. Actually, the conditions were so changeable and confusing, we hardly took advantage of the session at all."

Marc Gene:


"I feel fairly satisfied. The team did a good job today, and the strategy was the right one. The car was okay, even on the first run when the track was very wet. In the end, as the track was getting drier, I managed to score a good lap time, although it was not perfect."

Peter Sauber:


"This was a qualifying session that read like a thriller, with tension right up until the last second. In retrospect, I think we should have waited a bit longer, and divided our last eight-lap runs into two stints - but it's always easy to be clever in hindsight."