Qualifying Quotes - British Grand Prix.

"I am very happy with my first pole for Ferrari. I like driving in these conditions, although did not know what to expect as, last week in testing, I only drove in the wet, and only did two laps in the dry yesterday. The team did a good job with my car, and know this track very well, so could push to the limit."

"I went out early because I thought it might rain later. That is why I had to go out early again for my second run at a different time to the others. Starting from pole tomorrow will be important if the weather is bad for the race. I will not be celebrating Brazil's 500th birthday tonight, but hope to give my country a better present tomorrow."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:

"I a very happy with this result - it was a great effort from the team. It is very exciting to start Jordan's 150th race here at Silverstone from the front row."

"It seems my daughter Lea has brought me luck, as I called home just before the session and Tanja put her on the 'phone to me; I think she must have said 'good luck daddy'. I did not really expect to be on the first row, but we seized the opportunity and did a very good job. It will be tough tomorrow, but let's hope the car is reliable, and we can continue today's good work."

Mika Hakkinen:

"I was not completely happy with the car's behaviour during today's qualifying, as it had a tendency towards understeer. The team subsequently found a set-up error, which caused the problem. Of course, starting the race from the second row will make things more difficult but, having said that, even without the yellow flags caused by Trulli's spin, I would probably still not have got pole. Tomorrow the weather will play a role in the outcome of the race, but we have done a lot of running in both wet and dry conditions at Silverstone, and I believe we have a good set-up no matter what."

Jean Todt [Team principal - Ferrari]:

"Thanks to Rubens, who did a great job in qualifying. Ferrari has secured its first pole position of the season. The session was very closely fought, with the changing track conditions and the ever-present risk of rain. We got Michael out of the pits a couple of seconds late, and that is why he did not get a second timed lap on his final run. But for that, he would have had the chance to improve his time. Given the unpredictable weather, tomorrow's race will be a difficult one. We will try our best to defend our position in the championships."

Ron Dennis [Team principal - McLaren]:

"Clearly, both drivers were hampered with the inevitable problems that are the result of qualifying on a drying circuit. David was slowed by traffic and Mika had to lift for the yellow flags after Bridge. In the circumstances, second row is not bad, but we had got rather used to pole. As is normally the case, the race should be somewhat more interesting as a result of this grid."

David Coulthard:

"With the circuit getting drier all the time, it will always come down to where you are on the track on the last lap. It's just impossible to guess what traffic will be like. Considering that, on my last run, I was slowed down by a Jordan, and then running behind a Williams, fourth place isn't so bad."

Michael Schumacher:

"First of all, I want to congratulate Rubens on pole. On my last run, we had changed the set-up, but it did not pay off. On top of that, I made a couple of small mistakes, which cost me precious time. I a not satisfied with my grid position. However it is very important for me that my main rival is right in front of me, because my main objective is to pass him. It is impossible to predict what will happen tomorrow in the race - this weather means that everything can change in a matter of minutes."

Jenson Button:

"It's very good to qualify in the top six, especially as my day has been pretty terrible so far. I made a mistake this morning, and ended up in the gravel, and Eddie Irvine ended up there too, damaging my car. I must say thanks to the team for doing a good job, as they planned excellently. We new that it was going to be very difficult to do a time at the end of the session, but we were able to set the sixth fastest. It's going to be quite an amazing feeling to start alongside Michael Schumacher tomorrow!"

Ralf Schumacher:

"The seventh starting position is not so bad, but I expected more, especially under the circumstances with the changing weather and track conditions. I always felt quite comfortable, but I couldn't manage to optimise on the fast lap in an effort to achieve a better time which, I am sure, could have been possible."

Jos Verstappen:

"It was a difficult situation but at the end it was dry and I tried everything to get the best out of the car, although it was over-steering a little bit at times. The car was very good on both laps and although I tried harder on the second lap I came up through the curve and spun, but before that I think as a team we did really well and went out at the right moment with good tyres and good set up. Im very pleased with my position and the mechanics have worked very hard so hopefully it will pay off tomorrow. Im not sure yet of the exact tactics for tomorrows race but hope to finish in the top six. Rain or dry will be fine.

Eddie Irvine:

We had three laps left, and we put three laps of fuel in. That probably cost 0.2s, which would have moved me to sixth. It could have been a lot worse, it could have been better. I was thinking just before the run that the tyres were only looking good for one lap, and maybe we should take the fuel out, but if you mess up that lap, its a disaster. The safe way cost me today.

Its difficult to know [the car's potential in the dry] really, because on grooves you dont really let it flow as much as you should in those conditions. The problem is we need to test. We came here last week with a programme to run through, and it was wind and rain all the time. We just havent had a chance to do anything, and hopefully in Barcelona next week well get a chance to run. As for wet conditions on Sunday, who knows?

Jacques Villeneuve:

"The session went okay. We were a bit worried about the gearbox after the first run, but it turned out to be fine. The third run was pretty good, even though there were still some damp spots on the track and then, on the final run, I made a mistake in the last sector. It was nice to be at the top of the timing screens, but I would have preferred to be at the top at the end of the session. So far this season, we've gone well in the dry, starting from eighth or ninth on the grid, so maybe starting tenth in the wet isn't so bad."

Jarno Trulli:

"I am very disappointed with my result today, but at least Heinz was able to have a good qualifying and show that our car is very competitive here. The car felt good and I was quick, but I was held up by traffic and did not have a clear run."

Giancarlo Fisichella:

"I have been happy with the car all weekend and, as the track got drier, we adapted our set-up, and I felt we were really competitive. But a combination of mistakes in turn ten and traffic meant that we didn't manage to fulfill our potential."

Pedro Diniz:

"Qualifying was pretty difficult because the track was getting faster all the way through. It was hard to find a good set-up for the dry track, after all our running this weekend has been on a wet road. But I suppose it was the same for everyone, and thirteenth place isn't too bad in the circumstances, If the weather is changeable again tomorrow, things could go either way."

Johnny Herbert:

I think I got the timing right, but the traffic wrong. Mika Hakkinen had finished his lap and he eased off, and made my line a bit tight through the last part of Becketts. So I lost out a bit there. And I had a small issue with the engine. It was just a bit too pushy, so I was a little bit untidy whenever I hit a damp patch. Then, on the next lap, there were yellows for an Arrows and a Jordan, so I couldnt go quicker on that one.

I was a bit disappointed [with my wet weather time] this morning, because we were miles off, whereas in testing we were quite good. Weve heard there's a five per cent chance of rain, but Im sure it will end up being 95 per cent by the end of the day! So then well have to see. Im surprised where we are [in qualifying] because we didnt do any testing in the dry at all.

Jean Alesi:

"It was truly a very interesting session, even if I am disappointed not to have succeeded in gaining a better position on the grid. We did not know if the showers were going to become much heavier, as was the case yesterday, or if the track would continue to dry. Anything was possible."

"I had an engine problem at the end of the morning session, and we changed it in the break. My car began to behave well in the middle of the session when the track conditions were part-dry, part-wet, and it got better and better. But it was our firs real opportunity to run in the dry at Silverstone, since we had difficulties in testing last week, and we are still suffering for not having done enough running."

Ricardo Zonta:

"It's disappointing. We missed the chance to test in the dry last week because of the accident and, maybe, we could have improved the balance of the car if we had had more time. I had some understeer on the first lap of my last run, and also had many yellows. I hope to do better in the race."

Nick Heidfeld:

"We knew it would be tough to qualify in a good position as during the testing we did here last week and, yesterday, we were not really able to find the right set-up for the car because we did not complete enough testing mileage. Besides, my car was not ready when the qualifying session started, so jumped into the T-car, which was prepared for me. In fact, I could have taken my car out for the rest of the session, on a track which was getting better and better, so it was not really necessary."

"When I went out for my last three timed laps, my car was behaving well, but I was held up on the second lap, and the engine blew on my in-lap. It is sad because I could feel it decreasing and sounding unclear in the preceding laps and, without this, I might have done better in the end."

Mika Salo:

"That was a highly frustrating qualifying session, because the window for a quick lap at the end of the session was so small. By the time I was going into my fast lap, it felt as if everyone else had come out of the pits for their warm-up laps. I'm really disappointed with 18th place."

Pedro de la Rosa:

I made a bad mistake on my quick lap, but towards the end it was dry and I nearly lost the car, along with losing all speed so it wasnt a very good lap. The car is fine, it was just a matter of getting a clear lap at the end, but I didnt manage to do that. I dont feel particularly proud of my qualifying position and am angry and annoyed, as everything was going quite well until the last lap which is when it really mattered. Tomorrow it will be a very difficult race starting so low on the grid, but well see what I can do.

Alex Wurz:

"I ran in the spare car for qualifying because, this morning, there was a problem on my race car that we couldn't identify. I was quite comfortable wit the set-up, and was able to push hard, but the track was improving dramatically throughout the session, so the only laps that counted were the last ones, and on my last one I got a yellow flag."

Marc Gene:

It has been a tough session for everybody due to the so changeable weather conditions. We only could look at the sky and save our laps for the end. This was the right strategy, indeed. My last timed lap was pretty good, however considering that I had not run much on the dry track and that my time is only 2,5 slower than the pole, I feel satisfied. It is disappointing to have qualified in the last position but I feel happy with my todays performance.

Gaston Mazzacane:

Notwithstanding my grid position, I feel fairly satisfied also considering that the changeable track conditions and my lack of experience didnt help me at all. During the session we have concentrated on the set up work which changed over the morning. I believe we did a good job because my car felt much better with respect to the few laps I put in yesterday on the dried track. We took to track at the last moment to set the time but unfortunately when I was putting in my last fast lap I have encountered too many cars on the track thus losing six tenths in the third sector.