Brazilian Grand Prix - Formula 1

Qualifying Quotes - Drivers [2003-5-April]

Rubens Barrichello:
“I feel fantastic! Ever since I was a kid, all I wanted to do was to be here in a competitive car, waving at the crowd from pole position. It was great to see the reaction of the fans, even though I was keeping a close eye on Mark [Webber].”
“On my lap, I concentrated on not over-driving and not making any mistakes. Usually, I have the split times on my display, but today I wanted to be on my own out on the track and I asked the team to switch it off. I had a good run, but all that counts is tomorrow. The whole day will be a challenge and I know the pressure will build. But I am not worried about that and, like in a football match, you always play better at home.“
“The weather? I will be asking my grandmother about that later.”

David Coulthard:
"A reasonably tidy qualifying lap - the best I have done so far this year. I wasn't comfortable with the balance of the car during the 15-minute warm-up, so we changed it back to how we ran it during this morning's practice and everything felt fine. Now we will see what happens tomorrow. The new rules make it difficult to know the competitiveness of the other teams."

Mark Webber:
"I'm surprised because we simply didn't think we would end up on the second row of the grid. We were aiming for top ten qualifying positions, but the car felt great out there and that was as close to a near perfect lap I could have done. Contrary to what some people are saying, we were not running the car light with fuel and our strategy going into the race tomorrow is two stops – not three.”
“We may decide to come in a little early compared to the Ferraris and McLarens but, in all honesty, we are not competing with them yet at this stage of our development. We need to come away from the race tomorrow with points and, while a podium would be a dream result, the strength of our package is not yet capable of challenging for podium honours. Nonetheless, I must credit the team for the clear improvement we have demonstrated relative to the opening two races and let's see what tomorrow brings.”
“The pace of the Jaguar R4 is good, I enjoy driving around this track and given how strong the Michelin tyre is, we go into the race quite well prepared. Reliability, however, is something we need to demonstrate tomorrow. Being quick over one lap is one thing – being consistently quick over a race distance is quite another – and that's our next major test. Leaving Interlagos with championship points is the order of the day now and in the process, rewarding the 300-strong team for their incredible hard work over the past few months."

Kimi Raikkonen:
"My qualifying lap was not perfect, but fourth place is acceptable taking into account how close the competition is. I got the car a little bit sideways at turn nine, which lost me a small amount of time, but I think we are looking reasonably strong for the race."

Jarno Trulli:
"The team has done a very good job these past two days in developing the car and the result is reflected in my fifth place today. I am very happy with the car, since we found a good compromise with the aero package. Furthermore, I am confident with the race strategy we have chosen and with the reliability of the car, so I really think we should finish in the points tomorrow."

Ralf Schumacher:
"I had too much understeer in some sectors of the circuit and I think I lost two or three tenths there. I was also a bit too careful braking into turns seven and eight. However, all in all, I am quite happy. I think we've achieved some further improvements with our new chassis. We have used here a new front wing and a modified rear suspension for the first time."

Michael Schumacher:
“First of all, I must say I am very happy for Rubens, who has never had much luck here. It must be a wonderful feeling for him.”
“As for myself, I did not manage a perfect lap, having made a small mistake in the first corner. Considering how close the times are, my grid position is the result of this small slip up. Seventh is not the best position, but we will have to see what strategy the cars in front of me have adopted. On top of that, the weather might change quickly and affect the outcome of the race. It will be a tough afternoon, but as usual I will try my best."

Giancarlo Fisichella:
“I did a very good lap today, almost perfect. The car was reasonably good, although I didn't think we would get on the first four rows so I'm pleased. We did a good job, the mechanics and everybody, and I'm hoping for a good race tomorrow. Maybe I will score some points.”

Juan Montoya:
"All in all, it has been a pretty good qualifying, even if lost a bit of time in the last two corners due to some understeer. In the third sector I lost something like three- or four-tenths from my out lap to my timed lap and this is of course a bit disappointing. That's what we've got for tomorrow, but I think we are going to have a good race."

Fernando Alonso:
"Today in qualifying, we were able to work on a dry track, which had been impossible yesterday afternoon. I am quite happy with my lap time because I didn't make any mistakes and the car felt good. I am in tenth position and, considering that I believe we have a good strategy, I think that tomorrow we could bring home some more points."

Jenson Button:
"My time was a little slower than this morning and the last sector was a couple of tenths down from where it should have been. It's so difficult to go out first because you've got to get rid of the hot air out on the circuit. The race set-up isn't too bad and I think we have gone in the right direction in terms of the strategy, but I think we can make a few adjustments that will help us tomorrow.”

Nick Heidfeld:
"The car was fine. I think I lost out a little bit because I had to run so early in the session, but compared to the rest of the weekend I was quite happy with the way the C22 performed today."

Jacques Villeneuve:
"I'm disappointed to be starting the race from 13th position. The most annoying thing is that, as soon as I accelerated out of turn one, the engine noise changed rapidly. I lost a lot of power and that stayed for the whole lap, so it's very frustrating. Our speed was down as well, so I hope we can identify the problem and deal with it for the race because, if not, it will be a big problem."

Olivier Panis:
“When I started my qualifying lap, everything was fine with the car. I tried to push hard but I made a big mistake in the second sector and we are down in fifteenth as a result. I really want to say sorry to the team because we did a great job in free practice this morning and the car is really good in terms of performance, so obviously I am extremely disappointed for the team and myself, but tomorrow is another day and I will try to drive to the limit tomorrow to get some points."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:
"It was a good lap, as good as the one I was on this morning until I spun. I'm pretty happy, and all day the car has been consistent. We didn't make so many compromises with it, and we have a good set-up whatever happens with the weather tomorrow. I had a good, driveable car today."

Ralph Firman:
“We made some changes to the car between practice and qualifying which improved the car a lot, so I'm pretty happy. I made a small mistake but I would been in the same position anyway, I think. We've got a good car for the race and I'm looking forward to it.”

Antonio Pizzonia:
"I am delighted for Mark but disappointed with my end-result. The fact that Mark has put the Jaguar on P3 for tomorrow's race shows clearly the potential of the package, but my qualifying session was ruined by various things. I suffered problems with my brakes and the balance of the car was not to my liking – particularly in sectors two and three. We were aiming to put both cars into the top ten today and that's really where I should be. Very disappointing given my home event, but there is still a race distance to undertake tomorrow and let's see what can be salvaged from this."

Cristiano da Matta:
"Due to the bad weather conditions yesterday, we simply haven't had enough track time to find the optimum set up on the car for this track. I experienced problems with the grip levels and the general handling of the car this morning, so we made some changes to the set-up, which did not make any difference. I am really unhappy to be starting my home GP from so far back on the grid, but we'll see what happens tomorrow."

Jos Verstappen:
"It wasn't a perfect lap – the first sector wasn't bad, but we struggled a little in the second, as we have for the last two days. At the end of the day, though, we're about where we felt we would be in qualifying. The Bridgestone tyres are holding up well, and I think we have a good race strategy, so I'm happy with our prospects for tomorrow's race."

Justin Wilson:
"I was quite pleased with this afternoon's qualifying run. There were no problems and I drove a pretty clean lap. The time is certainly acceptable for the fuel load we were carrying. All told, we've had a productive day technically, and I'm looking forward to a good race tomorrow."

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