Brazilian Grand Prix - Formula 1

Qualifying Quotes - Teams [2003-5-April]

Jean Todt [Team manager - Ferrari]:
“It was a very closely fought qualifying session, with fifteen cars all within the same second. Rubens drove a very good lap. It is great for him and for Ferrari to have taken pole here, in front of such an enthusiastic crowd.”
“While his time is not far off that of those at the front, Michael only managed to take seventh place on the starting grid. Given the new regulations his chances are still intact.”
“Bridgestone did a very good job. Tomorrow, we can expect a tough and demanding race in which the various strategies and the changeable weather conditions could play a key role.”

Ross Brawn [Technical director - Ferrari]:
“I am very happy for Rubens, who put in a really super lap. It's very exciting that he has taken pole position here in Brazil. We are looking forward to a great race from him tomorrow. Michael had a few difficulties, but I think we have a good car for the race. Now we can only wait and see what happens tomorrow.”

Ron Dennis [Team principal - McLaren]:
"An excellent qualifying by the whole team, which has not compromised our race strategy. We look forward to tomorrow's race."

Norbert Haug [Motorsport director - Mercedes-Benz]:
"A super performance by both drivers and the team. David's second and Kimi's fourth places are a good basis for the race. The first four are within half a tenth which shows that this was a thrilling qualifying session."

Dr Mark Gillan [Head of vehicle performance- Jaguar Racing]:
"Our preparation going into the race has gone exactly to plan and we are delighted with Mark's performance today – a truly outstanding lap. To start this race from the second row of the grid ahead of Schumacher's Ferrari, a McLaren and both Williams is just reward for the hard work everyone has put into making the Jaguar R4 a solid contender around Interlagos.”
“The car is very well balanced around this circuit and combined with the excellent Michelin tyre, we have been rewarded with P3 on the grid for tomorrow. Our sector times have looked quite strong all weekend and after the traumas of the first two races, it's great to finally prove what the Jaguar R4 is capable of. The potential of this package has never been in doubt back at the factory, but we haven't capitalised on it in a race situation – something we are obviously aiming to put right tomorrow.“
“Combined with giving Michelin their first-ever wets pole position yesterday, today really belongs to Mark Webber. He put an absolutely storming lap together and missed pole position by just under 5/100th second. Antonio unfortunately suffered today because of niggles with brakes and balance and having to take the T-car didn't help either. His original race car will, however, be ready for tomorrow to take on the role of T-Car."

Pat Symonds [Executive director of engineer - Renault F1]:
“A reasonably satisfactory qualifying session for us. We are pleased with Jarno's starting position, which is in line with the strategy we intend to employ. Although Fernando didn't get the best out of his lap, his starting position, in tenth place, considering our strategy, should allow him to have a good race as well."

Denis Chevrier [Operations manager - Renault F1 France]:
"As it has always been the case on this circuit, the lap times are very close, with 15 drivers in one second. We have done a good job throughout the weekend so far, without incurring in any problem and I see no reason for the team not to have a good result in tomorrow's race."

Sam Michael [Chief operations engineer - BMW.WilliamsF1]:
"Obviously, we would always prefer to be a bit further up on the grid, but the race tomorrow is a different story. Since the advent of the new regulations, it is very difficult to evaluate everybody's qualifying performance, and we are keen to see on which strategy the other teams are on. We have done better in today's dry qualifying than we did under wet conditions yesterday. The new aero parts and the new rear suspension have improved the performance of the car and it is our task to find further improvements as we head into the European sector of the season."

Mario Theissen [Motorsport director - BMW]:
"The Brazilian public can be happy with the outcome of this qualifying. Finally, local hero Rubens Barrichello is on pole, but we can't say we are unhappy either. This was one of the tightest qualifying sessions I can remember: The first 15 drivers have qualified within just one second. If one thinks that ten kilos of fuel costs about 0.3 seconds every lap, it is clear how important the fuel load is. We will know the answer to this question tomorrow."

Gary Anderson [Director of race and test engineering - Jordan GP]:
“I'm reasonably content with the way it ended up. To be honest, we will have to wait and see what happens tomorrow but, hopefully, we've got a good strategy and with a bit of luck we can score some points. Giancarlo drove a good lap and Ralph did his best lap of the weekend and drove well although he made one little mistake. Overall, I'm happy.”

David Richards [Team principal - BAR]:
"We marginally underperformed with both cars today, Jenson because he was first on the track and Jacques with a technical problem, possibly an exhaust. It's all too easy to look back on qualifying and wish you'd pumped out a little more fuel and run lighter, but I'm confident that our strategy is very sound for the race tomorrow."

Geoffrey Willis [Technical director - BAR]:
“It is always difficult to comment on Saturday qualifying since fuel loads have such a significant effect on grid position. It is quite possible that some high qualifiers have compromised their race strategies. I think both our drivers could have been faster; Jenson was disadvantaged by running first and Jacques had a mechanical or engine problem which we have yet to confirm but will investigate when we get the car back from parc ferme. We look forward to the race tomorrow, when I hope we will continue to run reliably. Our aim is to finish in the points again, this time with both drivers.”

Shuhei Nakamoto [Engineering director - Honda Racing Development]:
"Although I was hoping for slightly higher grid positions today, I'm still confident that our strategy is correct for the race tomorrow."

Peter Sauber [Team principal - Sauber]:
"We know that we are a bit too slow here and we will work hard on that for the future. We are confident that Bridgestone will do the same."

Keizo Takahashi [General manager, car design and development - Toyota F1]:
"Unfortunately, we were not able to reproduce our speed from this morning's practice. We had trouble with the set up on Cristiano's car, and could not find the correct balance to allow him to get the most out of the car. Olivier made a mistake in the second sector of his flying lap and lost one second. It is disappointing because we should have been much higher up the grid for this race. Nevertheless we will keep at it and hope for a top eight finish tomorrow."

Paul Stoddart [Team principal - European Minardi Cosworth]:
"Today's performance by the European Minardi Cosworth team in near-perfect weather conditions didn't secure quite the grid positions we would have liked, but we're convinced our race strategy is a good one. Both drivers completed their full technical programmes and the cars ran faultlessly all day long, so we think we're in good shape for tomorrow's grand prix."

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