Driver Reaction - Monaco Qualy..(Formula 1 Racing)

Mark Webber: "It was a strong day,
particularly this afternoon. It's normal around here that the momentum
has got to build before qualifying and then you have to start putting it
all together and the guys did a really good job on the car. I felt
comfortable, which is important, you need to go to the absolute limit
everywhere to get the maximum out of the car and squeeze everything you
can. It's a great effort from the whole team; we had a lot to do on
Thursday night, but the team reacted really well. It's Michael's day and
he did a great lap, but we are right there and will have a good race
tomorrow. It's been a happy hunting ground for me in the past - Monaco
is a very special, unique challenge for the drivers."

Sebastian Vettel:"It was a bit mixed
up for me. It was looking very good this morning, but then I think we
took a step in the wrong direction and ended up with a difficult car for
qualifying. It's a bit of a disappointment, as Mark showed what the car
can do around here, so we'll see what we can do tomorrow. It's Monaco
and everything is possible here. We could be on a different strategy
tomorrow as we're able to start the race on hard tyres, slightly
different to the cars ahead, so we'll see how the first stint goes and
go from there. It's hard to predict, as it's a long race."

Lewis Hamilton: "I've had a good
feeling all weekend, but his afternoon was massively tough: one of my
toughest qualifying sessions for some time, in fact. And there are two
great drivers ahead of me who'll make it even tougher for me tomorrow.
"I'm fortunate to be one place higher owing to Michael's [Schumacher]
penalty, but we struggled a little today, particularly with the very
low-speed stuff. It was difficult to get the tyres to 'switch on' and
give us the grip we needed.
Jenson Button: "Monaco is all about
qualifying - that's just the way it is - but I didn't quite have the
pace this afternoon. The car felt good this morning and we looked
strong, but then we couldn't translate that performance when it
mattered. It's strange, because it's there at certain points of the
weekend - even this morning, in P3, the car felt good and I was pretty
happy.

"I'm hoping that our pace will be better in the race - but it's very
tricky to overtake here. The drivers around me are going to be on the
same strategy, so it's going to be tough, but as always we'll do our
best.

"I've only finished in the points at Monaco three times before -in
first, second and third positions. I hope I get another one of those
tomorrow!"
Fernando Alonso: "In Italy there's a
saying, "he who goes slowly, goes well and goes far," right? Well,
that's what we are doing: step by step we are getting closer. I am happy
with this qualifying, the best as a team that we have seen this season.
I have had a good feeling all weekend long. Maybe in Q3, we could have
shaved a few hundredths off here and there, but I don't think I'd have
moved up any places, given that the driver in front of me is three
tenths away.

"Usually here it falls to the top three on the grid to fight for the
win, so I think that our realistic goal is a place on the podium, but we
also know that surprises are the order of the day. We saw that again
today, with Michael on pole: I was very pleased for him, even though he
won't be able to make the most of it because of the penalty. This
afternoon and tomorrow morning I will have to work along with the team
to decide on the best strategy.
Felipe Massa:"It was a good
qualifying and I could definitely have done even better than this
seventh place: fifth was within my reach, given what we saw in Q1 and
Q2. Unfortunately, in Q3 I did not manage to get a perfectly clean lap
because of traffic, but that's an easy thing to find here.

"Having said that, I am very happy with how things have gone in this
Grand Prix so far. Finally, I am having fun at the wheel of the F2012:
clearly the set-up we have chosen here makes it much easier to make the
most of its potential. It's a point to keep in mind for the rest of the
championship too. We still struggle a bit in the places where traction
is crucial, which can easily be seen by comparing our car, corner by
corner with the best ones, however in this area too we have made
progress.
Michael Schumacher: "It is simply a
wonderful feeling to set pole after such a long time, and particularly
here in Monaco. Okay, it has taken a little bit longer than I might have
wanted in the second chapter of my career, but that makes it even
sweeter. It's just beautiful.

"We already thought that this circuit should suit us, and it's the
perfect confirmation of all the work from every team member in Brackley,
Brixworth and Stuttgart - a big thank you to every one of them, because
this is a team result. Of course, it's unfortunate that I won't start
from the very front but that's how it is. I will do as well as I can. We
know that overtaking is tough but with DRS and KERS, you might as well
try it - and you can be sure I will."
Nico Rosberg: "I am pleased with the
result today and especially for what we have shown as a team in the past
few weeks. We have had a couple of difficult races since the win in
China but there has been a lot of hard work to turn it round, and today
we were on top as a team which is great to see. Thank you to everybody
back at base who has brought us back to the front again.
Kimi Raikkonen:"For sure we're not
very happy after that session. Since the first practice we've been a
little bit behind where we should have been and we've been trying to
catch-up. The car is fine, the biggest problem today was trying to get
the tyres working as it seemed to be a bit tricky to get them up to
temperature. I could have been a bit faster on my best lap, but I went a
little bit too deep in the swimming pool section. It's a bit
disappointing but you can't get it right every time. At a normal race
track you would be able to gain positions through overtaking, but in
Monaco this is difficult. That said, anything can happen here so
hopefully we can achieve something good tomorrow."
Romain Grosjean: "We are not as high
on the grid as we wanted to be, but things were very tight today. I did a
very good lap in the first part of Q3 but then I couldn't improve on my
second set of tyres. This was a shame because our strategy was perfect
for the last part of qualifying. The traffic wasn't too bad but I missed
out in sector two. I think pole position was within reach. P4 is not
exactly where we wanted to be but the race will be long. It's Monaco, it
will be difficult; nonetheless we know that the car is quite good on
high fuel and with the tyres, so let's see what we can do and put the
best strategy into place."
Paul di Resta: "I felt pretty happy
with the balance of the car during FP2 on Thursday, but unfortunately it
didn't carry over for qualifying. We haven't changed much on the car,
but I was struggling with the rear and with traction. So I'm not as far
up the grid as I would like to be and it leaves us with a hard task
tomorrow, especially because it's so difficult to overtake here. But we
also know that Monaco can be an unpredictable race and I hope the
strategy can help us fight back tomorrow."
Kamui Kobayshi: "Of course I had hoped
for a better result today. With the super soft tyre compound you only
have one lap to set a good time. I managed to improve in Q2, but
unfortunately not enough to be able to start in Q3. Nevertheless, the
car was good and it will be good in the race, so I think we can improve
tomorrow. A lot will also depend on our race strategy and some luck in
terms of safety car periods, which can always happen here. I'm positive
we can score good points tomorrow."
Pastor Maldonado: "Everything was
quite tight today. We were on the pace and looking good for a top five
position but I came across traffic on what would have been my best lap.
My second Q3 lap was a bit slower as we lost a bit of grip from the car
and tyres. It's going to be difficult tomorrow with the penalties, but I
will do my best and we'll see."
Bruno Senna: "I am disappointed with
qualifying. The car definitely had a good lap in it but unfortunately I
just pushed too hard and the laptime didn't come to me. I'm frustrated
with myself but we know we have a strong car so now we just have to see
what we can do tomorrow. You never know what can happen in Monaco but
it's always easier if you can start further up the grid."