The men behind F1's steering wheels have their say on a dramatic qualifying session at Spa.
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel: "It wasn't clear if the first lap we did in Q3 was the lap on intermediate tyres - so it was hard to know where we were today. We went out on slicks to start, which was quite entertaining as it started to rain pretty heavily. We then went onto intermediates and it still wasn't clear what would happen. It looked like there was more rain coming, so we all rushed to get a lap, but then it stopped and the circuit came back very quickly. The last lap tuned out to be the fastest with the circuit drying. It was difficult to know how fast you could go, I saw Lewis catching and thought I could have gone a bit quicker here and there, but in the end it was quite close across the line. In these conditions anything can happen. I'm happy today; the boys did a good job with the change from slicks to intermediates which got us an extra lap and it was a good day for the team."
Mark Webber: "It was a difficult session to make all the right calls, but in the end I think we got most things right. I think it's very easy to look stupid in those conditions, but in the end we did most things pretty good I'd say. It's a little bit bizarre with the DRS going on and off in the session, but it's the same for everyone. It was a ballsy thing to go slower on the second to last lap to save the tyres, when you're still not sure if the track will improve for the last lap, but in the end it worked out and I'm happy to be up there for tomorrow's race."
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso: "When you end up ninth and tenth, clearly something has gone wrong and only analysing the data will be able to tell you what exactly, especially as the car was more competitive than in recent races. That's partly down to the updates introduced here, which we had been working on since mid-July, when it was clear we had problems. Bad luck definitely played its part, because if the cloud that appeared in Q3 had not moved just before the end of the session, then maybe those who were last at that time would not have improved.
"In the final part, I spun on my first lap, a mistake which definitely cost me, even if by my next lap at the same point, at Turn 14, I had already made up three seconds. I feel reasonably confident for the race, especially as the variable weather conditions mean anything can happen and it's not a given that one finishes where one starts. Of course, we must make up a lot of places, but at least we have the knowledge that we have
closed the gap to the favourites and that we can be competitive in the dry. We saw that in Q2 and in the mixed conditions in Q1. Only the rain is the big question mark, because so far this weekend, we have never run on a track that is wet for its entire length".
Felipe Massa: "I am very disappointed with the result of this qualifying, even if I am well aware how difficult it is to make the right decision at the right time when the weather is very changeable. On my first run in Q3, I went out on the Mediums and, at the moment it began to rain, I had two options: return to the pits to refuel and fit a new set of intermediates, or try and only change tyres. I went for the second of these choices, hoping to benefit from the track being at its best, knowing I would only have one lap left to try and do a good time. Unfortunately, this choice did not pay off, because just then the rain eased off and the other cars encountered better track conditions at the end of the session. A real shame, as the car's been very competitive all weekend, but definitely today, we were a bit out of luck. Even if we are not starting from a good position tomorrow, the race is long and anything can happen. My pace is good and I hope to pull off some nice passing moves to bring home a good number of points".
Lotus
Kimi Raikkonen: "When it was dry in the second qualifying session we were fastest, so if it's dry tomorrow we should be okay for the race; even though we will not start from a great position. The last qualifying session was wet and our car does not give its best in these types of conditions. Any lap which came right at the end of the session would have helped, but if it stayed dry it would have helped more. Tomorrow is another day so we'll just have to wait and see what happens."
Romain Grosjean: "It wasn't an easy session today with the changing weather and while it's good to be in the top ten, it wasn't exactly what we were hoping for. It was a big challenge to know what condition the track was in, to make the right decisions at the right time and to adjust the speed according to the weather. At the end of qualifying you needed to be on the on track at the right time. I'll work with the engineers later to assess why Kimi was a bit quicker in the dry, where we can improve in the wet, and options in terms of strategy. I'll give my best in the race tomorrow."
Force India
Paul di Resta: "Fifth place on the grid is a great result. At the start of Q3 I knew that I wanted to go straight out on the intermediates. It was a brave decision and the team let me go ahead with it, while the others chose dry tyres. I knew it was our best chance to get up towards the front of the grid and it paid off. It's a shame that the rain stopped a bit too early because there were only a few cars that were quicker than us in the wet and they just got ahead at the end of the session. The main thing is we are in a strong position for tomorrow and we will come back tomorrow ready to fight."
Adrian Sutil: "I'm feeling disappointed with how things ended up today because I think we had the potential to get a better result. In Q2 I was on my final flying lap a bit too early and the track was getting quicker all the time. So we should have waited a bit longer and I think that would have made the difference to make the top ten. Also, I had some traffic on my fastest lap and that cost me some time."
McLaren
Jenson Button: "In the dry we were relatively happy with our pace, and in the wet I reckon it was a bit better still. I think P6 for us was an okay outcome, therefore. However, we're still lacking a little bit compared with what we'd hoped for here, which shortfall we suspect is the result of an aero efficiency issue. We'll have to analyse that thoroughly before Monza. But, going back to Spa, our timing was just a little bit off at the end of Q3, which enabled the top three guys to put in laps quicker than ours. Even so, the fact that there are three Brits in the top six is just great. Looking forward to tomorrow, if the weather is wet, or changeable, as we expect it to be, then things could get tricky for all the front-runners, because I think we've all used our supply of inters. Anyway, let's see what happens. It should be an exciting race."
Sergio Perez: "In tricky conditions like today's you have to be in the right place at the right time, and it's a pity we couldn't optimise our potential by doing that, because on a wet track our car is pretty strong and we therefore had a very good opportunity to qualify well here this afternoon. So I'm a bit disappointed, of course, because we went out a bit too late and thereby lost the 'window', preventing us from being able to put in a lap that would have moved us through to Q3. It's a pity, because the track was improving quickly at that time, and we'd have therefore been able to improve our lap time significantly. But that's racing - and tomorrow is another day - and our car should be reasonably competitive if it rains. So I'll try my best to make up for today's disappointment by scoring some good points for the team tomorrow."
Sauber
Nico Hulkenberg: "It was a tricky day again qualifying in weather conditions like these. This morning I was struggling a bit on the medium tyre. Again this afternoon it wasn't' the easiest, but I guess that's the same for everyone with the weather, as it's always challenging. It was a wet Q1, which is always exciting, but I think we did a solid job there. We were only missing about three hundredths to get into Q3. P11 seems to stick to me. But it's a good starting point for tomorrow. I hope we have a good race pace, so that we can score some points."
Esteban Gutierrez: "I'm much happier with the car today. We were able to solve the issues we had in FP2 yesterday. Everything was looking good until the last part of Q1. We changed to a new set of intermediates too early, and that was the wrong choice. The track was drying and the tyres were gone after one lap, which was the main issue. There is not much we could have done at that moment, when the decision was already made, but I tried to do the best with what I had. In these weather conditions, it all comes down to the right tyre selection. Tomorrow will be a gamble too as the forecast is changeable. It will come down to the strategy, so we have to be very flexible, open to everything and very efficient. Whether it's a dry or a wet race, we need to get it right."
