Jean Todt:
“We had forgotten what pole position tasted like and today, we can savour it again thanks to an extraordinary lap from Michael. This result makes us very happy and is the reward for the vast amount of work carried out over the last few months by the team along with our friends at Bridgestone. Rubens’ seventh place is also a good result, given that his time is very close to that of the cars ahead of him. Now we face the toughest task of the weekend, namely the race. As usual, reliability, strategy and the consistency of tyre performance will play key roles. For our part, as usual, we will give it our all. A good result would be important for the morale of the team and all our fans.”
Michael Schumacher:
“I drove a good lap and I am delighted to be back here after suffering for so long. I am happy to be on pole, happy that it is with this margin and also that we look in good shape for the race. This is good for Bridgestone, who have suffered with us and this result is an excellent return for the effort they have put in. We saw from Rubens’ performance yesterday that, not only was the package quick over a single lap, it was also consistent over a longer run. There is no reason not to believe in a Ferrari comeback, but at the same time we will have to wait and see if this result is a case of the car and tyre suiting this track or if it will become a general trend. This is a great result and a great motivation for the whole team. As for being on pole, I think it is more important that I am on the clean side of the track, because I do not share the view that at this circuit, grid position is vital, because I think strategy in the race will be more important.. I am not worried about the hot conditions.”
Rubens Barrichello:
“Basically I think I drove a good lap apart from the fact that I lost a bit on the brakes at the beginning of the lap due to a change in set-up on the car, which made the brakes feel a little bit different. Bridgestone has done a phenomenal job to provide us with a tyre that has allowed us to be competitive again in qualifying. I have a good strategy and I know I can expect to have a very consistent performance level in the race. So I really hope I can get a good result.”
Ross Brawn:
“I am absolutely delighted with this performance as it has been a hard year for us. Everyone, particularly Bridgestone, has kept working and we could see from the beginning of the weekend that we have a very strong tyre here and we have had the proof of that today. It proves we never gave up and we will do our best to repeat today’s performance tomorrow in the race. Of course, this is not just down to the tyres. We have had some updates to the aero package over the last few races and they have also contributed to this result.”
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