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Sunday, November 13, 2011

UAE F1 Grand Prix 2011: Qualifying Report - Lewis P2, Jenson P3 (MGP)

LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-26A-03
- P3 programme: 1st, 1m38.976s, 17 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 1st, 1m39.782s (on Primes)
- Q2: 2nd, 1m38.434s (on Options)
- Q3: 2nd overall*, 1m38.622s (on Options)

“It would be nice to have had pole position, but that Red Bull, as always, is very quick in Q3! Still, we’ve got our car to a point where it works particularly well on certain tracks, and we always seem to go well here.

“To be as competitive as we’ve been this weekend is very encouraging – we’re on the front row so we can have a good race from there. And, for the first time in quite a while, my long-run pace was pretty good too, and I think we had more fuel on board than some of the other teams. I feel really good about tomorrow, in fact.

“I hope I have a good start – I really want to get into Turn One first. But, if I can’t, I’ll follow Sebastian [Vettel] as closely as I can, I’ll try my hardest not to let him get more than a second ahead, and I’ll try to get ahead through the DRS zones.

“Last year I started second but braked early into Turn One and let Sebastian have the corner. I’ve just told him that’s not going to happen tomorrow, though…”

JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-26A-04
- P3 programme: 4th, 1m39.429s (+0.453s), 16 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 3rd, 1m40.227s (on Primes)
- Q2: 5th, 1m39.097s (on Options)
- Q3: 3rd overall*, 1m38.631s (on Options)

“I haven’t really been able to find a balance that suits me perfectly this weekend. The car changed quite a lot for qualifying. In practice I’d been struggling with the rear end; but, during qualifying, I suddenly had great rear grip and masses of understeer – so the car felt completely different to me.

“Obviously, there’s only a certain number of things you can do during the qualifying session to counteract that, so we used everything we could to make the car work reasonably well, and I felt much happier as a result.

“Third isn’t a bad place from which to start – hopefully we’ll get one over on the Red Bulls tomorrow.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team Principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“It may sound a little churlish to say that we’re a bit disappointed with second and third today, but the honest truth is that we are.

“Granted, second and third is a pretty creditable result – it’s a platform from which we can win tomorrow in fact – but I don’t mind admitting that we were eyeing pole position today.

“Lewis and Jenson both did a good job though – and, looking forward, they’re both great racers and we think we’ll have a strong race package for tomorrow. Our long-run pace has been impressive all weekend, and we think we’ll be in good shape on both the Prime and the Option [tyre].

“People tend to opine that it’s difficult to overtake here in Abu Dhabi – and so it is. But there are two DRS zones, and of course there’s also the all-important drag down to the first corner. Beyond that, you’ve got to get the strategy right, and let’s just say that we intend to pile the pressure on tomorrow afternoon!”

* Official photos and report courtesy of VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES *

Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

UAE F1 Grand Prix 2011: Qualifying Report - Nico P7, Michael P8 (MGP)

Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher qualified in seventh and eighth places this evening at the Yas Marina Circuit ahead of Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

• Nico completed one run in Q1 on prime tyres, two runs on the same set of options in Q2, and one option run in Q3
• Michael completed a prime and option run in Q1, two option runs in Q2, and one option run in Q3
• Nico and Michael both have one set of new options and two sets of new prime tyres available for the race tomorrow

Nico Rosberg
“We didn’t quite get the maximum from our qualifying session today which was a shame. The track temperatures dropped during the session and it became more difficult to get the tyres working. On my second run in Q3, I had too much traffic in front of me to warm the tyres up sufficiently and that hurt me on the quick lap, otherwise I think we could have been further ahead. However I’m on the good side of the grid and it should be a fun race tomorrow.”

Michael Schumacher
“It was quite a tight qualifying today. I aborted my last lap in Q1 to save tyres, and having some fresh tyres left is the good news from Q3 as well. Overall it was a normal qualifying where we would probably not have much more in the pocket. I also expect a straightforward race and we will try to make the most out of opportunities that arise. The tyres should not be a big issue here, and we tested their behaviour in P2 yesterday which took place at the same time as the race. The fact that the track temperatures will drop during the race might be good for us as we struggle a bit with the tyre temperatures here.”

Ross Brawn
“It was a reasonably straightforward qualifying session for us today with both drivers and the team doing a very good job. There was a little difference in straightline speed on Michael’s car which hampered his pace in relation to Nico so we need to have a look at that and understand why. Otherwise we are in good shape for the race and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Norbert Haug
“The best possible job from our team, Nico and Michael today. We have again been mindful of our strategy in order to save tyres for the race tomorrow, and we hope this approach will be to our benefit as has been the case in recent races. We would like to take the opportunity of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to express the whole team´s appreciation for our partner and co-owner Aabar which is, for our home race, also visible in increased branding on our cars. Today six Mercedes-powered cars made it into the top ten on the grid, the second time in the last five races.”