Motorsports Mondial
Sebastian Vettel is unstoppable with Pole in Canada.
Fernando Alonso pips his team mate for the front row.
Ferrari having a great weekend with Massa in third.
Renault can only manage ninth and tenth on the grid.
Vitaly Petrov:
“The track temperatures were much lower than yesterday and it was very difficult to warm-up the tyres properly throughout qualifying. As a result, I was lacking grip out there and I lost a bit of time during my quickest lap. This said, Nick and I got to Q3 and this is a good thing considering the problems we had in Monaco. Looking ahead to tomorrow, it is really difficult to make any prediction. Montreal is almost always a crazy race and the safety car is often a part of it. Also, the weather forecast is looking unsettled so we can expect anything. As a result, tomorrow will be a case of adapting ourselves to the conditions and taking every single opportunity.”
Nick Heidfeld:
“I am extremely happy because I think I achieved the maximum I could have done today. We actually drove with more downforce than normal, as we were gambling a bit and hoping for wet conditions tomorrow. We made some minor adjustments with the car today and certainly got what we could have done from it. I’m also happier with how I’m driving on the supersoft tyres; yesterday I was not satisfied but today I really got used to them, and I think that showed through my lap times. Obviously you always want to be higher up than P9 but being in the top ten is satisfying and we will try to improve on this tomorrow by securing a good pace and gaining some places.”
Alan Permane: Chief race engineer: “: “A different set-up for Nick and Vitaly”
Are you satisfied with today’s result?
In a way, we’re pleased to have both cars in the top10 today. It shows that we’ve uncovered the problems we had in Monaco, and that the solutions we’ve brought here are the right ones. However, we can’t be happy with a 5th row. We need to work harder and get more performance out of the car.
Did the lower temperatures have an impact on our performance today?
It’s difficult to say, really. However, it’s true to think that the weather conditions could play a big role in tomorrow’s race. This is the reason why we have chosen two different set-ups. Even if their lap times were very close today, Nick and Vitaly are carrying different levels of downforce. As you know, when it rains, we’re only allowed to change the cooling of the cars. Nick will carry more downforce than Vitaly tomorrow and, depending on the weather, this could be a very strong position to be in.
Did the drivers extract the maximum from their cars today?
I think so. Their cars are not identical but they did a good job and could play on different strategies tomorrow.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m13.014s 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m13.199s + 0.185 3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m13.217s + 0.203 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m13.429s + 0.415 5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m13.565s + 0.551 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m13.814s + 0.800 7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m13.838s + 0.824 8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m13.864s + 0.850 9. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m14.062s + 1.048 10. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m14.085s + 1.071 Q3 cut-off time: 1m14.467s Gap ** 11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m14.752s + 1.321 12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m15.043s + 1.612 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.285s + 1.854 14. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m15.287s + 1.856 15. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m15.334s + 1.903 16. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m15.361s + 1.930 17. Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.587s + 2.156 Q3 cut-off time: 1m16.229s Gap * 18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.294s + 2.472 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m16.745s + 2.923 20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m16.786s + 2.964 21. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m18.424s + 4.602 22. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m18.537s + 4.715 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m18.574s + 4.752 24. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.414s + 5.592