OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Barcelona, Spain, May 08, 2010
Best qualifying of the year for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-25A-04
- P3 programme: 3rd, 1m21.348s, (+0.820s), 14 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 3rd, 1m21.723s (on Primes)
- Q2: 4th, 1m21.415s (on Options)
- Q3: 3rd, 1m20.829s (on Options)
�We�ve been very competitive this weekend, and we�ve brought a strong package out here with us; but, clearly, Red Bull has made a very good step forward too, and it looks like their car is slightly more aerodynamically efficient than ours is.
�I�m still very motivated for tomorrow though. As ever, Sunday is a different story, and we generally enjoy better pace in the race than we do in qualifying. And let�s hope our reliability can top theirs tomorrow, too.
�Anyway, third on the grid is almost as good as pole position here, if not a little bit better: it�s a long way down to the first corner, and you can get a good draft and pass people. So I�m hoping to get a decent start, make good progress early on, and then drive a strong but straightforward race in which I�m able to do something good and get up near the front.
�Looking further ahead, we�ve got a fantastic team behind us, and we know that the car has a great deal of potential. We just need to try and close that gap as quickly as possible.�
JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-25A-03
- P3 programme: 4th, 1m21.376s (+0.848s), 16 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 4th, 1m21.915s (on Primes)
- Q2: 3rd, 1m21.168s (on Options)
- Q3: 5th, 1m20.991s (on Options)
�We struggled a bit this morning, and yesterday we didn�t think we�d be where we are right now, so, all in all, this afternoon wasn�t too bad. On my final lap in Q3, I ran over one of the green sections of Astroturf; there wasn�t much grip there, so I got wheelspin and hit the rev limiter, which lost me a bit of time.
�Even so, I�m fifth and I�m satisfied with that. Okay, I�d rather be a bit further up, and I think I probably could have been, but it�s not a bad place to start. I still I think the Red Bulls are going to be pretty tough to beat tomorrow, though.
�We came here hoping to close the gap, but instead it�s gone slightly in the other direction, which is surprising. So we�ve still got a lot of work to do, but I know that everyone in the team will be digging as deep as they possibly can to make that extra effort, and that we�ll get there.
�For tomorrow, if we�re good off the line, we might be able to pass some cars into Turn One. It�s a bit more difficult for me, but there�s definitely a possibility for Lewis. And our race pace is usually better than our qualifying speed, so I�m still extremely hopeful for another good showing tomorrow. If all goes well, I hope to be able to maintain my position at the head of the drivers� world championship points standings � and hopefully Lewis and I will score heavily enough to keep Vodafone McLaren Mercedes at the top of the constructors� world championship table, too.�
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
�Both Lewis and Jenson drove really well in qualifying here in Barcelona, and the result was an uneventful session for us. Ideally, we�d been aiming to sew up the second row, but in the end we narrowly failed to achieve that, finishing up third and fifth.
�Even so, we�re in a strong position from which to launch an ambitious race effort tomorrow. We expect to be closer to the Red Bulls on race pace than we were today � and, spearheaded by the proven ability of our two world champion drivers to deliver superbly gritty race performances under pressure, we�ll be pushing as hard as ever to bag as many world championship points as possible tomorrow.�
* Official photos and info courtesy of VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES *
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