“Obviously I just pushed a little bit too hard and it’s a pity that I missed the front row. However, with our strategy and the predicted rain for tomorrow’s race, everything will be possible and I very much look forward to racing here in front of my home crowd.”
Nick Heidfeld:
“I’m quite happy with fifth because it just continues a positive trend which began in qualifying in Magny-Cours, and confirms all our efforts and work have paid off. I can now manage again to heat up the tyres properly and get them to work, but we shall continue to work on this subject.
“In Q2 Robert and I were just separated by two hundredths of a second. Generally my car was a lot better today than on Friday. However, on my last lap in Q3 it felt a little bit strange, so we have to find out what this was. I think we shall have an exciting race tomorrow. There is a high chance of rain!”
Fernando Alonso:
“It was a difficult qualifying session with changeable track conditions, wind and rain, but we have done our maximum and overall it’s a satisfying result for the team. If the race tomorrow takes place in normal conditions, we can hope to have a strong finish.
“If it rains, the race will be open and anything can happen. I must now prepare for that and will give my all once again to achieve a good result.”
Nelsinho Piquet:
“I’m very happy with today’s qualifying session. The car felt good and we were improving lap-by-lap. I struggled a bit at the end of Q3 with Heidfeld, but it worked out okay in the end and so it does look promising for tomorrow. Now I’m looking forward to the race, and I hope we can put on a good show in the team’s local race.”
Sebastian Vettel:
“I qualified seventh in Indy with
BMW, but to be eighth with Toro Rosso means we can be very proud of what we have achieved today. We had a very good balance on the car and all weekend I’ve felt very comfortable – even on my first race weekend at this tough and challenging track.
