Mark Webber blames Kimi Raikkonen’s ‘sleepiness’ in qualifying for ruining his final flying lap and potentially costing him pole position for the British Grand prix.
Webber had looked the more likely of the Red Bull drivers to take the top spot after dominating the second qualifying session and posting a low 1:20.040 in Q3. But the Aussie s lap was quickly beaten by Silverstone specialist Rubens Barrichello. Vettel then went one better going half a second quicker on a 1.19.509.
Webber responded with a quick first sector but he appeared to lose time negotiating Kimi Raikkonen at Stowe and he was forced to settle for third place ahead of Toyota s Jarno Trulli.
Mark Webber – 3rd: “I would have liked a slightly cleaner lap on my last run, but Kimi was dreaming or something I don’t know. He was on the racing line, which wrecked my rhythm into Stowe so I was tight into there. I would have liked to have got more out of the car on that last lap, but it didn’t happen and I’m third. Congratulations to Seb, he did a great job and I think both of us are getting some good results out of the car now. So, to everyone at Red Bull, a big thank you for all your hard work!”
Sebastian Vettel – 1st: “It’s been a fantastic weekend, we haven’t had a single problem. We brought new parts here, which seem to work very well and we’ve made a good step forward. There’s always tension in qualifying and you try to do your best. It was quite difficult today and we were struggling a little bit with traffic. It’s tricky when you have cars ahead of you – even when they’re three seconds ahead, it does still affect you. In Q3 we had two very good runs, especially the last one, I think it was the lap of the weekend.
“Normally you think you could have got a bit more, but this lap was very good. I was able to use the tyres perfectly and when I got to the chequered flag I was surprised how quick I was and it was enough for pole! All I can say is huge compliments to the guys back at the factory, they have been working so hard to get this car to where it is now so it’s all down to them. Both of us have proved the car is working very well and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”
Christian Horner, Team Principal: “A great team performance today. First and third in front of so many members of the Red Bull team at our local race is a very good start to the weekend. Mark was unlucky to get traffic with Kimi Raikkonen, which spoilt his last run, otherwise I’m sure we could have locked out the first row today. But, both guys have been driving fantastically well all weekend and it puts us in a good position for tomorrow.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: “A great result, the car is very fast here. We have good drivers, a good car and a good engine which makes for a very good performance! We hope to get a good result tomorrow. Mark seemed to be on for pole, but finished third in the end as he was blocked by Raikkonen, so again that gives me a little bit of mixed feeling. But, first and third is a very good result for qualifying, so let’s be happy and see what happens tomorrow.”
