Belgium: The Qualifications Seen from the Stands

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton – Pole position

Nico Rosberg – 4th

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: « It was obviously a tricky session for everyone this afternoon and we were far from perfect, but we did enough good things to get the job done. In the final seconds of Q3, our track positions were critical and Lewis—who was the last on track in the final lap—did a good job with the opportunity he had. We weren’t sure how things would play out because the DRS was disabled during the last lap, and then we saw his time in the second sector and started to get excited. Nico didn’t have an extra lap but was the fastest of all when his session ended, and it’s a fantastic team result to have both our cars starting in the top four after such mixed qualifying. We hope for similar conditions tomorrow to have a good chance of success. But we will need to run a smart race and make the right decisions to get there. »

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel – 2nd

Mark Webber – 3rd

**Christian Horner, Team Principal**: « These qualifications were stressful and exciting throughout the three sessions in which the weather played a huge role. The guys did a tremendous job in the last tire change in Q3 to get both cars back on track so quickly, allowing Mark and Sebastian to each complete three laps; their final laps were enough to take them to second and third positions on the grid. So even though everything could have gone wrong today, we managed to do some good things. It’s great to start in second and third for tomorrow’s race, where we will inevitably see the weather influence. »

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

Force India

Paul di Resta – 5th

Adrian Sutil – 12th

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal: As soon as it started raining before qualifying, we knew it was going to be an unpredictable session. The track conditions were constantly changing from wet to dry, and it was crucial to be on the circuit at the right time with the right tires. With Paul, we judged this almost to perfection and for a moment, we were in a good position to start from the front row. But the rain stopped and we dropped to 5th place, which is a fantastic result. Adrian looked competitive in Q2 but we didn’t maximize our track time in the dry and he missed out on Q3. The big question for tomorrow is the weather. We’ve looked competitive in the dry, but whatever the conditions, we’ll push to come away with a good result.

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

McLaren

Jenson Button – 6th

**Sergio Pérez** – 13th

Martin Whitmarsh, Team Director: « In the Q3 time frame when the track was wet, Jenson was the second fastest driver – so, although sixth place is a decent starting position, he could have been better placed on the grid if the rain had persisted until the end of the session. That said, he did a good job and is well positioned to have a competitive race tomorrow, which we hope will be in the rain.

Checo [Sergio Perez] had an even more frustrating time this afternoon, missing out on the extra lap by a second or two at the end of Q2, as he could have comfortably made it into Q3.

However, like Jenson, I am certain that he will fight in the race tomorrow, using the wet conditions to his advantage in his efforts to climb back up and score some valuable points in the world championship for us.

So, despite that, today was a bit frustrating for us given the number of prospects, but our pace was acceptable in the wet conditions we expect tomorrow, so we have reasons to remain optimistic for the race.

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

Lotus

**Romain Grosjean** – 7th

Kimi Räikkönen – 8th

Alan Permane, Track Operations Director: It was a frustrating session for the team. The track conditions were difficult, but it’s the same for everyone. We produced a very good pace on the dry with Kimi who was the fastest in Q2, but unfortunately, the rain returned for Q3. We tried to do a lap right at the beginning with the dry tires, but the rain fell quickly so we had to switch to intermediates. Seventh and eighth on the grid is not where we wanted to be, but at least we are in the top 10.

As we qualified on intermediate tires, if the race is dry we will be able to start on one of the two compounds. A dry race would be better for us, but we cannot influence the weather. If it’s a wet race, there are many permutations and possible conditions, so we will fight for the best possible result.

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso – 9th

Felipe Massa – 10th

Pat Fry, Chassis Technical Director: « The result of these qualifications is not a fair reward for all the efforts made by the team and the drivers, but rather leaves a feeling of regret, especially because today, everything was in place to aim for a front-row position. Yesterday’s and today’s tests produced encouraging signs; the car was fast in all conditions and with all the tires used, proving very competitive. An analysis of the data highlighting Fernando and Felipe’s performance allowed us to find the right aerodynamic compromise for this track, both in dry and wet conditions, and for this reason, we were aiming for a result we didn’t achieve, partly due to bad luck. However, we will now turn the page and prepare for a long and demanding race, where the weather will again play an important role. »

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

Sauber

Nico Hülkenberg – 11th

Esteban Gutiérrez – 21st

Tom McCullough, Track Engineering Manager: « We were satisfied with the changes made last night, and the cars performed well during free practice 3 on the dry track. It was a typical qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps, full of twists and turns. In the end, with Esteban, we didn’t get the best out of Q1. For Nico, it was frustrating in Q2 to be so close to making it into Q3. Perhaps we were too conservative by using new tires a bit earlier than our rivals. But it’s a circuit where anything can happen during the race, and we will try to optimize our strategy for tomorrow. »

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

Caterham

Giedo Van der Garde – 14th

Charles Pic – 22nd

Caterham has not published statements from the team’s representatives.

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

Marussia

**Jules Bianchi** – 15th

Max Chilton – 16th

John Booth, Team Director: « It’s a fantastic result for the team and it’s great to know that we’ve come so far from an operational standpoint that we can now handle the kind of scenario we saw today with such confidence. Even though it’s not the first time the team has been in Q2, it’s the first time we’ve achieved it with both cars and in such difficult conditions. It was probably the most complicated wet conditions we’ve had to manage in Q1 in terms of varying water levels throughout the lap and we needed all the maturity of our two drivers to make the right decisions based on the information provided from the garage. Overall, it’s been a good day; we had a good balance with the car this morning, particularly with Jules, but in qualifying, both drivers were happier than ever since the start of the weekend, which looks promising for the race. However, we must keep our feet on the ground and if we face rain again, keeping our positions on the grid will be difficult. Nevertheless, that’s the goal everyone in the team will strive to achieve, and we will make the most of every opportunity. Today’s result is a nice reward for all the hard work by the team and Cosworth after some challenging races to enable us to manage circuits more favorably for us. »

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

Williams

Pastor Maldonado – 17th

Valtteri Bottas – 20th

Xevi Pujolar, Chief Race Engineer: « We knew that qualifying would take place in wet conditions with the track being at its best in Q1. The end of the session was going to be the decisive moment and we sent out both our cars on new intermediates. Some teams took the risk to switch to slick tires, which worked for them, but the majority went back out on intermediates. We were at the front of the pack, so we had time for more laps, but since the tires were at their best in the first lap, it means that as the track improved we were not able to improve our times and unfortunately, we had to stop in Q1. Overtaking is possible at Spa-Francorchamps and we have a good car for the race with good top speed, so we will be able to climb back up in tomorrow’s race. »

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo – 18th

Jean-Eric Vergne – 19th

**James Key, Technical Director**: Until Q1 we had a good weekend, quite competitive in the dry and not too bad in the wet, even during the first free practice session. Jean-Eric in particular showed good form and aimed high for qualifying, so we went into Q1 knowing there was a good chance the track would dry out over time. We scheduled our final tire change at the same time as the others, but somehow we were in the wrong place at the wrong time today: we should have had both cars in Q3, instead of having both out in Q1. Should we have put on slicks? Some of the cars that are usually at the back of the grid took that risk, but in our case, it’s hard to know. As a team, we must apologize to our drivers, work on what went wrong to ensure these errors are not repeated, and above all, see what we can get out of our cars tomorrow.

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes