Saturday: McLaren in mixed form after qualifying
McLaren's qualifying is mixed. Lewis Hamilton will start from the second row tomorrow after Michael Schumacher's penalty. The Englishman considers himself fortunate given the difficult conditions. Jenson Button's team, on the other hand, is less cheerful. His performances were good during free practice, but the Englishman did not find the optimal setup in qualifying. Therefore, he did not make it to Q3 and will start 12th, gaining a position following Pastor Maldonado's penalty.
Lewis Hamilton – 3rd and 4th (3rd on the grid):
« I had a good feeling with the car all weekend but this afternoon was more difficult: I even think it’s one of the toughest qualifying sessions I’ve experienced lately, actually. Especially since there are two very good drivers ahead of me on the starting grid, which will complicate things even more tomorrow.
I was lucky to be just in the position in front of which Michael [Schumacher] will have to start due to his penalty, but we struggled a bit nonetheless, especially in the slow sections. Moreover, we didn’t manage to find the right temperature range for optimal tire performance. So, we had trouble finding the grip we were lacking.
Nevertheless, qualifying was fun – I really enjoyed it – and strategy and tires can play a big role here. If I get a good start, we could really fight for victory. Anything can happen in Monaco, and I’ll give it my all tomorrow!
Jenson Button – 13th (14th fastest):
In Monaco, qualifying is very important – that’s how it works here – but I didn’t have a good pace this afternoon. The car was pretty good this morning, and we seemed strong, but then we couldn’t find the same performance this afternoon. As luck would have it, it was during qualifying that I couldn’t find the performance in the car. Yet the car was still good this morning, and I was satisfied…
I hope our pace will be better during the race – but it’s very tight to overtake here. The drivers around me will go for a similar strategy, so it will be difficult, but as usual, we will do the best we can.
In the past, I’ve finished in the points in Monaco on three occasions – in first, second, and third position. I hope to achieve one of these results tomorrow.
