Lewis Hamilton:
"The Red Bulls look very strong, but I'm going to do everything I can to jump at least one - if not both - of them at the start. I hope I can attack tomorrow.
"When you start from the clean side of the grid, you automatically have a much better opportunity of getting a good start - and, this year, I've usually been on the dirty side, so tomorrow will be a bit of a bonus for me.
"Third on the grid is actually a perfect position - because, if you get a good start, you can slipstream the guys in front. My aim is to be P1 by Turn One! It doesn't normally go that way, but as long as I don't go backwards I'll be happy.
"When you're trying to eke every last drop out of the car, you sometimes lock the front wheels - and that's just what happened on my final lap. While the flat-spot to the front-left doesn't look perfect, we'll manage it by re-balancing the wheels, so it'll be fine. "We've definitely made an improvement this weekend. We'll keep pushing: we don't give up, and with the DRS we should see some good racing tomorrow."
Jenson Button:
"I feel that I did a good lap, so I'm happy with that; my car got better and better throughout the session - I was only three-hundredths slower than Lewis. I was a bit unlucky not to be third, then Fernando got between us as well, so you can see how close it is out there.
"One major positive is that, like Lewis, I'll be starting on the clean side of the grid. Another is that, also like Lewis, I've got two sets of [Option] tyres that have only done one lap and another set that's brand new - that's going to be key tomorrow.
"Having your tyres in good condition makes such a difference - so I think we're looking in very good shape. "There's a big difference between the Option and the Prime here, so there'll be some different strategies tomorrow. We'll be looking at the strategy tonight and I'm sure we can make the harder tyre work for us too."
Fernando Alonso:
I did a perfect lap: I reckon that if I tried to repeat it twenty times, I could not do better! When you do a lap like that it's hard to put into words what one feels: always being on the limit, in every corner is a really special feeling for a driver. I am very happy with this result, because we have never made it to the second row this year. Sure, pole position is still a long way off: today, Red Bull was once again out of reach and we must work hard to try and get closer. This morning we ran some set-up changes on the car that did not produce the results we were expecting, also partly down to the conditions changing in terms of wind direction. We went back to what we had before for qualifying and instantly it was better. In general, we have made a step forward in performance terms, thanks to the updates we have brought here. So far, in the races we have gone better than in qualifying and so I think we can be in the fight for the podium. It will be tough at the start because the McLarens always get off the line well and then they have one more new set of soft tyres than we do.
Felipe Massa:
This was definitely not the qualifying performance we were expecting, but all weekend long we have struggled with the balance of the car: we would have needed to be perfect to start a bit further up the order and that was not the case. Let's hope that, on full tanks, the car works better and then we can see if we can get a good result. On a track like this it will not be easy to manage the tyres in the best way nor to find the best possible strategy. In Q2 we decided to stay in the garage, running the risk of not getting any further, because it would not have made much sense making the cut and then finding ourselves in Q3 without any new tyres: the outcome proved us right, even if we had hoped to make a better job of that opportunity. It is clear we suffer more than the others on the hard tyres. Overtaking? We will definitely see more than in the past at a circuit like this and that will mainly be down to tyre degradation.
Michael Schumacher:
"Unfortunately in Q3, my KERS system did not work but we reacted in the best possible way. We took the decision to go out on prime tyres to be able to react if other cars did the same. As no-one did, we came in without setting a time so we can now choose our strategy for tomorrow. I will certainly try to have another of the good starts that I have made recently, make up some positions right at the beginning, and take it from there. With DRS and KERS, overtaking is possible even in Barcelona, so it is important to use your tyres well, and I still have a set of fresh tyres left. I will definitely try to make the best out of it."
Nico Rosberg:
"With our focus on the race pace this weekend, it was to be expected that we might suffer a little in Qualifying. However I am not too disappointed with seventh place as we should be stronger in the race tomorrow, and I believe we can aim to be better than in Istanbul. I have one set of new tyres left which is good for us, and I hope that we can move up with the right strategy."
Nick Heidfeld:
"It was a challenging day, and there was not much more we could have done after the exhaust problem this morning. The was a small hole in the right exhaust and then it overheated. Then, when I heard a strange noise, the power cut out and there were flames so I had to stop. Since then, the team worked flat out to try and get me out for the qualifying session, but it was not to be. At least I managed to get a couple of laps on the hard tyres today, and during the race tomorrow I will need to push hard to make up some ground and get up the order."
Vitaly Petrov:
"We have got to be happy with the result. The team made a big improvement today, and the result of my car reflects that. Things felt good, the balance of the car was fine and I was able to put in a fast time in Q3 to ensure that we got the car in a good position on the grid. I knew what we had to do today, and did it so I am pleased and looking forward to tomorrow. It should be another action packed race and strategy will be very important."
Rubens Barrichello:
I knew we had a gearbox problem as soon as I went out in Q1 as it felt strange. I think there is a big positive in saving a set of tyres, which is one way of looking at it, but having seen where Pastor finished, we could also have had a good shot inside the top ten. I will be pushing to be there tomorrow.
Pastor Maldonado:
I am really happy for the team and all the guys. We've tried really hard to find a good balance all weekend. Yesterday's practice, particularly the first session, was really difficult for me. The car wasn't great so we took a bit of a risk and decided to run the new rear wing in qualifying. The car seems more competitive, but we still need to keep pushing and improve. I am happy today.
Adrian Sutil:
"We switched back to our traditional aero package this morning because we didn't really have enough time to understand all the new parts that we brought here. So we went back to a package and balance that we were already happy with. We also know that qualifying is not as important as it used to be and that race strategy now plays a bigger factor in your race result. That's why we only ran the prime tyres during Q2 so that we could keep some new option tyres for the race. We feel this is the best approach for tomorrow and hopefully it will pay us back."
Paul di Resta:
"I don't think our position on the grid is that representative of our true pace this weekend. We took the decision very early on that saving tyres for the race would free up our strategy a bit. That means I've got two sets of new options and a set of new primes to use tomorrow. On paper that looks like the sensible approach so hopefully things will work out. How we use the tyres is also important because there's a big difference between the two compounds in terms of pace. Also, the prime being used here is much harder than usual and so it lasts a bit longer. I'm looking forward to the race and I'm sure we can come away with a better result than our qualifying performance."
Sergio Perez:
"I had no particular problems on my last lap, but it wasn't good. Being 12th isn't too bad and I'm very positive for the race, but my run with the new tyres today didn't work out. This is a shame because I'm happy with the car and this is crucial for tomorrow's race. Compared to this morning, we have made a lot of set up changes and they work."
Sebastian Buemi:
"I am very happy with this eleventh place. We finished ahead of the Saubers and Force India and when you consider that as planned I will have some new parts for the next race, it is also a very good sign for Monaco. On top of that we have saved an extra set of new soft tyres for the race, because we opted not to try a second run in Q2, so at the moment everything is looking good. In some ways, it is better to be eleventh than tenth, because if I had made it to Q3, we would probably have gone out and used another set of tyres, but this way, I am on the clean side of the track with one set extra."
Jaime Alguersuari:
"The car worked well in the high speed section of the circuit, but in the slow ones, I did not have a good feel for the car, so we need to look at the data to see how to improve the car in Sector 3 before tomorrow's race. Overall, I am pleased for the team because the result for both of us is good and I think we can run a competitive race. We can expect a three pit stop strategy, because Pirelli's new Prime is harder than it was before. I am looking forward to having a good race at my home circuit."
Heikki Kovalainen:
"This is obviously a great day for Team Lotus and I want to thank everyone here and back at the factory for working so hard to get us to this next step in our story. There is a lot more to come from this car and while we have performed really well today we can see that we can keep progressing and taking the fight to the cars around us on merit. With the work we did overnight and in FP3 I can feel that we have found a much better balance in the high-speed corners, and we can work more on how it feels in the low speed corners which is where I think we will find even more time, but for now this is a good feeling and puts us into a good position for the race tomorrow."
Jarno Trulli:
"First I want to congratulate to the whole team for getting Heikki into Q2. That's a great achievement for us and a sign of what's to come. For me the session was interrupted by what looks like an electrical issue that meant I was stuck in second gear when I went out for my first run, but we changed the steering wheel and I managed to get a lap in right in the last few seconds that still put me ahead of Rubens, so we'll start tomorrow from 18th and with the pace we have in the car in race conditions I think we'll have a good afternoon."
Narain Karthikeyan:
"Yesterday and today have been very difficult, especially P2 and P3 where we drove with new parts and didn't have the right balance. After that I was a little bit worried about qualifying but we pulled everything together. We sat down and analysed the situation. I'm happy to be in front of our nearest competitors for the first time and also close to Tonio. I'm pleased to be in this position, especially since it's the team's home grand prix, now let's see how the race goes tomorrow."
Tonio Liuzzi:
"We can be happy about today's qualifying, there was some improvement with the upgrades, now we need to keep pushing for new updates in the next race. We are in the right direction to improve the car and the team as a whole. So we're doing well and need to work hard to make the next step. It's very positive to be in and amongst the Virgins, it's important for us to do a good race tomorrow for the home crowd. There's always a great atmosphere in Spain but it's even more motivating when you're driving for a Spanish team, you can feel the support and want to give something back to the fans by doing well. Hopefully we can get a good start tomorrow and have no issues with pit stops. It will be a difficult race as we've suffered a bit with the new Pirelli compounds."
Timo Glock:
"I think we had a good qualifying today. We had a bit of trouble with the first set of tyres as they didn't work as they should and I was a little worried. The second lap was pretty spot on I have to say, although I made a small mistake in turn 7 as I was pushing so hard. We spent pretty much the whole of Friday not being able to concentrate on set-up and it's been quite hard to get the old package working well again. We tried our best this morning and in the end it wasn't too bad in qualifying. Now we have to focus on the race and just stay positive as we chip away at improving the car step by step."
Jerome d'Ambrosio:
"It wasn't such a smooth day for me today. For some reason in the morning session we couldn't find the same speed that we had yesterday and then in qualifying I only really had one lap because I had a hydraulic failure during my first run. But even though it wasn't the most straightforward session, the team did a great job to fix the car and we are in the race, so let's see tomorrow."
