Jaguar Racing drivers Mark Webber and Christian Klien qualified in 12th and 14th places respectively today ahead of tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix. After a productive and reliable session on track this morning the team were well prepared going into the afternoon’s qualifying session. The R5 has been reliable all weekend and both drivers were pleased with the balance and on- track performance of the car. The Monza circuit is one of the fastest on the F1 calendar and tomorrow's race guarantees to be an interesting one, especially if the risk of rain materialises.
Mark Webber: We had a good morning session today when we worked on both balance and race set-up. Going into qualifying this afternoon I was happy with the work that the team had done in preparing the car. I really enjoy driving this track here although there are probably too many straights and not enough corners, as I would like. The first chicane can be quite tricky though and you really need to have a perfect lap to get those extra tenths out of the car. I am pleased to have split the Toyotas and certainly, I will be doing what I can to make the most of any opportunities tomorrow. The team and I worked hard last night and we are pleased with our tyre decision and strategy ahead of the race. I think there is some rain forecast for tomorrow so it could be an interesting race. This track is incredibly fast and it is specifically tough on brakes and can also punish the rear tyres. We have come here well prepared though and we will be doing what we can tomorrow to score some more Championship points.
Christian Klien: We made some good tyre decisions last night which has made today much easier for us. I managed to complete twenty-six laps this morning in free practice that allowed me to fine-tune the car ahead of qualifying. This afternoon the car felt good and I was generally pleased with how my final qualifying lap went. However I made a slight mistake at the Ascari chicane and this probably lost me a couple of tenths. Despite that I was pleased with where we have ended up given our strategy and the race-pace of the car. I am very much looking forward to this race tomorrow, as I am sure that there will be some excitement on track. The high speeds make it exhilarating and I will be doing what I can to make it to the chequered flag and score some more points.
Dr Mark Gillan Head of Vehicle Performance: We have been reliable all weekend and I am really pleased with the way the team has prepared for this track and worked towards both qualifying and the race. This morning was good for us as although we are pleased with our long-run performance we wanted to concentrate on improving our first-lap performance. We completed this successfully this morning and we then were able to do set-up work to optimise the race performance. Going into qualifying we were satisfied and given our final positions on the grid for tomorrow I am pleased with our progress. We have made a good tyre choice and we have worked on our strategy. Mark's lap was very good and whilst Christian may have lost a tenth or so on the Ascari Chicane I am still pleased with his starting place. Tomorrow's race is going to be tough but we are certainly looking for the chequered flag and as always, more points.
