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German GP: Post Qualifying press conference

NEWS STORY
23/07/2011

Mark, pole position for the second grand prix in a row and also the second grand prix in a row here. Is it something about this track or have you just got your mojo back at the moment?
Mark Webber: Probably a little bit of both, mate, I think. The performance has been getting a little bit better in the last few races and also this track seems to be not too bad for me in the past. I must say the session went pretty well, with the exception of the first option run in Q2, well the only run in Q2. That wasn't very smooth but the other two laps were good and the boys did a great job on the car. Again, they have had some pretty late nights in the lead-up to this event, so we recovered well and we got it altogether at the end there. I was thinking on my in-lap, ‘if someone gets me, they deserve it' as I couldn't have got much more out of it. It was my complete limit, but it was a pretty good lap and so it is very satisfying to see no one grabs you at the end there, as it is a bit of an anxious wait for those 30 seconds.

Lewis, you missed out on pole by five one-hundredths-of-a-second after a lap which you described as as good as it gets.
Lewis Hamilton: Yeah, first of all, huge congratulations to my team. A fantastic effort. We have had some new upgrades this weekend and throughout the weekend and throughout the week a constant push to bring updates and to improve some of our engine modes which, have helped massively. We definitely underestimated how good the car would be when we went to light fuel, but it felt fantastic and the lap was just beautifully flowing and it was one of the happiest and most comforting laps I have ever had. It felt just incredible. We are not far from them (Red Bull Racing) so it is a good step for us.

Sebastian, the first time in 15 grands prix that you haven't been on the front row, so how much of a disappointment is third?
Sebastian Vettel: Well, it is not really a disappointment. I would like to be a bit further up but I think it was a tough session. All in all, I think we had a very good recovery. Yesterday, I didn't really find my way, I didn't really find the balance with the car. This morning I think it was much better. Through qualifying here and there maybe we should have been a little bit quicker but, all in all, there wasn't much missing to Lewis and to Mark. A little bit here and there, but the most important thing is that I have a much better feeling for the car today and (I'm) looking forward to tomorrow. I guess if it is dry we have a very good chance, but it might not be the case, so we will see.

Mark, the forecast is that it could be quite wet, but for you tomorrow, the first thing you must do is try to lead a lap, as that is something you haven't done in Formula One this season. But you have got the best chance of doing so once again.
MW: Yeah, that's right. Good quali today and I hope I lead one lap tomorrow, which is the last lap. That is the most important thing, so I will be in there pushing very hard, so don't worry.

Lewis, you say the upgrades have worked for you this weekend, but how much of a surprise is it to you to find yourself on the front row? You said at the start of the weekend you were optimistic, but surely this is beyond your wildest expectation?
LH: It is absolutely. I wasn't expecting the car to feel so great. I think we have found a really good balance throughout with the set-up and I think we were comfortable coming back this weekend, with the rule changes, knowing we would be more competitive. But I don't think anyone in the team would ever have imagined we would be this close to the Red Bulls and also being able to split them. That's fantastic and a really fantastic job done by the guys and I am really happy I could put it up here for them.

Seb, do you go into the race looking for rain to give you a better chance or would you rather it stayed dry?
SV: Well it depends. It will be a long race. With the weather here you never know. Rain is forecast, it is on the way, the question is how much we will have, and when, so we will see. In the end, it doesn't really matter, the most important thing is we have a solid race. The target is to win, which is not impossible from third. It is the clean side of the track and we go from there, so I am looking forward to tomorrow. It doesn't happen so often that you have so many people coming here supporting you, or supporting the German drivers in particular, so I will make sure I enjoy the race tomorrow.

Press Conference

Mark, oddly enough a reversal in fortunes between yourself and Sebastian in comparison to your home race, where you were third and he was on pole, and this time it is the other way around. I guess that is just coincidence.
MW: Well, I don't know what the gird was. I know I wasn't on pole and Seb probably was and I was a bit further back but anyway I hope the result is the same. It was a good session, I think pretty good for you guys to watch as well: tight between all of us. We had a red car, couple of Red Bulls, silver car, all of us pushing to the limit so a very tight session for all of us. We had to be incredibly accurate and spot on and in the end I could not really complain about my last two laps. I was pretty happy with them and it was enough. It needed to be good, as Lewis was right with us and very nearly took pole off us. So a very good qualifying session for myself and it ran very smoothly, and we did the best job we could do today, so looking forward to tomorrow.

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