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2002 German Grand Prix 
What the teams and drivers said - Saturday 

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What the teams and drivers said - Saturday

Ferrari ( Michael Schumacher - 1st, Rubens Barrichello - 3rd ) 

Jean Todt: "As usual, we witnessed a great battle for pole position. Michael showed how motivated he is and Rubens got a very good result, considering he lost the entire second half of this morning’s free practice session. We also saw how easy it is to make a mistake on this new track. Tomorrow, we can expect even higher temperatures than today and it will be a very tough race for the drivers, the cars and the tyres. Michael would dearly love to win his home grand prix and Rubens would really like to win on his team-mate’s home turf. The important thing is to pick up as many points as possible to close in on the Constructors’ title and second place in the Drivers’ Championship. Having said that, it is nice to be in the situation in which we find ourselves now, having already won the Drivers’ title."

Ross Brawn: "I hope we will be able to break the recent tradition that has seen Saturday’s pole man fail to win on Sunday! It was an exciting session. We based our tyre choice on being in good shape for tomorrow, given that we are expecting it to pretty hot. I think it will be a very interesting race, during which strategy will be an important factor. The drivers like this new track, as they can get back on track without losing too much time if they make a mistake. That’s why we saw the drivers push it to the limit."

Michael Schumacher: "It is a dream to get my first Hockenheim pole and hopefully also the win tomorrow. I am more than excited about this and I would like to transform today’s performance into victory in the race, as I have never won here with Ferrari. Seeing the excitement on the face of the fans and to feel their excitement was a boost for me. On my second run, I went over the kerb too much and the car got away from me. A lot of cars were sliding, so maybe there was some dust on the track initially, but then it picked up speed. So it took time to get a good lap time, but we got it together in the end, which was the result of good preparation in the morning. When I got out of the car, I was not sure whether to wave to the fans in case someone bounced my time! We have worked on having a consistent pace during the race. The good thing about this track is that the new design means if you go off the track, you might lose a place, but your race should not be over, which I think is fair and safe."

Rubens Barrichello: "I am pleased with the job the team did today on my car, after I went off the track in the morning, losing a lot of track time. In the end, the car was perfect, but after you have an accident, you always need to use your first run to find the limits of the car. On my second run, I did not make any changes to the car, but I did later in the session. On my third run I went over a kerb and on my last one, I was trying very hard and ran wide, losing time. This track is the sort where you have to be on the limit all the time and the smallest mistake can cost you a lot of time. I am confident for tomorrow, when we will be trying to have a good race for ourselves and for Ferrari."

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Williams ( Ralf Schumacher - 2nd, Juan Pablo Montoya - 4th  )

Patrick Head: "I can’t say that I am pleased not to be on pole but we are looking forward to a stronger race than we have had in the last few races. All our energies are going into that but to start one car from the front row and one on the second is not too bad."

Gerhard Berger: "With a driver in the first row and the other on the second we are definitely well positioned for the race. Our drivers are almost equally strong and we are happy that Ralf could make it this time. Juan evidently lost his rhythm after his off in his first run. Maybe this time we will manage to get a bit closer to Ferrari in Sunday’s race."

Ralf Schumacher: "So far this has been one of those weekends where everything ran well and I was able to find the right balance for my car quickly. It’s obviously great for me to start the German Grand Prix from the first row. A big thank you to the team for a great job and I am happy that finally I could get a positive result in qualifying. I hope I will be able to make my brother’s life difficult tomorrow as I would prefer seeing another victory for BMW WilliamsF1 Team."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "On my first flying lap I was struggling with quite a lot of understeer and sliding through the gravel trap. Afterwards I was able to improve. But on my last outing I made a mistake at the hairpin. I locked the front tyres there. That was it. But after having achieved five poles in a row I can cope with starting from second row. For the race I am quite confident, even though I believe Ferrari will be strong."

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McLaren ( Kimi Raikkonen - 5th, David Coulthard - 9th )

Ron Dennis: "David's grid position reflects the difficulties of getting the best lap time out of a slightly uncompetitive package. Kimi's fifth place was the best we could have hoped for taking into consideration our qualifying weaknesses, which to some degree were influenced by our race tyre choice. Our race pace should be much stronger."

Norbert Haug: "We didn't do a good job in today's qualifying. Our focus is now on finding the right race set-up and we certainly will try to perform better tomorrow."

Kimi Raikkonen: "After this morning's session, we knew that fifth was probably the best we could do, so I'm not too disappointed. A one second miscalculation saw me unable to take my last run as the chequered flag came out just as I was about to start, but fortunately I didn't lose a position. The gap to the front is larger than last race, but we are confident that we will be able to get closer to Ferrari and Williams tomorrow and achieve a good result in the race."

David Coulthard: "A disappointing qualifying session as I was unable to improve with each run. My second run was my best as I went wide on my third attempt due to oversteer and was too cautious at the end. There wasn't a major imbalance with the car, but we just weren't able to adapt the set-up to make the tyres work at their best. I believe we will be quicker in the race but from ninth on the grid things will not be easy."

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Jordan ( Giancarlo Fisichella - 6th, Takuma Sato - 12th )

Gary Anderson: "That was pretty good, I have no complaints. At the end we thought fifth was possible, but we didn’t quite get the lap in. I’m very pleased with Giancarlo, it’s good to see him back. He’s the top Bridgestone runner on the grid after the Ferraris at the front. It’s very competitive in the middle and Takuma also did a good job."

Giancarlo Fisichella: "Fantastic. I am very pleased. This morning I didn’t believe we could be sixth, although I was confident that we could be in the top ten. Top six is really good and we actually had the chance to be fifth. I worked very well with my engineer, the team did a good job and the step forward with the engine was an especially good help. It’s been a good day because the engine, the car and the tyres all came together, and I drove it well."

Takuma Sato: "Today brought good results for both of us. It was frustrating that I lost about 15 minutes during practice this morning due to a problem with the exhaust, because we spent some of the qualifying session improving the set-up and it was work that we should have done in practice. We managed to fix the oversteer problems I had at the beginning of qualifying but we could have improved more if we had started qualifying from a better position, so that was a shame. Still, this is my best qualifying result this season so I’m quite pleased. I will do my best in the race and hopefully I will get a better start."

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BAR ( Olivier Panis - 7th, Jacques Villeneuve - 11th )

David Richards: "A very satisfactory qualifying session which provides a good indication of our potential for tomorrow as we’ve usually performed better in the race. Olivier’s 7th place is the team’s best qualifying performance of the season and Jacques was in fact only two tenths behind, albeit in 11th place. I am also pleased that all the hard work Honda have put into development over the past few months is now beginning to pay off. I’m hopeful for tomorrow and one thing we can be sure of is that the pit crew will maximise our chances of success as they have continually proven to gain an extra advantage on race day."

Olivier Panis: "I'm delighted with 7th place today. I'm also very pleased for the team because they have worked very hard to make another step forward. I'm particularly happy for Honda because again we've seen the results of their efforts and signs that they have made another step in the right direction. We used the latest engine for the qualifying session and it was a big improvement on free practice this morning. I aborted my first qualifying run because it was clear we needed to fine-tune the driveability but, after that, I was able to continue to push throughout the next three runs. We will be using the same engine for the race tomorrow so I'm really optimistic that we can have a good race from where we are on the grid. We're in a good position now to fight for some points and I intend to make the most of that opportunity."

Jacques Villeneuve: "The car wasn't bad at all today. Our tyre combination worked well and I'm pleased with the improvement that we saw with the engine in qualifying. Honda have been working very hard and we're starting to see real progress now. The problem today was with the traffic on my last run. The lap was quicker in the first two sectors but then I caught up with Coulthard for the last two corners and, instead of letting me by, he blocked me, which was very annoying as he was on his in-lap. As soon as I got so close to him I lost front aero which made me run wide and then spin the car. It's frustrating because it looks like we could see some very close racing tomorrow. I'm at the wrong end of the tenth today when I could have been inside the top ten had it not been for the problem on my last run."

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Renault ( Jarno Trulli - 8th, Jenson Button - 13th )

Denis Chevrier: "Today we made a good recovery compared to yesterday's performance and saw our hard work pay off. We built up our level of performance during today's sessions, culminating in eighth place on a very tight grid. It's worth noting that our competitors have experienced a disparity in performance between their two cars, which suggests some difficulty in optimising set-up for this circuit. Having said that, finding the optimum race set-up will be another fresh challenge, especially as we don't yet know how the circuit is likely to change during the race."

Pat Symonds: "We have struggled a little bit this weekend to get grip and balance. However, the team has worked solidly and Jarno's eighth place is a reflection of this. Unfortunately, Jenson paid the price of a mistake this morning by having to qualify with an older specification engine. The race tomorrow will certainly be hard, but we feel well prepared for it."

Jarno Trulli: "It was a tough qualifying session for me. The engineers worked hard on the set-up all the way through, particularly for the last two runs when we changed quite a lot on the car. The track got better and better throughout the session, and we had to change the car to suit that. We have been struggling a bit this weekend, and eighth is a very good result which should allow us to fight for points tomorrow."

Jenson Button: "After what happened this morning, thirteenth is not too bad. I want to thank the boys for all their work - they did a great job today. I made a couple of small mistakes on my last run, which meant I couldn't improve my time. The car isn't exactly how I want it, but we haven't had enough running time to solve the problems."

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Sauber ( Nick Heidfeld - 10th, Felipe Massa - 14th )

Peter Sauber: "After free practice this morning I expected more from qualifying. In Nick's case the explanation is that he had to switch to the T-car for his last run, and at least we were able to continue our record of qualifying one car in the Top 10."

Nick Heidfeld: "This morning I had a problem with the hydraulics on my race car, but I'm not sure why it lost speed on my third run this afternoon. That meant using the spare for my final run; fortunately it was already set-up for me. As I was unfamiliar with it I did two flying laps, and the first was my best of the afternoon. Normally you are slower in the spare car, so I'm delighted that it went well enough to get back into the top 10 for my home race."

Felipe Massa: "I'm really disappointed this afternoon, after the way that the car felt this morning. I just couldn't get the same grip from new tyres as I got in free practice on scrubbed rubber. I got understeer whenever I got back on the power in slow corners, and the car was nervous in high-speed corners, so I was struggling. I think the temperature rise lost us some time in qualifying, for sure."

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Arrows ( Heinz Harald Frentzen - 15th, Enrique Bernoldi - 18th )

Graham Taylor: “'We've had a very difficult Saturday as we've had trouble with balance all day and struggled to get the best out of the tyres. Having said that the grid is very very tight in our group. There is some consolation in the fact that Heinz beat both the Jaguars and Toyotas but we're ultimately disappointed as we really should be higher up the order. It would have been good for Heinz, with this being his home Grand Prix.”

Heinz Harald Frentzen: “I had to work pretty hard for that position today. We didn't have the pace we thought we should have this morning but did make improvements before qualifying. As always though, the car will be better in race trim so I'm looking forward to a good home Grand Prix tomorrow.”

Enrique Bernoldi: “I'm a bit disappointed with my position after that session. I am only a tenth off my team-mate's time but three positions behind him as it's so close. We made good improvements to the car since this morning's practice sessions and the balance was definitely much better so I'll look forward to tomorrow now and hope for a good result in the race.”

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Jaguar ( Eddie Irvine - 16th, Pedro de la Rosa - 20th )

Niki Lauda: "Given the recent all-round improvements that we have made to this car, I was expecting our drivers to qualify a little closer to the top ten. We seem to be about two or three tenths slower than expected and different tyre compounds can explain the difference between the two drivers today. The hotter track temperature should have played more into our hands, but the gain wasn’t that significant in the end. Both drivers suffered at the hands of understeer today, with Pedro coming off the worst. Tomorrow’s race will be very tough for us and given that no one has ever raced on this new circuit, we need to be well placed to take full advantage of any mistakes that others may commit around us."

Eddie Irvine: "My first lap wasn’t very good because the track felt so different compared to the morning warm-up sessions but each run got better after that. The car was suffering from mid-corner understeer throughout the whole session and it’s a surprise given how good it felt this morning. The lap time we did in yesterday’s Free Practice with a heavier fuel load proves that our qualifying performance fell short somewhere. Either that or the track has simply gone away from us. Starting from 16th place isn’t the ideal scenario and we’ll have to work even harder now at getting the maximum from this package in race trim."

Pedro de la Rosa: "I chose a different tyre compound to Eddie and knew it was a risky decision to take. The gamble didn’t pay off in the end, but I think we’ll make up for it in the race tomorrow. I never really managed to get four clean laps in today and found myself running wide into the new stadium section twice. It’s a shame because my lap times were better on both runs and without any errors, I should have been at least three tenths further up the order. This is quite a challenging track and combined with the slippery surface, I think tomorrow’s race will throw up a few surprises which we will be looking to capitalise on."

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Toyota ( Allan McNish - 17th, Mika Salo - 19th )

Norbert Kreyer: "We have had no engine difficulties so far this weekend. We know the cause of our Magny-Cours problem was the same on both engines but we are confident that we will not have this problem again. After a difficult qualifying and a string of non-finishes, our aim for tomorrow's race must simply be to complete full distance."

Allan McNish: "We didn't modify the car very much from this morning's session, but we lost consistency, especially at the end of the lap. That meant that although I gained time in the first two sectors, it was difficult to maintain that level through to the end. The track conditions were different compared to the practice sessions, and we simply could not adapt the car accordingly. I'm slightly disappointed with the starting position but the midfield was very close."

Mika Salo: "That was the most disappointing qualifying session this season. We had a really well-balanced and well-handling car this morning, but the track conditions changed so much over the lunch break we lost balance in the car. We quite simply did not have enough grip and we suffered from understeer. We tried to fix the problem in the session, but we couldn't manage in time."

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Minardi ( Mark Webber - 21st, Alex Yoong - 22nd - Did Not Qualify )

Alex Yoong: "It's been a hugely disappointing day, as this is not a circuit I expected qualifying to be an issue, especially after yesterday went so well. We were quick without even trying then on old tyres. Unfortunately, in the morning session today, we didn't get the chance to use new tyres because we had a hydraulic problem, so the first time I used new tyres was in the qualifying session. To be frank, I'm as puzzled as everyone else why we were so slow today. I'm obviously very disappointed at the moment, not just for myself, but for the whole team, who did a very good job and put in a lot of hard work."

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