Today's Selected Quotes - British GP

Saturday July 10th, 1999

McLaren

Mika Hakkinen, todayMika Hakkinen: "I am very pleased to be on pole for tomorrow's race. We had a good test here last week and tried a number of different set ups, which put us in a good position for qualifying. It was much warmer this afternoon which means that times were in fact a bit slower than this morning but that's not unusual. All in all, the car and the engine felt good and the team did a great job in preparing everything."

David Coulthard: "Third on the grid is pretty good considering the fact that I am struggling with some back end balance, particularly under braking. I am not worried about it though as I know that I can work on this with my engineers and we will find a solution for the race. As always I am focused on winning and I am fully confident that I can achieve that result."

Ron Dennis: "A relatively troublefree day but not perfect as David experienced a small imbalance in the car which he dealt with admirably. Mika was able to achieve pole utilising three sets of tyres which leaves us with a spare set, so overall we are reasonably comfortable with our position."

Norbert Haug: "I am happy, especially for our McLaren Partners at their home Grand Prix, that Mika achieved pole position today. He did a great job and I think that in the quick corners of the first sector he set his mark. David, being third gives us a good base for tomorrow's race."

Ferrari

Michael Schumacher: "Today's result is pretty much what I had expected. I set my best time on my first run and then tried to improve, but unfortunately I could not. My last lap could have been quicker and reduced the gap, but I lost the back end of the car. Even so, I do not think it would have been good enough to take pole position. We are looking in good shape for tomorrow's race and we will do all we can to get the best possible result."

Eddie IrvineEddie Irvine: "I can't complain about being on the second row. During last week's test here, I did not do enough running on new tyres and it was difficult to set up the car to run properly with the new rubber. I had too much understeer, until we found the solution for my final run. I pushed as hard as I could, but by the end of the session the track was getting slower. We did some more work on race set-up this morning, so I am confident I can have a good race."

Jean Todt: "We witnessed a good qualifying battle today. One car on the front row and one on the second is a good result. Now it is important for us to concentrate on the race, which promises to be very interesting and open. Anything could happen. Tomorrow, both cars will be fitted with the 048B engine."

Jordan

Heinz-Harald Frentzen: "It is great to have Damon up in sixth place. He has a lot of supporters here and so does the team, so overall it is a great result. There are so many yellow Jordan flags it is hard to distinguish between these and the marshalls' flags!"

Damon Hill: "The car felt really good and I enjoyed this qualifying session. I feel much more confident in the car after the changes we have made. I absolutely loved it through turn 1 - it was mind-blowing! It is in the slow corners where it gets difficult to handle because of the wind and I did well to get a lap in early before the wind got up. This result puts us in a really good position for the race tomorrow and we have an excellent opportunity to capitalise on the progress the team has made this year. When you qualify in the top six you have a good chance finish on the podium, so I am looking forward to tomorrow's race and to doing everything I can to give everyone a good result."

Eddie Jordan: "This was a great qualifying session. I think it is further endorsement that Jordan is top three material. I really enjoyed it because there was no real threat from cars behind us. WDamon Hill, todaye had the speed and the quality and I think showed we have made some important steps forward. It was great to see Damon give such a strong performance and to have both drivers qualifying next to each other. We are in an ideal position for tomorrow's race."

Stewart

Rubens Barrichello: "It's upsetting that all the good work we put in at the test seems to have gone to waste. I was expecting to be in the top six in qualifying at least. I felt that the car was a lot more sensitive to change today. I struggled a little with understeer in the low-speed corners - that's where I lost most of my time. I didn't feel as if I could commit to the corners which you have to do at Silverstone. I had to be more patient to try and find a good balance but it was costly. We tried runs of two consecutive flying laps. There was improvement in the first section of the second lap but I was unable to sustain it throughout the rest of the lap. However, We know we can be quick here and what we did prove in last week's test was that the SF3 has the ability to run quickly in race trim over more than a handful of laps."

Johnny Herbert: "We made some set up changes overnight which improved the car. What was missing today was consistency over a full lap. I was getting quicker in the first section and the car felt good through Copse but I was unable to carry that speed through in the mid and final sections. The wind may have played a part early on. It tends to hit you as you turn in to a corner and then grabs the car and takes it in a direction you don't want on the exit which means you have to change your driving style to suit. Obviously I'd like to be starting the race from higher up the grid, but I'm pretty optimistic for tomorrow. Silverstone and I are old friends. I think I'll do my best work in the race."

Ralf Schumacher, todayMartin Whitaker, Director, Ford Racing, Europe: "The encouraging signs from yesterday's sessions were unfortunately not repeated this afternoon. Both drivers had a trouble-free session with the Cosworth CR1 V10 engines running reliably."

Williams

Ralf Schumacher: "In comparison to last week's test, I was much happier with the car. I want to say thank you to the whole WilliamsF1 team, especially to the production department that did a great job by managing to finish the new parts for this race, although normally we expected them to be ready for next week's test at Monza. I definitely think this was a great improvement! At the end, I am eighth and I think this was the maximum I could get today. I hope that the Winfield WilliamsF1 team all together will produce a good race tomorrow and that we will have some luck and be within the points."

Alex Zanardi: "I think we were expecting to be a little bit further up the grid, but having said this, I know that last week we were expecting to be much further back. I have put together the best effort I could and this is what I got. It would be really good to have a smooth race tomorrow."

Patrick Head, Technical Director: "Today's position is about where we were expected to be or thereabouts and we are happy that the changes to the car were a small improvement in the right direction. Furthermore the Supertec engines ran well and now we are looking forward to the race."


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