Q1: Q2: Q3:

Lewis: 4 laps, 1:20.288 (2^nd) 3 laps, 1:19.537 (1^st) 6 laps, 1:21.835 (4^th)
Heikki: 6 laps, 1:19.957 (1^st) 3 laps, 1:19.597 (2^nd) 6 laps, 1:21.049 (1^st)

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
"We’ve been going really well all weekend after finding some good pace during testing last week. I’ve spent a lot of time racing in the UK so it feels great to have scored my first ever Formula 1 pole position at Silverstone. The car feels just fantastic at the moment; I was able to steadily improve throughout all three qualifying session and I’m confident our pace is going to be strong tomorrow."

LEWIS HAMILTON
"Congratulations to Heikki on his first Formula 1 pole position. I felt comfortable in the car and the speed was there; however, on my first flying lap in Q3 I ran a bit wide at the exit of Priory and went onto the gravel. Obviously I just pushed a little bit too hard and it's a pity that I missed the front row. However, with our strategy and the predicted rain for tomorrow's race everything will be possible and I very much look forward to racing here in front of my home crowd tomorrow."

RON DENNIS
"Heikki showed great determination and a lot of skill to master the gusty, tricky conditions so well. The result was his first pole position in Formula 1 - and it was thoroughly well deserved because he's been driving beautifully all weekend. Lewis made a small mistake in sector three, and his P4 grid position doesn't therefore reflect his latent pace, but he remains confident that he can put in a strong performance tomorrow. Overall, then, we feel we're in a good position and are looking forward to doing very well at McLaren's home race tomorrow."

NORBERT HAUG
"We saw Heikki driving superbly all weekend so far and the lap that resulted in his first ever Formula One pole position was very special. Congratulations to Heikki and his guys on this great result. Lewis is starting from row two and everything is possible for him tomorrow. He will be strong in front of his home crowd, as will Heikki."

It was a difficult qualifying session for the Honda Racing F1 Team at Silverstone today. An untimely rain shower led to both drivers being knocked out after Q1 as Rubens Barrichello qualified in 16th position and Jenson Button in 17th.

Rain clouds were looming overhead as Q1 got underway, so both drivers took to the racetrack immediately to capitalise on the dry conditions. Rubens completed one run to set a time of 1:22.510, while Jenson did two laps to post a time of 1:22.312.

The drivers then made subtle changes to the set-up of their RA108s before taking to the track once again. They both improved their times, Rubens lapping in 1:21.512 and Jenson in 1:21.685, but they were still down in 16th and 18th positions respectively as rain began to fall at the southern end of the track, around Stowe and Club corners.

The rain stopped with three minutes of the session remaining, and despite less than ideal track conditions, both drivers ventured out of the pits in an effort to move into Q2. Jenson improved to a 1:21.631, despite being unable to get enough temperature into his front tyres. He moved ahead of Nico Rosberg on the timesheets, but it wasn't enough to see him take any further part in the qualifying session. Rubens was unable to improve on his existing time.

RESULTS

Drivers                  Car No.          Chassis No.        Free Practice        Qualifying 1          Qualifying 2          Qualifying 3       
Rubens Barrichello    17          RA108-04                 P10                          P16    01:21.512          Did not qualify          Did not qualify       
Jenson Button            16          RA108-02                  P11                          P17    01:21.631          Did not qualify          Did not qualify       

Weather                       Cool with wet-dry conditions       
Temperatures            Air: 18-20°C     Track: 16-32°C           


RUBENS BARRICHELLO

Q. A tough qualifying session in unpredictable weather conditions today?       
A. "It's unfortunate that we were not able to progress further in qualifying today and I'm afraid that reflects the true potential of the car on a dry track. Out on the circuit, I thought we were through in 15th when it began to rain, but unfortunately it was just raining in the section of track that I was on and others were able to improve further round the lap, dropping me to 16th. I wasn't able to improve on my final lap at the end of the session as I had too much understeer in the car and the tyres were graining on the damp surface. We're expecting wet conditions for the race tomorrow which should make it exciting and open up possibilities if we can stay out of trouble."       

JENSON BUTTON

Q. The rain during Q1 came just at the wrong moment for you. How did that affect your qualifying today?               
A. "It was a disappointing qualifying session today for my home Grand Prix. The brief rain shower did come just at the wrong moment for us as my final run on the completely dry track was compromised by traffic through Becketts, which left me in 18th when the shower began. So I had to go out right at the end of the session to try to improve regardless of the conditions. Unfortunately I couldn't get heat into my tyres through the first sector, which is always difficult, but even more so when the track was still slippery. I made a little bit of progress to jump Rosberg into 17th but not enough to make it into Q2. It's disappointing, but we know the car is not that competitive in the dry. It'll be a tough race but you can make progress here during the race, particularly if we have the expected wet conditions."       

STEVE CLARK
Head of Race & Test Engineering

Q. After a good start to the day in free practice, what went wrong in qualifying?               
A. "The car performed as expected this morning in both wet and dry conditions, which was just outside the top ten. Qualifying started with a little fluster as there were showers predicted so everyone rushed out to get a dry lap in. In the melée we found ourselves in the drop-out zone when the shower eventually came. We were fortunate that it dried in time for another run but the improvement was not enough to carry us through to Q2. The drivers did not have the perfect lap or balance, but in reality, had we made Q2, I don't believe we had the pace to progress further in these conditions."       
               
Q. What can the team achieve from here?        
A. "Very little can be changed with the car due to parc ferme regulations. In any case I don't think that we would alter the cars' set-up very much as the basic balance is good following the test here. The strategy will be adjusted to suit our grid position, although in a dry race points will be difficult. Rain is still predicted however, which could make our chances much more interesting." 

K. Raikkonen: 3rd 1.21.706 6 laps chassis 270
F. Massa: 9th 1.23.305 4 laps chassis 267
Weather: air temperature 24/23 °C, track temperature 29/31 °C, cloudy.

The result of qualifying for the British Grand Prix did not match the expectations of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. While Kimi Raikkonen managed to secure a good third spot on the starting grid, Felipe Massa is only ninth. The current series leader was unable to make his second timed run because of a problem changing the right rear wheel, which meant he was unable to cross the line before the chequered flag came out. "This is definitely not the result we expected nor the one we wanted," commented Team Principal of the Gestione Sportiva, Stefano Domenicali. "Problems such as the one that befell Felipe are serious and I am very sorry for him as we prevented him from giving it his best shot. On top of that, we need to understand why our performance, even taking into account all the unknowns regarding the various strategy choices, was not up to our usual standard. Nevertheless, this is only Saturday afternoon and we still have the race ahead of us. We are up against very strong opponents, but we will also be doing our utmost to bring home a good result."

Kimi Raikkonen: "Third is not the result we were hoping for, but it's not to be sneezed at, as we always have to take into consideration that the final score only comes tomorrow, when we have worked out what fuel loads the other drivers have. Compared to yesterday, the situation is definitely better. We worked a lot on the car set-up and, especially in Q3 the balance wasn't bad. There was a lot of wind, which made it hard to fully understand the track because the conditions were changing all the time. In race trim, we have a good car and I think tomorrow I can get a good result. The rain? We saw this morning that we are also competitive in the wet, so we are ready for any eventuality. Well done to Heikki for his first pole position."

Felipe Massa: "It's a real shame ending up ninth on the grid because of a problem with my pit stop. I lost so much time as the mechanics had trouble changing the right rear wheel and I was unable to start my second run. I think I could have done a good time, maybe not enough to take pole but at least good enough for a place on the front two rows. There was a lot of wind today and the balance of the car was not as good as yesterday and we were not as quick as at last week's test. Tomorrow I can definitely expect to be fighting all race long to move up the order and I will do all I can to bring home a good result: but it won't be easy."

Luca Baldisserri: "This is definitely not a pleasing result, both in terms of performance and of the work of the team. What happened at Felipe's pit stop, which incidentally has nothing in common with what happened on the grid at the Monaco Grand Prix, will have to be investigated thoroughly as we cannot let it happen again. Compared with last week's test it seems we have taken a step backwards and this is another thing we will have to look at and try to understand. Having said that, in evaluating this result we have to keep in mind that this is one of the circuits where the weight of fuel has a greater influence on lap times and therefore, we will only see tomorrow how things really stand. Anything can happen at this track in the race, even more so if it should rain. We will try and make the best out of our situation."