Jean Todt: It was a really exciting qualifying. I was worried that we would not take pole position, right here in front of our fans and our staff, who have their own grandstand at the entry to the Parabolica. But, we did it, thanks to Rubens who drove a fantastic lap. I am happy for him, as he adds another pole to the one he took in Indianapolis back in June. We have one Ferrari behind another on the grid, as Michael qualified third. Now we have to tackle the toughest part of the weekend, which is the race itself. We know we can count on a car- engine-Bridgestone tyre package that is very competitive and effective, but we are expecting a close fight. The weather forecast is uncertain, with a chance of rain, which adds another unknown element. We hope to give our fans something more to celebrate.

Ross Brawn: All weekend, it's been difficult to know where we stood in the pecking order. Given the strategy we have chosen, I am happy with our performance today. Rubens drove a really fantastic lap, incredible. He put pressure on Michael, who made a small mistake on his lap. First and third on the grid is a great result. I think we can have a very consistent race in performance terms, thanks to our Bridgestone tyres.

Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1): It was a good qualifying session from both of our drivers and it is good to be back on the front row. Monza is a hard circuit on the brakes and on the engine. We spent a lot of time to prepare ourselves in the test last week and also in the free practice sessions. Now we are looking forward to a good race tomorrow but it will be interesting to see what the weather will be like.

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): I am satisfied so far. Setting the fastest lap times in pre-qualifying meant we secured the best starting positions for the final qualifying. Both drivers were brilliant in sectors one and three, but lost fractions in the middle sector. Starting from the front row gives Juan excellent chances for the race. Antonio was just two tenths of a second slower than him and yet he lines up only eighth. This shows how tight the competition is here in Monza. Obviously we are pleased to have shown a strong performance so far on what is known as an engine circuit par excellence.

Ron Dennis: "A very close qualifying session with the varying fuel loads and strategies distorting the grid. We are looking forward to the race where it will quickly become apparent as to whether we have chosen the right strategy or not."

Norbert Haug: "Everything is really close apart from Rubens' pole time, and we should have a better performance in the race than our grid positions indicate."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "At a circuit like Monza where overtaking is nearly impossible, it is important to be well positioned at the front of the field, and Fernando put in a strong performance to achieve exactly that. Unfortunately, Jarno was still not comfortable with the car balance after practice this morning, so we chose to go a more conservative route with his strategy, which explains the difference in the drivers' positions. We had predicted that the field would be very tight and the top ten are covered by just a second. Given how close everybody is, we were surprised to see Barrichello on pole by six tenths of a second, but we will have to wait for the race to understand what is going on."

Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations Manager: "This was a pleasing qualifying result for the team. Fernando gave himself a solid starting point for the race, although Jarno seems to be less well-placed at the moment. On the engine side, we have experienced no problems at all and the weekend has run to plan. Looking ahead to tomorrow, there is still a question mark over the weather and, of course, our competitors' race strategies. If, as usual, the fuel loads only vary by several laps, then we will certainly have a good idea of exactly how quick everybody is after the first fifteen laps tomorrow."

After a strong performance in the final free practice session this morning, in which Jenson and Takuma were the 3rd and 5th fastest drivers respectively, conditions remained warm but overcast as the pre-qualifying and qualifying sessions got underway.

Jenson and Takuma emerged from the pitlane 17th and 18th respectively for their crucial qualifying laps. Both drivers were expecting to be a little closer to the front, however the times at the top of the table were exceptionally tight with just a tenth separating Jenson in 6th and the front row. The team are therefore optimistic that they can be in the thick of what is likely to be a very exciting race tomorrow.

David Richards, Team Principal: "A very solid performance from both drivers. With top six grid positions and our race strategy, we should be in contention for the podium tomorrow."

Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director: "Today's qualifying was particularly close with less than a second covering the top 10 places on the grid. It was a straightforward day and although we are mildly disappointed with the qualifying positions of both our cars, we are happy with the team's overall strong performance. We are confident that we have a good set-up for the race so we shall see how our race strategy unfolds. It is very important for us to finish both cars high up in the points in order to keep closing the gap to Renault."

Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development: "I am happy to have both drivers in the top six today and only being one tenth of a second from the front row should allow us to fight for a podium."

Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "Qualifying was unsatisfactory. I hope the race will be better."

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.

James Robinson: Nick had a gear selection problem with his car in pre-qualifying which we were not able to fix before qualifying. Having already incurred a 'ten places back' penalty for changing his engine yesterday, we chose to use the spare car given the high probability of rain tomorrow. Giorgio's car had to be repaired after his accident late in free practice so the boys worked hard and did well to get it ready in time for pre-qualifying.

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth: It hasn't been the greatest of days for the Minardi team. Two race weekends in succession, Zsolt was been taken out as a result of someone else's problems. This time, although the accident didn't look as dramatic as the one at Spa, the damage was far more serious, resulting in the total loss of the chassis. That's racing, however, and all in all, the team did well to get Zsolt settled in the spare car for qualifying. As for Gimmi, he's had a solid debut at his ‘home' Grand Prix. Also on the positive side, it's good to see the encouraging lap times that have been set in preparation for tomorrow's race.

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport: It's great to see Rubens on pole! I was very impressed with his fantastic performance. Michael was on track to be closer to Rubens but unfortunately he lost a little time in the final sector. Generally though, I'm satisfied with today's tyre performance and encouraged for tomorrow which will be an interesting race. While the other Bridgestone cars are further down the grid I wouldn't discount them and judging by their practice session results, I fully expect them to be running well.

Ross Brawn, Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: All weekend our position has been really unclear and considering our race strategy for tomorrow I'm delighted with our performance this afternoon. It's the first measure we've had against the opposition. Rubens drove a fantastic lap – I mean, an unbelievable lap which really put the pressure on Michael, who had a little difficulty in his lap. But first and third is a great result and we have a very consistent race tyre from Bridgestone.

Minardi driver Zsolt Baumgartner has been involved in a spectacular collision for the second time in as many races. The Hungarian's Saturday free practice ended when Jordan rival Giorgio Pantano lost control and speared into him, forcing both cars off the track. Neither driver was injured. Baumgartner retired from the recent Belgian GP when he was rammed by Jenson Button's spinning BAR-Honda.

Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director: "Our partner teams got through an enormous amount of work and our tyres have consistently shown the same blend of speed and consistency that was evident both yesterday and during last week's test. Obviously I don't know what fuel loads our main competitors are running, but I am confident that several of our partner teams have the capacity to challenge for victory tomorrow.

"The track has not changed a great deal this weekend - but that's a traditional facet of Monza. Circuits with a greater number of corners are always prone to evolve more than somewhere with so many long straights.

"There remains a risk that things could change dramatically tomorrow. Rain remains a strong possibility, particularly in the morning. It is worth noting that the circuit takes a long time to dry properly here, because so much of the lap is surrounded by overhanging trees. If the adverse conditions hold off, the Michelin teams will use three different types of dry-weather tyre in the race."