Well done Kimi, finally on pole position and no penalty so that’s where you’re going to start the race from too.
Kimi Raikkonen: Yeah, it’s nice. I think we should have been up here also in the last two races but in the circumstances it was not possible. But the whole weekend the car has been working well, it wasn’t as good in qualifying as it had been in the morning but it was good enough and we got pole position.

It was a beautiful-looking lap, with a nice oversteery moment coming out of the second last corner though.
KR: Yes. I had a little bit of oversteer for a few corners which is why I wasn’t too happy with the car but that’s normal. It didn’t slow me down actually; I gained some time in comparison to the morning so it didn’t matter really.

Your thoughts on the race, the weather conditions, the potential strategies around you?
KR: It doesn’t matter what they are. We have a strong package and we should be able to fight for wins, so we see what happens.

Interesting championship situation with Fernando sitting alongside you now. Some thoughts from you on the championship, and some thoughts on this race at this point of the season.
KR: It’s an important race. We have lost out on points in the last two races so we really need to try to gain some points this time and get back in the championship. But there are still many races to go so we just need to keep doing the best we can and hopefully we can catch up with them.

Jenson, a great looking weekend for you so far. How do you feel about the car, in terms of competitiveness for the race?
Jenson Button: Yeah, it’s always very difficult to tell. In qualifying, I wouldn’t say my lap was the best. I think we had a bit too much front end on the car. I had a few moments, especially coming into the stadium but it’s nice to be on the front row. Our aim for the race is to be as close as, or hopefully closer than we were in Silverstone to Renault and McLaren.

Do you feel you’ve made progress testing with the car in that period since Silverstone?
JB: Yeah, we’ve made progress but it’s not enough to challenge them, I don’t think. Maybe I should be a bit more upbeat but that’s the way it is. Hopefully we will be closer here which we’ll be very happy with and we can keep moving forward throughout the year and hopefully get a bit closer and maybe challenge towards the end, I don’t know.

Is Hockenheim a circuit you like? You’ve been very quick here in the past and as you say, the car looked very energised on that lap. Can you just talk us through your thoughts on Hockenheim, on Germany and racing here?
JB: Well, it’s a circuit that I’ve enjoyed a lot, the shorter Hockenheim, but I’ve also had some good races on the long circuit. My first year here I finished fourth in the wet behind DC (David Coulthard) and it’s a great circuit, I always enjoy it here. I have never qualified inside the top 12, so it’s nice to be on the front row and it’s a lot easier starting from this position.

Fernando, just wondering where your lap went. It didn’t appear, on the times, to be brilliantly quick in sector one, but on the TV it looked OK.
Fernando Alonso: Yeah, it looked OK, but I lost nearly three or four tenths in turn one, five tenths compared to this morning, so it was not really perfect in the first corner and also braking for turn two, but then after that I knew that I was down and at that stage I really needed to push the car to the limit in the last two sectors and I did, and I was lucky to be third. I think in normal circumstances we should be on the front row but actually I think it’s even better to start third on the clean side, so I’m extremely happy with the result.

What was the problem going into turn one and turn two?
FA: I don’t know. I think, like these guys, we all felt a little bit of oversteer in our qualifying lap, it was a little bit more windy as well, so my lap was probably a little bit windy in turn one. It’s a high speed corner so if you lose the confidence there you also lose under braking in turn two so it was a little bit of everything going on in these first two corners.

Where do you feel you are in terms of race speed and competitive racing against the others?
FA: We are always much better in race pace than in qualifying. The qualifying lap is our worst point at the moment, so if we are in the top three, hopefully tomorrow we can be second at the start if everything goes well, so we are in a good position. I think strategy-wise we are really in good shape because we have prepared for the race in a perfect way so I’m very confident that tomorrow we can fight for victory.

Kimi, just returning to you: a dramatic final corner for your team mate Juan Pablo Montoya. Your thoughts on that and also turn one has not been particularly kind to you here at the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
KR: Yeah, I don’t think I’ve finished any races here so far. I usually end up in the same tyre wall at turn one but hopefully this time it will go slightly better. Yeah, I was not happy with my qualifying lap at all. The car was not easy compared to this morning and I don’t really know what happened to Montoya. He just lost the rear end. I also had a moment there, so unlucky for him but it happens sometimes.

Press Conference