Kimi, obviously a disrupted third qualifying session, tell us your thought processes before you went out for that final run, and how good the lap was.
Kimi Raikkonen: Of course it's sometimes a bit difficult to wait for a long time, but it's not the first time, so we just needed to be patient and try to do the best you can. It wasn't the easiest session. We only had one chance with one set of tyres, so... The lap was good. It was easily good enough for pole so that was the main thing. I think the car has been pretty good all weekend. In the first qualifying it was a bit difficult to find the grip but then once we put the fuel in the car, it seemed to come back again so I'm very happy now. It's been a bit difficult to get it on the first row but I'm in first place so finally it happened.

You were quickest on Friday and Saturday; how do you think the race will be with McLaren Mercedes?
KR: It's pretty easier now with one car only but I think it will be a hard race, a long race. I don't have very good memories from here, so hopefully this year it will go a bit better, but for sure it's going to be a close race as the last was. We will just do our best and hopefully we can win.

Fernando, obviously difficult moments for the team; again, talk us through Q3 from your point of view.
Fernando Alonso: Yeah, it's never easy, for sure, more so if an accident happens in one of the cars in your team. But this is Formula One, this is motor racing, so we try to keep going with our job, with our work and now, after qualifying, we have a little bit more time but in those moments you have only 15 or twenty minutes stop. As Kimi said, it's not nice to be sitting in the car there and you lose the momentum a little bit, you lose the concentration as well, and you have only one chance because there's only five minutes of the session remaining and you only have one opportunity, so qualifying is a little more stressful. But I think Lewis is OK so that is the best news of qualifying.

You're on the front row too: very quick in sector one but it looked like a bit of a moment in the middle of the high speed esses in sector two.
FA: Yeah, turns five and six, I lost the rear a little bit in turn five and I lost control in the oversteer until turn six, for fifty or sixty meters the car was not in my control, so I was lucky enough to put the car back on the asphalt again because I think I nearly touched the grass a little bit. So from that moment, I thought for sure that pole position was not possible any more and I tried to do a good rest of the lap, tried to be fifth or sixth. At that moment I really thought that I had lost too much time and then when I realised that I was second I was pretty pleased because I had been lucky in that moment.

Felipe, it looked like you got in an extra lap right at the end...
Felipe Massa: I hope so.

A strategic qualifying session perhaps from your point of view and also tell us about the black stripe on your helmet.
FM: Yeah, it's because of the plane crash in Brazil, a pretty difficult moment for my country, so I tried to maybe give some good things for the people who lost so much and also for the country. So I put it on my helmet and on my arms as well.

And the qualifying session, how was the lap from your point of view?
FM: Well, the qualifying was very good in Q1 and Q2 for me and I had a really great moment, great control on the car and then suddenly, I think, during this long period that we were in the pits I lost a little bit of the momentum, the concentration and then I couldn't do a perfect lap on the only chance we had. But I'm happy anyway, I think we could show we were quick and the car is there, so I think tomorrow is a long race and I'm looking forward to it.

Press Conference

Kimi, winner of the last two races and now your second pole this year; you must feel you're on a bit of a roll at the moment.
KR: It's certainly better than it was a little bit earlier this season, but it's only pole position, it doesn't make much difference, you can still win from the other places but for sure, I think we have good speed right now and it makes life feel a little bit easier to start at the front.

Are you progressively feeling more comfortable in the car or have you been fine for a race or two?
KR: Since the last two races it's been good but I guess you always learn a little bit more and more and you can progress, but we're talking small differences and sometimes when you get everything together you can be very fast and sometimes you don't get all the details exactly how you want and then it can be more difficult. But right now, this weekend has been pretty good so hopefully it's the same tomorrow.

Do you feel you have the edge over McLaren here?
KR: I don't know, it's difficult to say from the fuel loads. We will see tomorrow but I think we're going to have a strong car in the race and that's the main thing.