Mark, fastest in Q1, fastest in Q2 and this time Sebastian didn't beat you when it counts; pole by a tenth of a second.
Mark Webber: Yeah, that's right. Normally it's a good battle all the way through qualifying but Seb's had a pretty solid run in the last while in Q3 but today I had two solid laps, obviously both of them. It's nice to go into the second lap knowing you're already ahead. It's a nice situation to try and build on your second lap in that way instead of being behind. But this pole is for the team. The guys, both sides of the garage, have had about five hours sleep in the last two nights, so they've really worked incredibly hard. It goes to show that the effort that they've put into the car is now translating into lap times. It's a sensational qualifying for both Seb and myself. Christian said to me before qualifying 'you probably won't get to drive a car around here like this too often, so go and enjoy it' and I did and it was a sensational qualifying session.

Sebastian, nothing to choose between you, but this race – I don't have to remind you – has been won from pole for the last nine years. Do you feel like changing history tomorrow?
Sebastian Vettel: Yes, of course. First of all, congratulations to Mark. He was not beatable today. It was close. I think I had good laps throughout qualifying, especially at the end but it was just not enough, so a tenth is not much, but today it was a bit too much for me. Still, I think it was a very good qualifying from us. Obviously the race is tomorrow, so no points today. It will be a long race. For sure, at the moment, it looks comfortable but we know how quickly things can change, so we have to stay focused and see tomorrow. It will be a tough one. Maybe there is some rain, so we will see, but it's a long race, as I said. I think starting second, first row, is a good result. As Mark said, the team especially has made an incredible effort to bring all the new bits and they work, so that's a good thing. Back in the factory they have also been flat out for the last two or three weeks, so congratulations to them.

Lewis, you pushed out the Ferrari right at the end, it's the best qualifying of the season so far for McLaren, but you don't need to be reminded there is almost a second between you and Mark and that's quite a bit to make up, isn't it?
Lewis Hamilton: Yeah it is. I don't think anyone expected them to be so fast this weekend. However, we knew that they would be quick but that is quite a decent gap, but we will continue to push and just focus on the areas that we know where we are weakest and try and close the gap. But it's great to be up there. At least we can fight. They're probably not as quick as us down the straight which is a bonus, so we will see how the start goes tomorrow.

Mark, it's always so close in qualifying, the battle between you and Sebastian as you said, but how special is it for you to have done what you've done today?
MW: As you say, it's a good battle between both of us quite often. Obviously Seb has a very, very good record against me in qualifying, but if you looked at the numbers it's always very, very tight, so it's nice to just get one the other way. Nothing's ever given to us, you have to work incredibly hard. It shows you how well the team is working collectively as a group and it's nice when you get it all together that you get the result. Today was my day, but we have a good long race tomorrow. I'm happy with the car in a race situation. It's a good position to be in but there are no points today. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Press Conference

Mark, you seem to have really taken the battle to Sebastian this weekend. You seem to have just been ahead so often. How has that happened?
MW: I don't know if I've just been ahead. I think it was a little bit more comfortable in Shanghai for me and then it turned out that Seb did a very good lap in Q3, so it was very tight between both of us throughout the whole weekend. As you know, here in Barcelona conditions can change quite a bit here and there. It's a venue all the teams know extremely well, so you don't want to get too complacent with your knowledge of the venue. In the end, driver and team on car number six of the garage obviously pulled everything together and today worked well for us, but it's a sensational result for the team to again lock out the front row. Personally I'm rapped, myself, obviously ecstatic that I've got the pole. It puts me in a nice position for tomorrow, but it's still a long GP and it's one that I'm looking forward to of course. It's always nice to get a pole. Sebastian, as I said before, has a good record against me in qualifying. It's always very close but it's not like he's six or seven tenths down the road, so it was nice today to get it back my way. But it's great for the team to have both of us up here.

You do seem to be a perfectly matched pair, the two of you, almost two well-matched.
MW: Well, I don't know if you can have it too perfect, but of course, with Sebastian's pace and a bit of my experience then obviously I seem to be driving OK, so together we work well with the team and work on the areas that we think are going to benefit us short, medium and long term. That's the package that we have at the moment. I'm still enjoying my driving, so that's the good thing.