Mark, congratulations and Happy Birthday for yesterday. I take it the present you asked for most was a spot of rain just after you bagged provisional pole.
Mark Webber: Yeah, we knew that the first lap was going to be pretty important as around here it is just so unpredictable. The weather yesterday and today has been very unique even for Spa to be honest as it has been so on and off. You know particularly in qualifying that every lap is important. First lap for me I was very happy with it but you just never know in this company if it is enough. But I pushed to the limit and it was enough for me to have pole half-way through the session. It is a nice thing to have going into your second run but, like you said, the weather made it a little bit more difficult to improve on our second attempts. But some people, like Lewis obviously, I am not sure it might have only been Lewis, he did a good lap on his second lap. But I think we would still have been pretty quick to have a crack if it stayed dry and consistent for the second round of laps. I was still looking forward to that part of qualifying.
Certainly Red Bull have not got the advantage here that they had in Hungary. And in Q2 you were fully a second behind, so what were you were hiding? What made the difference in Q3?
MW: I think Q2 depended where you were on the track. The track was drying very, very quickly. Lewis did a good lap in Q2. Also you know you just need to do enough to get through. But it is pretty intense times in that situation when the track is a bit mixed up. It is easy to get outside the bubble and if you miss a braking point and you don't get a clean lap in then you could be out. It was one of those days where it could easily go wrong and you could have a bit of egg on your face but I think apart from Fernando (Alonso) all the normal guys had normal days.
Lewis, a tricky qualifying session. You are back on the front row but was this a pole position that got away from you today?
Lewis Hamilton: No, I mean I didn't know it was your birthday, so Happy Birthday for yesterday. He did a fantastic job. It was such a tricky qualifying session where the weather conditions were changing drastically. I got out for my first lap. I was the first one out and it wasn't a particularly great lap. There was one corner, I think turn 14 which was drying up, but I was the first one to get there and I didn't really know how much I could push there, so I lost a little bit of time on the first run. The second run was a good lap except for turn one. We lost three and a half tenths or so there, so it was possible but we are on the front row. The positive thing is that we are up there and in for the fight, so it is good.
And you have been quite good at fighting and picking your way through the field this season. An aggressive first lap could pay dividends.
LH: Yeah, aggressive but you have to be cautious at the same time. Tomorrow is a completely different day. We don't know if it is going to rain or be dry. The good thing is that the car feels pretty good here, so we are in a good position to get some good points tomorrow. I will make sure I am fit and ready for tomorrow morning and prepare myself the best way.
Robert, very good qualifying performance from you and the upgrades on the car are really working well this weekend.
Robert Kubica: Yeah, it has been a good qualifying for us. We have been quite competitive in all conditions and also in qualifying when the track was drying up, mixed conditions. But we had a bit of a black moment in Q3 when the car just stopped running approaching the last corner, the last chicane on the in-lap, so we knew that we would not be able to do a second attempt in Q3 as there was no time and I was just praying for rain. There were some drops but not enough that Lewis managed to set a better lap time. But it is still good for us being back here after introducing the F-duct quite late but fortunately it worked pretty well. Actually, perfectly yesterday from the first lap. We are happy to be here.
What can you now do in the race? Are there concerns after qualifying? Do you think you can live with the Red Bulls and McLaren over 44 laps?
RK: Well, everything can happen. We have seen different condition here. What is important is that we have been I think in all sessions in the top five from yesterday to qualifying. Also this morning we were very competitive. I think Red Bull is out of reach also the McLarens are very fast here but we will try our best.
Mark, you go in to the race on pole position and the championship leader. You have been the championship leader at other stages as well but it is getting serious now, isn't it with just seven races to go. Does that intensify the pressure?
MW: Not really. I don't see it as just seven races to go. If we were sitting here in Brazil then it would be a little bit more intense. But we have got a lot of racing to do yet. It is a special place to get pole. It is a beautiful circuit. All the drivers love driving here, so I am going to enjoy the race tomorrow and do my best.
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