25/05/2013
NEWS STORY
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton claimed the second consecutive front-row lockout for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team in today's qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Pole position is Nico's third in a row and the fourth consecutive pole for the team in the 2013 season. Nico was fastest in every practice session of the weekend prior to qualifying on pole this afternoon. The 0.091s gap between the drivers is equivalent to less than a car length around the 3.340 km Monaco lap.
Nico Rosberg: It's a great feeling to be on pole in the city where I grew up and it means so much to me to drive through the streets here in a Silver Arrow. The conditions were really difficult out there today with the rain at the start but we handled it well. I have to say thank you to everybody at the team for all of their hard work in improving our car and our performance so much since last year. Having said that, we know that race pace has been our weakness. We've learnt a lot since the last race, and this track should suit us, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out if this will be enough.
Lewis Hamilton: Congratulations to Nico and the team today, a great job all round. It's a big improvement for me after struggling in the practice sessions here so I'm really happy to be on the front row of the grid. I didn't have a great first sector on my lap today but after that it really came together. I've got some work to do as I haven't felt completely comfortable in the car this weekend but I'm confident that we can have a good race tomorrow and we'll be aiming to get the best possible result for the team.
Ross Brawn: That was a tricky session and the weather kept us on our toes for the whole hour. Nico, Lewis and the whole team did a great job throughout qualifying to put us in the perfect position at the front of the grid for tomorrow. We are well aware of our fate in the last few races and we have to make sure that we are in better shape for tomorrow. I believe we have moved in the right direction and we'll see tomorrow if those improvements are enough and we can have a good race.
Toto Wolff: What a fantastic result and a brilliant performance from both drivers. There was a lot to lose at the beginning of the session in the wet conditions and it was important to judge the right changeover point from intermediate to dry tyres. The team did a perfect job of keeping both drivers in the chase and they then delivered the rest out on track. Of course we are very pleased this afternoon but, at the risk of sounding like I am repeating myself, we know it's tomorrow that really counts.
Check out our Qualifying gallery, here.