Webber hints at light fuel load in qualifying
Mark Webber today had a fantastic run in his Red Bull and secured a front row starting place for the British GP. He did however hint that he did so with low fuel levels, and as a result might have to come in earlier than other drivers. David Coulthard is disappointed as he is 11th.
Mark Webber, Car 10, Position 2nd: "It's gone really well for us today and to be on the front of the grid for tomorrow's race is very encouraging. The guys have worked really hard since the last race and, with the factory just down the road, there's an amazing atmosphere. Five percent of the job is done, but we've got a long race ahead of us tomorrow and we're expecting to have some trouble keeping the Ferraris and McLarens behind us. But, we're happy for now - this has been coming for a while, we've shown good consistency this year and the team's done a good job."
David Coulthard, Car 9, Position 11th: "It's disappointing to finish eleventh. If we'd done some more running this morning, I think we'd have been in better shape. But, we had a problem with an engine oil leak and so were using Q1 to get up to speed in the dry today. Changing conditions are always a big factor around this track. On other tracks, a loss of running time wouldn't really be an issue, but this one is very open to the wind, so every day is different. The reality is that we've got the pace to be in the top ten, we just didn't deliver it on the lap that counted today. Looking to the positives, we're just outside the top ten, so are able to fuel the car as we want - and the changing conditions may be a factor tomorrow."
Christian Horner, Team Principal: "A fantastic result for the team. Our first front
row start, and where better to do it than just up the road from the factory when so many team members are in attendance, it's important that we turn the grid position into a strong result tomorrow, but Mark's been competitive all weekend, so hopefully we can convert it. For David, he was compromised this morning by missing P3 and not getting a run in the dry. But, he starts eleventh, which means we can pick his strategy."
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer, Track Support: "We are very, very
happy - this is the first front row for the combination of Red Bull / Renault and it's great to do it at such a historical track. Silverstone is very hard on the engine, so we are very pleased. That said, the only lap that counts is the last lap of the race so, we enjoy this qualifying result, but our focus is on the race tomorrow."