Two-sided qualifying for the McLaren drivers

Lewis Hamilton says he is happy with his fourth place in qualifying at the Monaco GP, which will become third thanks to Schumacher's penalty: however, McLaren did not demonstrate the dominance on the streets of the Principality that it seemed to have on other tracks.

“I had a good feeling all weekend, but this afternoon was really tough: one of the most difficult qualifying sessions for some time”, explained the McLaren driver. “In fact there are two great riders ahead of me who will make my life even harder tomorrow, but I was lucky to gain a place due to the penalty suffered by Michael”. However, the Englishman is aware that McLaren had little shine today: “We still struggled a bit today, particularly with the low-speed corners. It was difficult to get the tires up to temperature and to give us the grip we needed. Still, qualifying was a lot of fun: I really enjoyed it and for the race, tires and strategy can play an important role here. If I get a good start, we will suddenly be in a position to fight for the win. Anything can happen in Monaco and I will give everything tomorrow.", Hamilton continued.

While the Briton is still among the leaders without shining, things went badly for Jenson Button, 13th and eliminated in Q2. “In Monaco qualifying is everything, it's just the worst way to start the race but I didn't have the same pace this afternoon compared to this morning's free practice, when the car was going very well. We rode hard, but then failed to translate the speeds of FP3 into performance when it mattered most. It's strange, because in general it seemed to me that the car could be competitive", commented Button. However, the McLaren standard bearer is convinced that he can recover in the race: “I hope our pace will be better in the race, but it's very difficult to overtake here, the riders next to me will go on the same strategy, so it will be tough. But as always we will do our best. In Monaco I finished in the points three times in the top three positions first, second and third. I hope to confirm my tradition", the Englishman concluded jokingly.

Lorena Bianchi