F1 Abu Dhabi - SAT - Qualifying - Lewis Hamilton 2nd, Jenson Button 4th

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Abu Dhabi/Yas Marina, UAE, Nov 13, 2010

Charged up for the grand finale!

LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-25A-02
- P3 programme: 3rd, 1m41.280s (+0.584s), 13 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 4th, 1m40.335s (on Primes)
- Q2: 5th, 1m40.119s (on Options)
- Q3: 2nd, 1m39.425s (on Options)

�I�m absolutely delighted - this is my best qualifying performance since Spa, and I pushed as hard as I could and got everything and more out of the car. To be just three-hundredths off the fastest Red Bull is extremely good news for the team.


�We�ve worked incredibly hard all year, but we couldn�t quite catch them up quickly enough. Even so, to be right behind the one on pole - and have both Ferraris behind - is a great achievement.

�On the grid tomorrow, I don�t have to worry about who�s around me � they all have to worry about who�s around them! I�ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. It�s the other drivers who�ll have to worry; I don�t have to be cautious at all in the race. Perhaps they need to think about that�

�Both Jenson and I qualified well today, so this is good news for us in the battle for second place in the constructors� world championship. I�d love for us to finish one-two tomorrow - that would be a real high for the whole team.

�I�m not focusing on winning the drivers� title; I�m just focusing on winning this race.�

JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-25A-01
- P3 programme: 5th, 1m41.578s (+0.882s), 17 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 6th, 1m40.877s (on Primes)
- Q2: 2nd, 1m40.014s (on Options)
- Q3: 4th, 1m39.823s (on Options)

�We�ve been tweaking the car all weekend, and we made a big leap from where we were yesterday, so I�m happy with the way things improved.

�Qualifying was also very good. I�d been struggling with a major brake vibration issue during Q1, but it got better through Q2 and Q3. The vibration didn�t help my front locking issues, but at least they were better than I�d had in the past couple of races.

�I made a mistake and ran wide on my last lap, so it�s a little disappointing to be starting fourth because I could have been even higher, but I�m looking forward to tomorrow�s race. All the cars appear to be reasonably close, so it should be a good battle.

�My aim is to get as many points as I can tomorrow � we want to secure second place in the constructors� world championship, and that�ll be our aim for tomorrow.�

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

�Both Lewis and Jenson drove superbly in qualifying today, and will line up second and fourth on tomorrow�s grid as a result.

�In fact Lewis missed out on bagging pole position by just three-hundredths of a second - and inevitably you�re always just a smidgen disappointed when it�s as close as that at the front.

�Nevertheless, his goal tomorrow will be a unilateral one: to score 25 world championship points.

�He�s well placed to do just that - and, as ever, he�ll be pushing just as hard as he knows how. He�ll have a competitive race car tomorrow, and in our view he�ll be in decent shape to deliver the win we need.

�Jenson, too, is well placed to score heavily, and thereby consolidate Vodafone McLaren Mercedes�s second place in the constructors� world championship.

�So I reckon tomorrow has all the ingredients to be one of the most thrilling days in the history of Formula One, and I�m sure that trackside spectators and TV viewers alike will be on the edges of their seats during what promises to be a truly dramatic sporting occasion.�






* Official details courtesy of VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES *

Source of the photos >> F1 Fanatic

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