2008 SANTANDER GERMAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
Lewis Hamilton MP4-23 06
Heikki Kovalainen MP4-23 05
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will start
Sunday's Santander German Grand Prix, the team's second consecutive
home Grand Prix, from pole position after Silverstone two
weeks ago. It is also the team’s second pole position
in a row and the fourth this year. In the closing seconds
of the final session, Lewis set a time of 1m15.666 and claimed
his ninth pole position in his 27th Formula 1 race. It is
the 58th for the McLaren Mercedes partnership and McLaren’s
137th. Silverstone pole-sitter Heikki Kovalainen qualified
third fastest with a 1m16.143 and will start from the second
row, right behind his team mate.
Qualifying Session One: Qualifying Session Two: Qualifying
Session Three:
Lewis: 4 laps, 1:15.218 (3rd) 3 laps, 1:14.603 (1st) 6 laps,
1:15.666 (1st)
Heikki: 5 laps, 1:15.476 (4th) 3 laps, 1:14.855 (3rd) 9 laps,
1:16.143 (3rd)
LEWIS HAMILTON
"What a lap! My first run during Q3 wasn’t bad,
but my final lap was very smooth and I expected to set an
even better time. The wind made today's conditions quite tricky
and sometimes it was difficult to stay on the racing line,
particularly in the stadium section - where the wind seemed
to change a couple of times. The team did a really good job
to adjust to these conditions and to prepare the car perfectly.
We’ve been fast and consistent all weekend, we have
good pace, and I’m confident for tomorrow."
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
"In the final session my car felt the best it has all
weekend. But on my first run I lost the rear-end entering
the stadium section and ran wide. And on my final run I did
a little bit of rallycrossing at the last corner. Taking that
into account, it was a good lap."
RON DENNIS
"Today we saw another excellent team performance by all
at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. Clearly, we’re delighted
for Lewis, who drove a great lap to take pole position in
what I’m sure most people will agree was a gripping
end to today’s qualifying session. But we’re equally
pleased with Heikki, who recovered very impressively after
his ‘off’ earlier in the session. He pushed hard,
kept his head and carved a fast but disciplined lap that placed
him third on tomorrow’s grid. As regards tomorrow, we
believe we have a competitive strategy and are therefore looking
forward to putting in a strong performance in what is the
second successive home Grand Prix for our team."
NORBERT HAUG
"That was a thrilling qualifying and Lewis made things
clear at the last possible moment. A great lap which led him
to the best position to start our second home Grand Prix after
Silverstone. Heikki was on pole a fortnight ago, now it’s
Lewis's turn. With Heikki in third place on the clean side
of the track, we are in a good position for tomorrow’s
race - but we certainly are not underestimating our competitors."
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