Monaco GP - Qualifying press conference - Pt.1.

Drivers:Jenson Button (Brawn GP), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP)

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Q:
Jenson, this is the big one, this is Monaco. To some extent your home grand prix and one of the most demanding grand prix circuits on the calendar. What does this pole mean to you?

Jenson Button:
Yeah, I mean they all mean a lot. I have got to stop saying that, but they do and today was a really tight fight as well. All through the weekend I have been fighting with Rubens or Rubens has definitely had the upper hand. The McLarens have been up there, the Ferraris have been up there, the Red Bulls, the Williams. It has been a fun weekend I think for everyone involved and hopefully the viewers. And qualifying was no different. It was manic as it always is in Monaco I suppose but great to come away with pole. I was right on the edge on that lap and to snatch pole I am chuffed to bits.

Q:
It looks from the outside to be a well paced weekend as the track picked up grip on Thursday where you were a little bit in the background. But as the track got faster today in Q1 and Q2 and building up to that perfect lap in Q3. Was it perfect?

JB:
Well, it might look like it from the outside but l was a long way off in P1 on Thursday and really didn't know where we were. I had very low grip but worked with the balance a lot and all the way through the weekend we just improved it little by little bit and that is the great thing with this car. If I was driving last year's car and I started Thursday as we were then I would have massively struggled. But this car listens to changes. It is great to be on pole especially around a circuit like this. Obviously with the history that is involved with Monaco but also because this is a tough circuit. Mentally it is very tough, so it is nice to be on pole.

Q:
Kimi, the first front row start of the season. It looked like you had the pace all qualifying and for a while there you were on pole and then right at the end it was Jenson that got it.

Kimi Raiikonen
I mean the car hasn't been too bad here. Since the first practice it has always been getting better once the circuit has been picking up the grip and in qualifying the car was good. In the first qualifying it was a bit difficult and I made some mistakes and I didn't get a very good lap. The second qualifying was good and then in the last one it was good. I had one more lap and I went off in the first corner, so I don't know if it would have made any difference but it was a good result for us especially in this kind of place. The car has been behaving pretty well, so it is nice to be back on the front and hopefully we can fight for victory tomorrow.

Q:
Rubens, on your birthday. You have been very quick all weekend and no doubt you were eyeing the pole here.

Rubens Barrichello:
Well, qualifying went very well. I had good pace all through. Every day, actually, the car has been good. Honestly I thought I had the upper hand on Jenson today. It was going very well and my lap on the end was very good. That's why I congratulated him as he must have had a fantastic lap as my lap was really good and I am happy with it. There wasn't anything more I could have done. Yeah, you can push a little bit here and there but I have got to say I am really happy with all the work and I am sorry that on my birthday I didn't get pole position. I hope to get two better tomorrow.

Q:
Jenson, try to describe for us the treadmill you are on right now. It looks unstoppable from the outside. Do you allow yourself to enjoy moments like this or do you just focus on the race tomorrow?

JB:
Of course you enjoy the moment but it is strange as it is a lot more stressful than you think. It might sound silly but it is and you want to stay in this position obviously and anything less is a downfall I suppose. This part of the season it is really important for me to be at the front and to pick up the points and tomorrow is going to be a tough race and Rubens has been very strong this weekend and Kimi also, so it is not going to be easy. I know it is difficult to overtake here but for sure it is not going to be easy. But the way things are going this season it is a great feeling and hopefully it will continue. I have got to thank all the guys at Brackley who have done a fantastic job and Mercedes Benz, so yeah, thanks again and hopefully we can have a good day tomorrow.

Press conference

Q:
Jenson, how exciting was that lap? Tell us about it.

JB:
Yeah, it was pretty much on the edge. I thought I was going to be in the harbour at one point. It was a good lap and I really did get everything out of the car. It is the best lap I have done this weekend. On Thursday I struggled a little bit to get to grips with the car and the circuit. But we have done a lot of work since then and the car came to me in qualifying. We had a few problems that we needed to sort out and we did through the session. The car was great in Q3 and it was definitely one of the best laps I've ever done for sure.

Q:
You say you have made a lot of changes since Thursday as you were not happy with the car. How much did you change it from this morning to this afternoon?

JB:
We changed a few things. I was really struggling just having no front end on the car. High speed corners and a little bit low speed apexes, so we changed a few things and it has improved the car dramatically especially on the prime tyre. I couldn't get the prime tyre to work all weekend. I was a second off Rubens on the prime tyre, so we got it to work and the option was the same, so I'm so happy to be on pole here. It is a fantastic feeling because it was really on the edge the whole lap, every single corner, so it was a fantastic, enjoyable lap for me for sure.

Q:
It does seem to be one of the attributes of the car that it does react to changes?

JB:
Yeah, that is one of the things about the cars for the last couple of years. If we started with a bad car here then we would race with a bad car. With this car you can change the set-up and it listens to the changes which is fantastic, obviously, good or bad. And they are always going to be good. But yeah, it is so important the racing car and I really feel at home in this car. Even when things are bad you know you can make them better, so I am very happy. Very happy for myself and for the whole team and Rubens has been so bloody quick all weekend which is good for me. Having a team-mate who is not pushing you but is in front of you for the whole weekend does spur you on.

Q:
You talked in Spain about changing your driving style here. How much have you done that?

JB:
I tried that in the first session and it didn't really work. I sort of scraped a few barriers with the rear of the car and it looked pretty cool but the lap time wasn't there. I found a reasonably good balance. We have just got to make sure that we look after the tyres in the race as I am damaging the rears a little bit. But hopefully it will be a different situation in the race and I think it will be. I am pretty happy with where we are.

Q:
You have had two points' scores here in eight races, so it hasn't been a lucky circuit for you.

JB:
It hasn't but 2004 was pretty good. I finished second. In the melee of safety cars I think we probably lost that race. But I enjoy driving around here. With a bad car it is very tough but when you get a good car and you get the set up right it is such a buzz. It is such an adrenalin rush to get a lap out of a car around here as the whole time you are on the edge. There were a few corners when I thought I was going to be in the wall. I don't know if it was the same for these two but it was for me. But I got the lap done, so I am very happy.

Q:
Kimi, your third time starting from second on the grid. You said on Thursday that things could be better. What sort of improvements have you made to the car?

KR:
I mean the car is basically the same as the last race, so in that way we haven't changed it. There are still a few issues that are hurting all the time but we cannot change it right now. It is mainly for me but that is how it is. I mean it has been pretty good. On Thursday it was okay but all the time when the circuit seems to pick up grip we seem to improve the handling, so that seems to be a benefit for us. I am happy we are second after the start of the season but here it is not very good, so I am pretty disappointed not to be at the front as that gives you a massive edge in the race and that is more or less the only way to win the race, so we will see what we can do tomorrow and try to go for a win.

Q:
How much satisfaction does this give you after the season you have had so far?

KR:
Not much. I would rather have been in the front. It is nice to be second but still we lost the first place for a small margin but that's what we are aiming for and once we get there I will be happy. But especially in this race. In any other race it maybe doesn't make much difference but here the difference is much bigger between first and second. But it is going to be a long race, so we will see what we can do.

Q:
I think the team said that the car was better on the soft tyres rather than the super softs?

KR:
No, I did my fastest lap on the softer ones. Both of them work very well but they seem to be best.

Q:
Rubens, not quite the birthday present you were hoping for but you still can't be unhappy with it.

RB:
No, quite honestly I've had a great Saturday. Did everything I had to do in the morning, setting the car up and everything, so I was extremely happy. My fastest lap throughout the weekend is on a used set of tyres, which is quite amazing, to be honest with you, and we need to make an exercise to see why the new tyres are not working so much for me. As you could see, I did a 1m14.8s and with fuel in the car I did a 1m15.0s, so I've got to be extremely happy with that. I honestly, in front of him (Jenson Button), I can say I thought I had the upper hand because I had a good lap. I had everything and he did a 15.7s when I did a 15.4s, so I wasn't expecting... I was expecting someone to be around me and with the time that Kimi set, I was of course expecting something good, but I never thought Jenson could do a 14.9s. It is his fastest lap of the weekend, on the fuel, so it's a pretty amazing lap. So as soon as I got out of the car I asked him how he did it because I've done those laps] the whole weekend but not when it mattered. I am extremely happy. I did all I could do for the whole weekend and hopeful for tomorrow. My car is running well on a used set and we have plenty of laps on used sets tomorrow.

Q:
This is your best grid position in 17 qualifying sessions around here; what are your thoughts on the circuit?

RB:
I tell you, I love this place in qualifying and today my thought was 'don't leave anything, don't leave even a hair (breadth) for you to think oh, I should have done better.' I tell you, round the swimming pool I almost went flat through there. It was fantastic, I'm really proud of what I've achieved today. Unfortunately, it's still a tenth away from pole but I've got to be happy. Like I said, I've left nothing out of my car.