Saturday September 25th, 1999

Jordan

Eddie Jordan: "That was a fantastic qualifying session for Benson and Hedges Jordan," said Frentzen's boss, Eddie Jordan. "It was all very nerve wracking but in the end it worked out perfectly with the decision to come into change tyres in the pit lane allowing Heinz to take pole. Damon did an excellent job too, but went out that little bit too early. It is a great day for Jordan - our second ever pole, and a great day for Mr Honda who arrived just in time to see the end of the session."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen: "It feels fantastic to be on pole, especially here in Germany. We had a difficult time in the practice sessions with various problems, and we were not sure how quick we would be compared with our competitors. The only chance I had was to go for it in qualifying and we really got our act together and made the best out of the situation. We had a lot of discussions about when to go out and it was difficult to know what to do as no-one can predict what is going to happen, but in the end we got it right. When I went out at the end I saw that the track was drying out very quickly and I talked to my engineer about what we could do. We only had four and a half minutes and we took the decision to come in so the mechanics could change the tyres in the pit lane - that was a really key decision. Today we did an absolutely perfect job. The race will be tough but we will just have to do our best."

Damon Hill: "I am pretty happy with todayÆs session. It was very exciting and it could have been so easy to slip up and time things wrong and end up way down. So being just outside the top six is not bad. At one point I was at the sharp end which felt great. I feel very good and positive about the car and I am very pleased for Heinz-Harald and for the team for getting pole position because it shows we can be competitive on twisty tracks as well as high speed circuits. Eddie is sitting on a very strong team at the moment."

McLaren

David Coulthard: "I think today's qualifying was a good session to watch on the television but I think for all the teams and all the drivers it was a bit frustrating. You didn't know when to go out, how much fuel to run or when to change tyres - it all became a lottery - but as always we tried to make the best of the situation. The engineers took the right decisions in the circumstances and kept a good set up for the car and it worked in my favour."

Mika Hakkinen: "I wasn't too worried about the rain as the car is so good that I knew that we would be competitive. Of course the changeable conditions made life quite difficult and to be third on the grid is always disappointing, but I think we did the best we could today and we should be happy about the result. Naturally we hope that the weather will hold good for the race, but I feel confident that we have a car with good set ups for any weather condition."

Ron Dennis: "Whilst this type of qualifying is somewhat of a lottery, you are still able to minimise the odds. We had to cover our main opposition but at the same time make every effort to be on pole. We compromised the set up for the conditions which along with the usual end of qualifying traffic only saw us achieve second and third places on the grid. Which is not so bad in the circumstances."

Norbert Haug: "A thrilling qualifying session today which was only decided in the dying minutes. David and Mika have a good basis from which to start the race. Congratulations to Heinz-Harald Frentzen for his first pole of the season."

Williams

Ralf Schumacher: "Today's qualifying session was a true gamble. When you have qualifying like this, you can win everything or loose everything. I am very happy because I ended up in a strong position, but if you look at Alex and Frentzen, for example, the first lost it all the second won all. With such weather conditions everything is about being out on the track at the right time. You could go out at the last minute and waste your fast lap with a yellow flag or with a slow car in front of you, as happened to Alex, so you always need a bit of luck."

Prost

Olivier Panis: "It truly gives me great pleasure to start from fifth place on the grid. All weekend, I have worked closely with the engineers and all the rest of the team. I was quick yesterday and very happy with the balance of the car. Alain Prost, Alan Jenkins and Vincent Gaillardot judged the track conditions perfectly this afternoon and we did well to wait to the final minutes to go out. I was really on the limit in my last lap and it was just as I hoped and imagined. Rain is predicted for tomorrow, but that will create the conditions which I like very much and the car is well balanced for the wet. So; I qm very confident."

Jarno Trulli: "After the first run on wet tyres, I had a good feeling on the drying track. I was second after my second to last run. I went out for the last run with five minutes remaining, on a track which was almost dry. Unfortunately; I was slowed by traffic on my fastest lap : a Sauber and a Ferrari were on their way back into the pits. I must check the data with my engineer, as I struggled to find the same performance in a straight line as I had today. It will be an open and interesting race."

Alain Prost: "Everyone did their times in the same conditions this afternoon. We did well to judge the possibility of doing three runs on slicks. The drivers did their job without any mistakes. Olivier did a superb lap and Jarno was a little blocked. I am truly happy to have a car on the third row and both drivers in the top ten. In these changing and humid conditions, the team always worked fast and well. There was very good coordination between the mechanics and the engineers. Tomorrow; if the conditions are difficult, we will be in a good position and we can hope for a good result."

Benetton

Giancarlo Fisichella: "Unfortunately I missed the chance to improve on my last flying lap. I came out of a corner on the white line which was still wet, the car skidded and I lost a couple of tenths. Sixth position is a satisfactory place to start the race from tomorrow, but the car felt good today so it is frustrating not have qualified a bit higher up."

Ferrari

Eddie Irvine: "I am very disappointed because we were capable of getting on the front row today. On my penultimate lap I was held up by traffic. Then on my last lap I locked my rear brakes on a damp patch, went onto the grass and that was the end of it. This is a poor result, but we have not given up. The race will be a different story. Assuming it is dry tomorrow afternoon, I am confident I have made the right tyre choice. Combined with our good reliable car, this will allow me to be as aggressive as I need to be."

Mika Salo: " Our strategy did not work out and the track dried too much at the end of the session. However, I am confident we will be much stronger in the race. When it did dry, I had another car in front of me on my quickest lap. Its amazing how some people do not look in their mirrors. This position is not the best start for tomorrow, but with a strong car and a well planned strategy, we can do something good in the race."

Jean Todt: "Qualifying was run in difficult conditions. Unfortunately, Eddie spun on his fastest lap. The difference between the cars is very close, but our cars are in the middle of the grid, while our closest rivals are in the top three places. Therefore this is not an ideal situation for the race. Tomorrow, just as today, the weather conditions will play a determining role. Choosing the right strategy will be equally important."

Stewart

Johnny Herbert: "It was annoying to have the problem on my first out lap. The car simply died on me so I had to run back to the pits and get into the spare car. I found the throttle pedal on the spare car quite limp which took some getting used to. I missed out on getting in another lap before the end of the session by a couple of seconds. I came up behind one of the Arrows heading in to the straight and got round him with the light still green. However as I crossed the line I looked up to see the red light. It was a shame because we made a set-up change before my final run and the car felt much better over the kerbs and I'm sure I could have improved my time."

Rubens Barrichello: "It was an eventful session. I was a hero for the first half an hour when I was quickest in the wet but by the end I finished 15th, so I haven't made things easy for the race. I caught traffic on my last flying lap which didn't help because my target was the top eight. We decided to go for just one long run at the end. In hindsight the strategy didn't work because just when I had the tyres working I found myself without a clear track."

Paul Stewart, Chief Operating Officer: "There are good and bad days in Formula One and today was a bad one for us, culminating in our low grid positions. The weather made it a bit of a lottery for everybody, and we were one of the teams that came out worse. Both Rubens and Johnny were held up on their last flying laps which prevented us from improving our qualifying performance."

Martin Whitaker, Director of Ford Racing, Europe: "We had obviously hoped for better today. The result is even harder to bear knowing they are our worst qualifying positions this year. Both drivers had a difficult afternoon and Johnny's wasn't helped by having to qualify in the spare car."