European GP: Wiliams Saturday qualifying notes

The AT&T Williams pairing of Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz will line up in 11th and 12th places respectively on the grid for tomorrow's European Grand Prix. In one of the most closely contested qualifying sessions of the season so far, just one second separated the top ten at the end of Q2, with Nico and Alex missing out on a place in the deciding round by just one tenth of a second. The team will now have the advantage of selecting which strategy to run, while the temperamental weather conditions of the Eifel region could also promote an unpredictable result.

Nico Rosberg:

"Today I really got everything I could out of the car but I think a position in the top ten could have been possible. What cost me time was the traffic I met in the last corner of my fastest lap. I had so much understeer behind the car in front and that cost me the tenth and a half I needed to make it into Q3. Anyway, 11th is better than 10th, because we now have the option of what strategy to go for tomorrow and points are possible from this position."

Alex Wurz:

"It was so tight today. I missed Q3 by such a small margin. I was very close to Nico and looking good for a place in the top ten because I've felt really comfortable with the car every time I've been out on track. I was hoping to finish 8th; 12th is acceptable, but I'm not really happy. I'm disappointed because we are competitive and I should have done better today. The Renaults and Webber picked up some speed right at the last minute as well which hurt us."

Sam Michael, Technical Director:

"It was frustrating not to get both cars into the top ten as we looked close enough all weekend to do that. However, from 11th and 12th on the grid, we're free to work with our fuel strategy so we'll put all efforts and concentration into that now. The long run pace of the car has been good as well. We'll now look to make some progress up the order tomorrow with the target of getting points."

Nico Rosberg
Chassis/engine: FW29-05 H150
11th, 1:31.978

Alex Wurz
Chassis/engine: FW29-03 H149
12th, 1:31.996

-credit: williams