Italian GP: Jaguar Saturday qualifying notes

The second phase of qualifying at Monza today saw Jaguar Racing drivers Mark Webber and Justin Wilson qualify in 11th and 15th places respectively. Both drivers experienced trouble-free laps and improved upon their best times from the warm-up session. The team has spent all day working on race preparation and both Free Practice sessions this morning were aimed at maximising upon tyre and fuel strategies going into the 51-lap race tomorrow.

Dr Mark Gillan - Head of Vehicle Performance:

"A productive day but the pace of the Jaguar R4 around this Monza circuit is not completely to our satisfaction. The team has done an excellent job today in working through a comprehensive programme aimed at race preparation. Both drivers also performed well and managed clean laps that were an improvement on their best times from the warm-up session."

"As always, we have worked hard on our qualifying lap but we are very much looking towards the race distance as it will be tomorrow that the points are up for grabs. We have not suffered from any reliability issues today after what has been a good number of laps between both drivers. A tough race beckons tomorrow and it will be very interesting indeed to see the strategies of our competitors against what we have decided."

Mark Webber:

"I am pretty happy with that lap. I do not think there was much more time left to extract from the car and it will be very interesting to see what happens in the race tomorrow. Monza has been a tough build-up for us and we are certainly not as quick here compared to some other circuits we have raced at this year. We are, however, learning all the time and trying to maintain the upward trend. Our problem here has been compounded a little by how competitive we were in Budapest. The car and tyre combination was strong and naturally the expectation level goes up but it is extremely hard to be on that kind of pace at every race. We are a little disappointed, yes, but anything can happen tomorrow. The tyre war is very close and it will be a tough fight tomorrow throughout the whole field."

Justin Wilson:

"After what was a frustrating day yesterday, today has been much better. The track is certainly better without the strong winds that were evident yesterday and I am pleased with my lap given the strategy I am on for tomorrow's race. There was quite a bit of grip out there today but I was being careful not to overdo the lap. There is obviously more time in the car but it is very important that I generate the required experience with the team and discover fully the limits of the car. Unlike other circuits where overtaking is tough, the starting position here at Monza is not the be all and end all. Overtaking opportunities are plentiful and given that I have yet to finish a race with Jaguar, my aim is to make it to the end of 51-laps tomorrow."

Mark Webber
Position: 11th
Best time: 1:22.754
Chassis: R4-03
T-Car: R4-04

Justin Wilson
Position: 15th
Best time: 1:23.484
Chassis: R4-05

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