Italian GP: Williams Saturday qualifying notes

Qualifying for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix almost replicated that of the last race in Turkey for the AT&T Williams team. Nico demonstrated his consistently strong qualifying ability by easily clearing Q2 and securing P8 from the final ten, making it his eighth top ten grid position this season. Alex Wurz will start the race from 13th which will allow him a more flexible strategy to fight for points.

Nico Rosberg:

"Eighth is a good result. We're looking quick, which shows how well our Toyota engine is working at the moment. This will give us a chance for a good race tomorrow, in terms of not being overtaken and then to be able to overtake. It is a very tight grid, but we have a strong car and we're looking ok in terms of strategy as well. There isn't much difference between strategies here and it will be interesting to see what will work best in the race."

Alex Wurz:

"It went ok today but it was quite challenging out there. We made a few small set-up adjustments this morning which worked out well and the car was good. Unfortunately, on my flying lap in Q2, I locked my front tyres too much going into the first corner and that cost me about one and a half tenths. That was my chance to get into the top ten gone but, from my starting position we can choose our strategy and I'm optimistic we can get in the points tomorrow."

Sam Michael, Technical Director:

"Today went well for the team. It was another capable performance from Nico and Alex made it through to Q2 and did a good job to get 13th place. We didn't encounter any real problems at all, both the tyres worked well and we're in a strong position for a positive race tomorrow. Strategy will be interesting tomorrow."

Nico Rosberg: 8th
Chassis/engine: FW29-05 H170
Time: 1:24.382

Alex Wurz: 13th
Chassis/engine: FW29-03 H177
Time: 1:23.209

-credit: williams