US GP: Williams Saturday qualifying notes

Comments from the Williams team after qualifying for the US Grand Prix

Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1:

"We missed Q2 with Nico and Mark narrowly missed out on Q3 by one and a half tenths. The car should be stronger on race pace tomorrow with our tyre choice and the set-up we have selected for Sunday, but clearly our target is to run in the final qualifying session, so we have a lot of work to do. The cars ran without problems and now we will look at our race strategy to see how we can get some points out of tomorrow."

Mark Webber:

"We need a lot more grip than we could muster today, a bit like the situation in Montreal, but the pace of the Ferraris is very strong, indicating the tyres are okay, so we just need to work harder with the car. We have struggled on the infield section all weekend, balancing wing level, top speed and grip. Sunday sometimes shows a different pace relative to the competition, so we'll see tomorrow, but it might be quite tough for us."

Nico Rosberg:

"Going out in the first session is not what we wanted but it was very difficult and I couldn't feel the car properly, the grip wasn't there and if I can't feel the car, I can't push for those extra few tenths without making a mistake. We don't really know where the problem is, but we knew today would be difficult for us."

Sean O'Mahony, Principal Engineer -- F1 Race Engineering, Cosworth Ltd:

"Today we basically worked through the programme and we had no engine issues. Here at Indianapolis there is probably more opportunity to overtake than some other circuits, so we need to work with Williams to maximise available engine power for tomorrow's race."

Mark Webber: 12th
Chassis FW28 03
Engine: CA2006 019, 2nd GP
Time: 1:12.292

Nico Rosberg: 19th
Chassis FW28 04
Engine: CA2006/022, 1st GP
Time: 1:13.506

-williams-