2010 BAHRAIN GP: POST QUALIFYING QUOTES

Sebastian Vetel, Red Bull:
"A big surprise!. In winter testing no one really knew where he was. It was clear there were four teams were pretty strong, but close to each other. To be honest yesterday was a tough day for us, we had not as much running as we hoped for. Another long night, especially mechanics with not much sleep and a lot of long faces, but they were keen this morning to keep pushing.

"I knew we had a great car, but obviously first of all we had to get it together. Qualifying went pretty smoothly. I am very, very happy to be on pole, the boys didn't get much sleep in the last month, a lot of testing in a short amount of time and to come here, where everybody shows how strong they are, and come out on top is a nice feeling. I think we all don't know what is going to be happen tomorrow yet, it could be very exciting, it could be very boring. That is what I hope for! We want a calm race, all of us here would like to be where we start, it is a difficult situation to be in. The first part of the race will be crucial but there is no secret that you need to take care of tyres. All of us don't know what to expect tomorrow."

Felipe Massa, Ferrari:
"First of all, congratulations to Sebastian who did a great job for first race of the season. It is nice to be back racing and competitive in the right direction. I feel happy to be back after such a difficult time. I was watching races on TV but it's more exciting to be in the car. I am in a good direction, testing, driving go-karts, so it's great to be back for racing.

"If you look what happened to us, it is a good start for us. I feel very positive to start in second and third, it feels great. For sure Red Bull and some teams are strong, so the race will be difficult but I am happy here to be fighting for top. I think we did a good job yesterday to prepare for a long distance. We used both tyres and swapped tyres on the long runs. I think we are in the right direction so let's see how we are going to be in the race tomorrow. There are many things that will happen in the race, let's wait and see but I am really optimistic."

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari:
"I am very happy obviously. At is the first race, there are many things to answer in the first race with a long winter with a big difference in fuel loads, in all the tests and yesterday in practice, you never know what the competitors are running. We were excited about the first qualifying of the season, so now to have both drivers in the top three means we have a very competitive car. We thought so, but you need to confirm and it has been great, a great day and I think it is some kind of nice feeling to realise that we are in the fight because you never know until qualifying."

"You never now how you will start the new championship with a big change in the regulations this, and for me also changing teams. For me everything has been great and it is a very good start. Now we were in equal conditions, qualifying with no fuel showed the potential of the cars, so it showed we have a good car. It is very important to start scoring points from the first race. I don't know what the strategy will be, you need to be flexible, clever enough to understand the race, understand the situation, make pitstops wherever is necessary. This will not be determined or planned, we will be very flexible."