Q & A with Mario Theissen

Mario Theissen: No, actually not, and especially not after yesterday's practice session. Whereas Ferrari and McLaren were able to put in quick laps right away, we were far from them. We really had to work out way up through the practice sessions is order to get the car tuned correctly. And apparently the engineers and the drivers did a great job. Everything was perfect today in the afternoon.

Q. How realistic are your positions today to see where BMW stand?

MT: I don't know. I have no idea about what the others did, because it's the first time with he new regulations. I expect the first stint generally to become shorter because you have to carry all the fuel in qualifying, but maybe teams take different approaches in the early races. We will see. I have no idea where we are compared to the other.

Q. Do you think Robert could have been on pole position?

MT: Absolutely. That (the error) was more than two tenths. It was really great how he managed to keep the car under control. It was possible, it was more than that.

Q. How much do you think he lost?

MT: I didn't check, but I would expect between two and three tenths.

Q. Considering where the team were in the first Valencia test, it must be very encouraging to be here at this stage.

MT: That's true. I think we can see now that it paid off to take a risk and take an aggressive approach. Obviously when we launched the car we all hoped it would be quick out of the box, but after the tests I couldn't expect us to be that close already in the first race.

Q. Do you think you are can for the win tomorrow?

MT: I think we are reasonably strong in race trim. We had some good long runs. It all depends on the length of the first stint, (but) I have no idea. I mean, having gone through a season you normally can normally estimate, but not in the first race with new regulations.

Q. This is Robert's first start from the front row. He has really progressed, hasn't he?

MT: Yes, he has prepared himself very well for the season. He is very motivated. He has a close relationship with his new race engineer and a good relationship with the team. He's got the feeling that he can achieve something this year, so I expect a lot from him.

Q. He was disappointed last year.

MT: Yeah, he expected more. But it was his first season. We can't forget that, and he shouldn't forget that. And he can put it behind this year.

Q. What do you think about the starts? Some engineers say their analysis show Ferrari are number one, a lot of teams are in the middle and McLaren are at the bottom..

MT: Really? First time I hear that. I think it should be okay. We were not very consistent in the tests but it should be sorted out now and I'm confident about the starts.

Q. What's the approach for tomorrow's race? Are you taking risks or just trying to reach the podium and be happy with that?

MT: I would be happy with a podium, of course, but we won't hold back. If there's a chance, we will take it.

Q. What did you feel when Robert went wide?

MT: Actually nothing, because I didn't see it. I only saw it after he had crossed the line and in hindsight, it was clear that he was definitely on a pole lap.

Q. You said on Thursday that you were still targeting a win this season, but later on. Do you think this could be it already?

MT: Well, it is two days later already... We'll see. Apparently we are closer than we expected, at least here and today. I don't know when it will happen, but I'm really confident we can do it.