• Monaco Grand Prix - Qualifying

Position should help strategy - Webber

Mark Webber was second quickest in Q3 but will start from pole position © Press Association

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• Report:
• Schumacher takes Monaco pole before penalty
  

• Race:
• Monaco Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Mark Webber

• Teams:
• Red Bull

Mark Webber expects Red Bull to have an easier time managing the race in Monaco by starting the grand prix from pole position.

Although Michael Schumacher set the fastest time of qualifying, a grid penalty handed to him following the Spanish Grand Prix means he will start five places further back, leaving Webber on pole. Looking ahead to the challenge of Monaco, Webber said the starting position would make strategy less difficult but that it would still be a difficult race.

"We know track position round here is important so you need to keep that as much as you can and you also have the chess match," Webber said. "Off the front here is a little bit easier for the guys in terms of strategy for them to look for a place for you to drop in to in terms of stops. We know overtaking here is notorious. Then there's obviously a long grand prix. Concentration for the drivers; we're going to have phases of the grand prix where the tyres will be fresh, the tyres will be very tired, so you have to be ready for that."

Having only been 0.080s off Schumacher's pole time, Webber said it was a qualifying session that he enjoyed.

"It was an amazing session wasn't it? It was very, very close. Q3 was tight between the first few rows obviously there were some different tyre strategies with different people getting to the difficult part of qualifying with different sets of tyres and in the end it was a good little battle. Michael did a good lap - fair play to him - but it's nice to move up a position, of all places it's good start towards the front here and I'm really looking forward to the race tomorrow."

Webber also praised the recovery by Red Bull, saying the team had delivered him with a good car having had work to do on Thursday.

"I felt comfortable in the car, which is important round here; you need to go to the absolute limit everywhere to get the maximum out of the car and squeeze everything you can. Q1 went well, so then we started to win a few sets of option tyres. The Q3 laps I was pretty happy with, some corners I got them really, really good and other corners there was a little bit here and there. But it's a great effort from the whole team, we were probably a little bit on the ropes on Thursday night; reacted really, really well, we got the maximum out of it. Clearly it's a story - Michael's day - he's done a great lap but in general we are right there and we're going to have a good race tomorrow I'm sure."

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