Stewart

Rubens Barrichello: "I'm so happy for everyone in the team. I was confident after being fastest this morning and when the rain came for qualifying I felt that would give me an edge. Everyone has worked so hard, we knew we had a good car this year and days like today prove that we can compete with the best." Barrichello, by the way, will be rewarded for his achivement with a gold Rolex watch by Jackie Stewart, who primised this prize to Barrichello in advance. "I was very happy that he remembered about the watch, I am so proud and happy - this is great for the team.

"I thought it was best to get a time in the bank because my information was that the weather would deteriorate. When I saw Jean Alesi go out so early I said to the crew 'let's go'. It worked in my favour because the rain persisted. When I went out again late in the session for another run the track was so wet I knew that my time couldn't be beaten. The forecast is for more rain tomorrow, so if I can have a clean race, I'd love to deliver a win for the Stewart-Ford team."

Johnny Herbert: "Most teams seemed to have used the same weather man who predicted it was going to clear up towards the end of the session! We decided to wait and then do 12 laps in one go to take advantage of what we thought were going to be drying conditions. However as the session wore on it became obvious the rain was going to continue so we had to make set-up changes which took some time. I set my fastest time in the race car and was going to stay out. My race car developed a problem with the electronics so I had to go back and get in the spare car. Unfortunately it had a lower set-up than the race car which was no good in today's conditions."

Paul Stewart, SGP Deputy Chairman: "A team's first pole position is always very special. I'm extremely happy for Rubens and everybody in the Stewart-Ford team who have been aiming for this for a long time. I arrived at Magny Cours confident that we would put in a good performance whether it was wet or dry. However it seems we had an edge in the wet and chose the right strategy. I'm sure Johnny would have been up there with Rubens if he had been able to stay out in his race car."

Martin Whitaker, Director, Ford Racing, Europe: "We are absolutely delighted with the Stewart-Ford team's first pole position. This is Ford's 139th pole position - a record unequalled by any other manufacturer - and our first since the Japanese Grand Prix in 1994. Everybody has worked hard throughout the weekend and even though we chose the correct strategy for qualifying, when Rubens went out early, our potential was underlined in this morning's Free Practice where Rubens was fastest as well."

Sauber

Jean Alesi: "Obviously I am feeling extremely happy. This is my tenth anniversary since I came into F1, so this is the biggest present I could have. For today, it is enough. Now I am really looking forward to a party with my team. After my accident yesterday, they did a fantastic job, working all night to complete my car, so this is a present for them. To start the French GP from the front row is a dream. For sure, I have my greatest chance with my best-ever starting position for my home race and I am feeling confident for tomorrow."

Peter Sauber: "The front row for Jean and 11th for Pedro is a fantastic result for us. My congratulations to Jean and his engineers for having the courage to go out first in extremely difficult track conditions."

Prost

Olivier Panis: "What a great result for everyone! I am very happy for the whole team, and for myself, to have clocked the third best time of the session and to start from the second row of the grid. It is perfect for this to happen here at our home race as it is true that we have a lot of pressure on us. We are a French team, with a French engine and a French driver. It is truly wonderful. It is some repayment too for all the work done by the team since the start of the season and this is already evident in the good spirit among the troops. But we must not forget that tomorrow is another day, and I hope that it does not rain as hard during the race because it is so difficult to stay on the track in these conditions. The engine is more driveable in these conditions and my car behaves very well: I like driving in this weather..."

Jarno Trulli: "Bravo to all the team for a great result today. The engineers had to choose the right moment to go out and Olivier profited from the situation and took his risks at the right time. It was well done. When my engineer decided to go out, I had hoped to wait a few more minutes, but I made a mistake and it was this which cost me my chance of a better time. I went out again at the end of the session, but I didn't have a chance as there was so much more water on the circuit by then. The race could be very difficult if the conditions are as bad as they were today, becuase the visibility is reduced so much in the rain."

Alain Prost: "It is a very good thing that Olivier starts from the second row tomorrow and we are very happy with this outcome today particularly as it is our home French Grand Prix. We are delighted in the team, but also for all the public and for all our supporters. Olivier and Jarno have worked very well even if our grid positions have come as a result of the wet conditions. We have not had any technical problems since the start of the weekend and we are going to make the most of that situation in tomorrow's race. Brave to everyone!"

McLaren

David Coulthard: "Given the conditions in which we ran I am happy with my lap times. Clearly running at the beginning of the session was the wise thing to do, but even though we missed that window and, considering the weather, I am delighted to be starting the race from the second row of the grid."

Mika Hakkinen: "Well, it is impossible to make excuses because the weather conditions were the same for everybody. It just felt as though the yellow flags were worse for me! I was not able to feel confident in the car and that is why I have qualified in fourteenth position. But then again you have to be positive and optimistic for the race tomorrow - after all that is when you score the points."

Ron Dennis: "With the benefit of hindsight it would have been better to have gone out in the early part of the session. But our job is to cover the competition which David did exceptionally well. Mika's final run however, was disrupted by multiple yellow flags as a result of most of the field taking to the greener parts of the Magny Cours circuit."

Norbert Haug: "Looking back on practice we obviously got the timing wrong but David still did a great job under the most difficult conditions. One Ferrari is behind him and the other is behind Mika which is at least a positive outcome from this qualifying. Congratulations to Rubens Barichello and the Stewart Ford team who predicted it correctly today."

Jordan

Heinz-Harald Frentzen: "It was completely crazy out there. Thank God nothing serious happened. It was so difficult to keep the car straight as the track was so slippery and I was aquaplaning everywhere. I was lucky though and made a good time. It is easy to be wise after the session has ended and say we should have gone out sooner, but it could have dried out - and in fact almost as soon as we stopped the rain stopped. We decided to go out when we did to avoid the traffic. We expected most people would go out with 25 minutes to go, so we went out with about 28 minutes to go."

Damon Hill: "Today illustrates the difficulties that I have been going through this year and shows why I have announced that I am going to retire. Normally I enjoy driving in the wet, but not today. I was not able to get the best out of myself and the car, which is extremely frustrating for me and for the team. I must say that these were the worst conditions I have ever experienced in a qualifying session. It was extremely treacherous."

Ferrari

Michael Schumacher: "This was a chaotic session. Track conditions were very dangerous with a lot of aquaplaning and there was a risk of spinning even on the straights. We chose to go out late, because usually, other cars improve the conditions on the racing line. Today this did not happen and so we learned something new. If the weather is the same tomorrow, it will be a very difficult and dangerous race. Therefore I hope it will be dry and everyone can have a normal race."

Eddie Irvine: "It was a major tactical error not to go out early. I found my car difficult to drive on these tyres and was aquaplaning everywhere. Then, on my last run, when I was heading for a better time, I came across a car going slowly through the chicane and I spun trying to avoid him. My power steering had failed as I left the pits on my last run, so that did not help either. I lost more time as I was weighed twice by the scrutineers. My grid position will make for a very exciting race!"

Jean Todt: "This was a nightmare qualifying session. By the time we went out on the track it was too late. It was then a case of damage limitation as it was just a lottery with all that water on the track. Michael came out of it sixth and Eddie seventeenth. The cars had no grip. Given that people complain there is too little overtaking in Formula 1, I think tomorrow there will be a lot. With this grid, it will be a very open race and anything could happen."

BAR

Jacques Villeneuve: "I'm a bit frustrated with this grid position, particularly as this morning we tried some different set ups which made a big difference to the car's handling, even on old tyres. I feel that the rain has resulted in us missing a good opportunity. In qualifying I did a few laps when it wasn't so wet, but then I got some traffic and had to back off. By the time I came round again for another quick lap the rain was really coming down, and it was impossible to go faster."

Ricardo Zonta: "The car was too low on my first run and it was acquaplaning a lot. We raised the ride height and it was a little better on my second run, but not much, and it was difficult to stay on the track. My qualifying lap was luckily quite clear - only Michael Schumacher was in front of me. I'm very pleased with my grid position because Craig had told me to try and make the top ten.

Craig Pollock, Managing Director: "We had a difficult qualifying session in these wet conditions, so I am very pleased that Ricardo got into the top ten. Jacques did not manage to get his flying lap at the right time and was held up by traffic, but then so did Hakkinen and Irvine, both of whom are behind us on the grid."

Robert Synge, Team Manager: "After the changes which we made overnight and our improved lap times this morning, we were hopeful of getting both cars into the top ten today, but the rain rather spoiled things. It would have been better to go out earlier but we thought it was likely the water would clear with more cars out on the track. Unfortunately that did not happen. We had no problems with either car, and our drivers did a good job in very difficult conditions."

Williams

Alex Zanardi: "As a Team, we together decided to wait for better track condition before going out of the garage. This wasn't unfortunately the right choice, but I think that many others teams made the same mistake. Now we must try to build something good for tomorrow."

Ralf Schumacher: "First of all, I went out a little too late but, to be honest, I did not expect the weather conditions to become worse. At the beginning of the session, when it was raining hard, I thought it would get better but unfortunately this did not happen. Anyway, when I finally went out I had some problem with the engine: I don't know why, but I felt I had no power when I opened the throttle. Furthermore, I wasn't so happy with the set up of my car. We will see what the weather forecast is for tomorrow. If it's going to be wet we have a lot of work to do but if it's going to be dry I believe that we can do a good job with the Winfield-WilliamsF1 team, even if I will be starting from the 16th position. This is near the back of the grid. I don't remember when I have ever been that far back!"

Patrick Head, Technical Director: "We got caught out by the worsening weather. Furthermore, on Ralf's car there appeared to be some engine problem. We certainly expected, if the track had been dry, to qualify well in the first ten with both cars but now we are in a very poor position on the grid. So we must do our best to try to achieve a good result in tomorrow's race."