Mark Webber:
"The Australian Grand Prix is always a special fixture on the F1 calendar because there’s a tremendous atmosphere at Albert Park. It is also probably one of the best organised Grands Prix of the season. Of course, it’s particularly rewarding for me to drive in front of my home fans and I’m really looking forward to seeing how the weekend will unfold. Melbourne has finished staging a very successful Commonwealth Games so there’s already a big buzz around the city and an exciting Grand Prix will be a fantastic way to top off the past few weeks.

The recent pace of the FW28 has been encouraging and, although we had a double retirement in Malaysia which was a big shame, there’s no question we’d like a big points haul in Melbourne. With the race a month later than normal this year, the weather could be a lot cooler, and potentially quite inconsistent, so that could be a factor as well. I’m more than ready for the race weekend and I’ve been in Australia for over a week now and spent a great few days down in Tasmania working on the Mark Webber Challenge which we launched in Melbourne on Tuesday. I was able to do some trekking, cycling and paddling in a kayak in some of the most spectacular and remote locations in the world. It was awesome!"

Nico Rosberg:
"I’m looking forward to Melbourne and continuing our strong performance. I haven’t been before, but I’ve heard that Melbourne is a lot of fun so it’s going to be good. The cooler temperatures will be a bit of a change from what we’ve experienced at the last two races, but I believe that we have made some improvements in order to be just as strong in cooler conditions."

Sam Michael Technical Director:
"s with all street circuits, Melbourne has low grip levels due to all the contaminants that end up on roads from general traffic. Normally this means there is a high rate of track progression as the rubber from Formula One tyres is laid down over the course of the race weekend. With only two high speed sections and a combination of slow and medium speed corners, the car can be set-up more softly than usual. As the power level has dropped with the introduction of V8 technology, so too has braking energy. This results in lower brake wear and lower brake temperatures compared to that seen in previous years.

Another significant difference this year is that the Australian Grand Prix is being held a month later than normal due to the Commonwealth Games. This means that the temperature is likely to be lower and more variable, with a high chance of rain during the weekend. The most immediate impact this will have is on tyre choice. We have been tyre testing in Valencia this week as it most closely represents the Melbourne circuit, and will help us make our decision this weekend.

Both cars will have new engines for Melbourne, with an upgrade to the part that failed on Nico’s car in Malaysia. The problem on Mark’s car in Malaysia was a cracked hydraulics pipe which we have also addressed.

Pit-stop strategy will again be interesting as we’ve seen a lot of different approaches from the teams over the first two races this year. We are confident that the FW28 will be competitive and are looking forward to a good race."

Simon Corbyn Head of F1 Race Engineering, Cosworth:
"Mark and Nico will both start the Australian Grand Prix weekend with fresh CA2006 Series 2 engines. The Melbourne engines incorporate an update in response to the failure in Malaysia and this has been tested both on the dyno and in Valencia last week.

Feedback on the CA2006 engine performance from the first two races has been very positive so we’re looking forward to the weekend in Melbourne with WilliamsF1."