Saturday: Hülkenberg penalized and Pérez stops in Q2 for Force India
The Indian F1 team wasn't competitive enough over a lap to allow Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg to make it to Q3. Furthermore, the latter incurs a five-place penalty for a gearbox change. Both drivers hope that unforeseen circumstances will work in their favor.
Sergio Pérez (n°11) – 13th and 13th [12th on the grid]
The Mexican failed in Q2. He states: « It is very disappointing to miss out on a place in Q3 because the gaps were very small. My first lap in Q2 was very good, but in my second stint, I made a few mistakes that cost me two-tenths and a spot in the top 10. »
But he is quite confident for Sunday: « I think we will start roughly where we expected to be based on our pace over one lap, so we will try to move up and achieve a better race position tomorrow. »
Nico Hülkenberg (n°27) – 12th and 12th [17th on the grid]
The German driver explains that it was difficult to complete this fast lap on this circuit: « If you push harder at the start, you pay the price at the end of the lap, so the secret was to find the right balance throughout the lap. »
He also believes that the race will be challenging for him: « Having this five-place grid penalty tomorrow will be quite costly on this circuit since I think it will be difficult to overtake – it’s only possible on the two straights. […] You can’t do much with strategy since the tire degradation is very low. We expect this race to be very demanding in terms of fuel consumption, so maybe that will open up some opportunities for us. »
