Saturday: McLaren on the 3rd row, Magnussen ahead of Button
McLaren in constant improvement ahead of both Ferraris and both Red Bulls. Kevin Magnussen leads his experienced teammate despite disrupted Saturday morning practice sessions. Jenson Button completes the top three for the Woking greys.
Kevin Magnussen (No. 20) – 11th and 5th
After some inconsistent free practice sessions, the young Dane is very happy to finish fifth and outpace his world champion teammate. He states: « Fifth and sixth is very solid for the team. In reality, I didn’t think our qualifying pace would be this good. I’m really happy to have the power of the Mercedes engine behind me – and with a bit of luck, we could fight with the other Mercedes-powered competitors ahead of us. The Williams seem a bit stronger than us, and the Mercedes obviously too, but I think we have every chance to score big points. »
Jenson Button (No. 22) – 5th and 6th
During his quick lap in Q3, the Brit lost a bit of time in Lesmo. However, he thinks he is ranked a bit better than expected. He comments: “I’m a little surprised by Williams’ speed – we didn’t expect them to be so far ahead of us – but we are the third best team over a single lap, which is good. I think it will be a bit more competitive in the race: our pace on the long runs on Friday was a bit tricky for us. So we’ll try to do better for tomorrow’s race. It will also be hotter on Sunday, which could potentially help us. So we’ll see what happens in the race.”
