Australia: Qualifying Seen from the Pits

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton – Pole position

**Nico Rosberg** – 3rd

Toto Wolff, Executive Director of the team: This is the kind of qualifying session where mistakes are easy to make – and the team managed things well. We had our cars on track at the right time and handled the changing conditions effectively. For the final stint in Q3, both our drivers chose to run on wet tires because we were not sure how quickly the track would dry.

Lewis did a very good job to secure pole position on his last lap, while Nico was also first when he crossed the line at the end of his last stint, even though he eventually finished 3rd. After working hard to get there, it’s nice to have left with good starting positions following a complicated session.

We are also proud to have clinched the 100th pole position for a Mercedes-Benz engine in Formula 1, which is a pleasant achievement. But points are only won on Sunday, and we know the race will be challenging in terms of fuel consumption and reliability. We will leave no stone unturned tonight to ensure we are in the best possible situation for tomorrow.

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Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo – 2nd

Sebastian Vettel – 13th [12th on the grid]

Christian Horner, Team Principal: « It was incredible for Dan today. He has really been relaxed all weekend. He was on fire during all three parts of qualifying, and all credit goes to him for his front row start for his home race and debut with us. It was unfortunate for Seb. [An issue with] his engine software means he lost power with precarious handling, and we need to understand that, as it compromised his qualifying, but we are really thrilled for Dan. The car is good – our weakness is on the straights, and in the wet, you can’t go as fast in a straight line, so we need to work on that. Starting from the front row tomorrow is unexpected, it has been a phenomenal performance. »

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McLaren

Kevin Magnussen – 4th

Jenson Button – 11th [10th on the grid]

Eric Boullier, Competition Director: The very first qualification of a rookie is always intimidating, even more so when the rain has made the track difficult and treacherous. Despite everything, Kevin brilliantly managed these conditions […] to finish 4th.

The exit of Kimi did not happen at the right time […] it prevented [Jenson] from being able to complete his last lap. As a result, he narrowly missed out on getting into Q3.

However, with the conditions expected to be changeable tomorrow, he will be able to use all his skills and experience to make an effort to score as many points as possible. As for Kevin, he is very well placed to have a memorable first Grand Prix.

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Ferrari

Fernando Alonso – 5th

Kimi Räikkönen – 12th [11th on the grid]

Pat Fry, Chassis Technical Director: It’s not new to qualify in the rain in Melbourne, but today, in addition to the wet track, the drivers had to manage all the new technologies introduced by the regulations. We are not satisfied with the final result, even though the F14-T is still under development, and I believe the team is working in the right direction to catch up with our rivals, especially Mercedes, who confirmed today the form they showed during the winter testing.

Our positions on the starting grid suggest a tough battle during the race, especially for Kimi, and we can expect unforeseen issues related to reliability and fuel consumption to play a significant role. Regarding reliability, we are paying close attention to every little detail. At the moment, we cannot afford the slightest distraction, with such complex systems, the unpredictable comes into play. In terms of race pace, we have seen that some teams were faster than us, and I think the first race of the year will bring its share of surprises, hopefully in our favor.

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Toro Rosso

Jean-Eric Vergne – 6th

Daniil Kvyat – 8th

Ricardo Penteado, Engine Chief of Renault Sport F1: « Incredible result! This morning, we had some cooling issues with JEV’s car, but thanks to the data from Daniil, we were able to come back very strong in the afternoon. »

« The changing conditions were challenging for the new hybrid power units, and it was very easy to make a mistake in the settings, but we successfully managed the charging phase and energy management. »

« Having two cars in the Top 10 in our first race together is a fantastic start to our collaboration, but we know the big moment is tomorrow. »

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Force India

Nico Hülkenberg – 7th

Sergio Pérez – 16th

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal: « It’s very promising to see Nico qualify in 7th position in such challenging conditions. He always excels in the rain, and today he seemed very comfortable regardless of the conditions.

Sergio had a more complicated session, and unfortunately the weather changed at the wrong moment because he was coming in to put on new tires, which made it difficult to improve. I think he will be better in the race and improve his position because our pace during practice suggests that we can fight for points.

The weather will surely play an important role, with a higher risk of rain tomorrow, so we must prepare for all possible conditions.

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Williams

Felipe Massa – 9th

Valtteri Bottas – 10th [15th on the grid after penalty]

Rod Nelson, Chief Test Engineer: « It was a turbulent qualifying session with changing weather conditions, which impacted us in the end. We performed well in Q1 and Q2, but we couldn’t make the most of the intermediates at the end of Q3, so we didn’t achieve the expected times in the final stints.

Overall, it was still a promising start and we showed good pace, especially in the dry. We are not expecting rain tomorrow so this should help Felipe and Valtteri gain positions and we hope to bring both our cars to the finish and into the points.

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Sauber

Adrian Sutil – 14th [13th on the grid]

Esteban Gutiérrez – 20th [21st on the grid after penalty]

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: Overall, it was a spectacular qualifying session for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, with an outcome that might have surprised many people. We knew it would be difficult for us.

Esteban lost a lot of time during the first session yesterday and again today with all the free practice 3. This was obviously not optimal, as every lap is precious at the start of the season to gain as much experience as possible with the new car. Adrian extracted the maximum possible from the car.

With our starting positions, tomorrow will be a challenge because we are not where we want to be in terms of performance. Our goal is to maximize our opportunities in the race tomorrow.

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Marussia

Max Chilton – 17th

Jules Bianchi – 18th

John Booth, Team Principal: « We knew it would be a complicated day, but it would have been nice to see and demonstrate a bit more of our performance level. From Max’s perspective, he had a trouble-free first stint and was able to put in a good clean lap. For Jules, the continuation of an electronic problem compromised his stint.

We were lucky to avoid the downpour at the start of the session, but it caught up with us in the end and we weren’t able to go out and improve. We’re not too discouraged though. There’s still a long way to go to optimize the car and there are many positive moments ahead.

For tomorrow, one defined thing is that we do not know what the race will bring, so we remain optimistic and we will see what opportunities arise.

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Caterham

Kamui Kobayashi – 15th [14th on the grid]

Marcus Ericsson – 19th

Caterham has not released statements from the team’s representatives.

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Lotus

Romain Grosjean – 21st [20th on the grid]

Pastor Maldonado – No time [22nd on the grid]

Alan Permane, Track Operations Director: « Today was not a reflection of all the hard work done at Enstone and on the track to put us where we want to be. Qualifying at the back of the grid is not why we are here. We had distinct and identified problems and we are going to work hard to rectify them with the support of our partners.

Pastor had a small problem related to his power unit which prevented him from leaving the garage at the start of the session. Then it started to rain. Romain had an issue with his car’s mapping after leaving the pits which affected his braking and his ability to achieve a faster lap.

Of course, we are going to try to do everything we can to salvage something from this weekend. Every opportunity to have the cars on track is beneficial because we are constantly learning. It is clear that we have work to do. We are doing the right thing.

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