Saturday: Lewis Hamilton limits the damage for Mercedes
If Lewis Hamilton managed to achieve the 5th fastest time in qualifying, Nico Rosberg was caught out by the gusts of wind. He was unable to make it to Q3 and has to settle for 13th place on the grid.
Lewis Hamilton – 3rd and 5th
« It was a really tricky session today. So I must be pleased with my 5th place, even though, obviously, I would have preferred to fight for a position on the first two rows. The car was fast and well-balanced but we didn’t manage to make the tires work well. The track was completely different from the last practice session this morning. This clearly affected our cars. During practice, the car looked very strong. So I hope to have good settings for tomorrow. I hope to get a good start and, if we manage that, have the potential to play for big points. »
Nico Rosberg – 7th and 14th [12th on the grid]
« I had major problems getting my tires to work properly in the right window. It’s so disappointing not to make it to Q3. It was all about finding the right compromise in conditions that saw really hard tires on a really soft track. As a result, we saw a lot of surprises today. Tomorrow should be warmer, which should improve the situation for us. Starting from so far back is not ideal. We’ve worked a lot on our race pace. So our car should perform well tomorrow. I’m really going to push very hard to move forward, overtake a few guys, and score good points. »
