Saturday: Strategic qualifications for Mercedes GP

Michael Schumacher – 7th and 8th:

« The qualifying session met our expectations. I don’t think it was really possible to do better; perhaps I could have done better by one position. I didn’t have an ideal fast lap. I tried to position myself in Lewis’s (Hamilton, Ed.) slipstream, but afterwards he closed the door in the second chicane, which blocked me. However, I will be on soft tires tomorrow, and that will be better for my race. Yesterday, our pace was good, but I was more focused on driving and trying to use the tires in the right way. Tomorrow, I’ll try to make a good start from my position. »

Nico Rosberg – 6th and 9th:

« I am happy with today’s session and the compromise we found with the tires, which will allow us to be competitive tomorrow. The performance in Q2 shows that the car works very well here, and we have several options for the tires, which is a good thing. I am the only Q3 driver who will start on hard tires tomorrow, so it will be interesting and it will help me get a good start. I think it will be a very good race. »

Ross Brawn – Team Principal

The management of the tires will be crucial for the race, and we were very attentive to the two cars that will start tomorrow with the tires used in qualifying. For Nico, we chose a cautious approach with the hard tires, which could be a good opportunity for tomorrow, and it will be interesting to see his progression. Michael decided to use the soft tires and only do a quick lap to preserve them for the race. Both drivers have fresh sets of tires for tomorrow, and we will see if our strategy works. I think we can expect quite a lot of action tomorrow.