Saturday: Williams remains wisely in ambush

As with every Grand Prix weekend, Williams is highly anticipated in qualifying due to its free practice sessions. In Bahrain, Nico Rosberg did not deviate from the rule as he topped the second test session while also performing well in the other two sessions. However, his qualification is average with only a 9th place on the grid.

In any case, he’s doing better than his teammate Kazuki Nakajima because while equaling his best result, the Japanese driver is only 12th. The fuel loads partially explain these results and will be revealed in a few hours.

In the championship, currently 8th, Williams must urgently stay in touch to prevent their competitors from pulling away.

Nico Rosberg – 3rd and 9th:

« It wasn’t a good qualifying for me because I really wasn’t comfortable in the car today. We were just lucky to make it to Q3. In the end, 9th place is okay because we have a lot of fuel and with a good strategy, I believe we can be competitive. My goal for tomorrow is to finish in the points, I think it’s achievable. Our race car is quite good, so we should have a good pace. »

Kazuki Nakajima – 8th and 12th:

« It’s difficult to say where I lost time. I didn’t make any mistakes and the car held up well. If I look at the gap separating me from Nico [Rosberg], I’m satisfied with my afternoon. Overall, I think I deserved Q3. »

Sam Michael – Technical Director:

« These results on the starting grid do not surprise us. Ninth is a good position from which Nico [Rosberg] can aim for points. Kazuki [Nakajima] did a good job considering he doesn’t have the same package as Nico. He also matched his best qualifying performance. To sum up, it is possible to score points with both of our cars tomorrow. Congratulations to Toyota for their front row. »