Saturday: Sergio Pérez gets McLaren into the top 10
Sergio Pérez managed to set aside his disappointment at being replaced as he finishes 7th in qualifying. For Jenson Button, a lack of balance in his car and the strong wind prevented him from doing better than 13th. And a penalty pushes him back three more places on the grid.
Sergio Pérez – 8th and 7th
Obviously, I am very happy but when you are so close to the cars in front, you always hope to improve. I am a little disappointed but if you had told me at the beginning of qualifying that I would finish 7th, I would have accepted it. For qualifying, I was able to relax and focus. In the end, I am a race driver; it’s what I’ve done my whole life. When I get into the car, I forget everything else and focus on my own performance. Tomorrow, I will race in front of my people, which makes me immensely proud. I will start from the right side of the grid. I hope to have a good start and I really hope to put on a great show for all my Mexican fans.
Jenson Button – 6th and 13th [15th on the grid]
I don’t know what happened. I couldn’t find the balance or grip. The pace just wasn’t there. It’s tough, especially since we seemed quite fast for most of the weekend, but I don’t know where our pace went in qualifying. This isn’t the first time this has happened to us. It may not necessarily be the weather since the other drivers seemed to manage, although I think it contributed. We’ll investigate. It was strange, especially when you see Valtteri being the fastest in Q1 and his teammate not even making it to Q2.
My three-place grid penalty puts me starting 16th, which is not ideal because it not only makes me start far on the grid but also on the dirty side.
