Saturday: Points target for Pérez and Hülkenberg at Force India

Nico Hülkenberg (No. 27) – 16th and 11th [10th on the grid]

The German driver expressed satisfaction with his lap even though he failed to qualify in the top 10: « My lap was very good and I’m pleased with the efforts made during qualifying. We made good progress with the car’s handling and settings compared to FP3 this morning, but we fell just short of Q3. »

But Hülkenberg prefers to focus on the positives in this situation: Given that we haven’t been completely comfortable with the car throughout the weekend, 11th place is a very good position to start the race and it gives us an extra set of medium tires compared to the rest of the top 10.

The Force India driver believes he has a chance to fight for points tomorrow given the pace of his VJM07: « I expect a very strategic race tomorrow, especially because the majority of the teams around us seem to have a similar pace to ours in race configuration. It will be a challenge for everyone, and tire management will be a key point, but points are within our reach. »

Sergio Pérez (No. 11) – 15th and 12th [11th on the grid]

The Mexican was also close to Q3 but had to stop in Q2 like his teammate: « I think we finished qualifying more or less where we expected. Maybe making it to Q3 was possible, but I couldn’t complete my last run in Q2 because my preparation lap wasn’t ideal. There was too much traffic and my tires weren’t optimal, which is why I decided to abandon my last fast lap and save my tires. »

The objective for him will be to climb up the hierarchy tomorrow with the hope of finishing in the points: « I think the race will be led by the right strategic choice because it’s hard to overtake on this track. Our race pace is promising, so we have a chance to gain a few positions tomorrow. »