Saturday: Rosberg ahead of Hamilton at Mercedes
The Canadian Grand Prix qualifications yielded an expected result: both Mercedes on the front row, but it was Nico Rosberg who took the advantage over Lewis Hamilton by 8 hundredths of a second.
Nico Rosberg (No. 6) – 3rd and Pole position
Author of his 3rd pole of the season, the German explains that changes in his settings allowed this: « I am very happy to have been able to improve my settings from one session to the next. Even before qualifying, we made some major changes and they worked wonderfully. »
He knows that starting in pole position is a significant advantage, especially if both men are at the same level: « I am very happy to start from pole tomorrow. It was very important because there aren’t many opportunities to overtake here, especially if you have the same car. I think it’s going to be a battle between the two of us because the gap with the other cars was quite large in qualifying […] and also we were strong on our long runs. »
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44) – 1st and 2nd
Almost a favorite in this qualifying session, the Briton must admit defeat and congratulate his teammate: « Nico did a fantastic lap but it wasn’t the best qualifying for me because I went wide twice on my lap, at turns 6 and 8. It was very close, with only 0.08 seconds between us, but Nico did the better job. »
Like Rosberg, he expects a tough race: « I expect a difficult race: it is not easy to overtake here, especially with the same car and with Nico so close in terms of pace. »
