Saturday: Rosberg and Mercedes plunge the competition into darkness

Nico Rosberg (n°6) – 2nd and Pole Position

Since the beginning of his career, the Sakhir track has always seen Nico Rosberg shine. And the affection of the circuit for the German is mutual: I really love the track and won my GP2 title here, so there are some very good memories for me. Even though he was dominated during the three practice sessions by his teammate, number 6 managed to elevate his level despite a broken toe. I was able to improve my pace throughout the sessions so I was hoping for a solid qualification.

However, it is not easy for the German who recognizes the difficulty of perfectly tuning the cars with the new technologies, but Nico Rosberg felt good this evening and was able to make some good laps. He is now looking forward to the race with a car capable of good pace with a high fuel load. But we will have to be careful with tire degradation.

Lewis Hamilton (n°44) – 1st and 2nd

After dominating the three practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton could not secure pole position this afternoon. « I made a mistake on my last lap, which is unfortunate. » The Englishman acknowledges the fantastic work done by his team and, like the Williams drivers, highlights the help provided by the data collected during the winter tests on this same circuit. However, there is still work to be done: « The car was good up to that point, but I felt much better during the practice sessions compared to qualifying. I’m not sure why, but we will have to analyze the data to see if there’s something to identify. »

Not holding a grudge, the 2008 world champion congratulates his team and his teammate: « Congratulations to Nico today, he did a great job this weekend and put in a really fast lap in qualifying. I’m happy that it’s my teammate on pole position, and not someone else! »