Saturday: Mercedes drivers will have to fight tomorrow
Michael Schumacher will start in 14th position tomorrow on the grid for the Indian Grand Prix, and the seven-time world champion's strategy will be simple: fight to climb up the rankings. Nico Rosberg, who will start 10th, will also have the same strategy to score good points for the championship.
Nico Rosberg – 15th and 10th:
« In terms of race strategy, it was better for us not to run in Q3 as it should allow us to have a better pace tomorrow with fresh tires. Obviously, it’s not very pleasant to have to wait in the pits and watch others run. It seems that the race will be tough on the tires with very long stints, so I should have an advantage compared to the cars ahead of me. I’ll be able to tell you tomorrow if it was the right decision, but I’m quite happy today as we seem to have made some slight progress here. »
Michael Schumacher – 9th and 14th:
« We had a difficult qualifying session today and I can’t really explain why, especially when I compare my times to those from this morning. During practice, we were able to achieve similar times with more fuel in the car, but for one reason or another, we couldn’t get the tires working in the right window and generate enough grip this afternoon. This means I will start from a not very promising position tomorrow, but it also makes our strategy simpler: we need to look forward and fight. »
