Saturday: Hülkenberg makes it to Q3, Di Resta narrowly misses it

Nico Hülkenberg – 18th and 10th [15th on the grid]:

The preparation for qualifying was quite intense because the guys worked hard to repair my car after this morning’s accident. It wasn’t a big impact, but the angle wasn’t good and there were quite a few things to fix, so all credit goes to the guys who got me out with enough time in Q1.

The car behaved well right away, and we made it to Q3, which was always the goal. We then made the strategic decision to save tires, so I didn’t complete a timed lap. This broadens the range of strategies for tomorrow, especially because we knew we would drop five places on the grid due to a gearbox change. There’s always a chance to score points tomorrow if we can make our strategy work.

Paul di Resta – 9th and 12th [11th on the grid]:

« It was a rather difficult session with the traffic, and even on my fastest lap in Q2, it compromised my second sector. I locked up a wheel and it might have cost me only half a tenth, but the margin to reach the Top 10 was very small.

I think that given what happened yesterday, losing so much track time [because of going off track], we can be quite happy with our performance today. We find ourselves there, close to the Top 10 and with a good chance of points.

For tomorrow, it’s clear that tire management will be a major concern for everyone, but hopefully, we can use strategy to challenge those ahead. There are some questions before the race because I haven’t driven with a full tank, but we have the data from the other car.

The positions on the grid are provisional and may change depending on the penalties imposed following the qualifying session.