Saturday: The McLaren drivers did their best and hope to get closer in the race

Jenson Button – 2nd

« After Q2, I thought we had the possibility to aim for pole today, but looking at Sebastian’s last timed lap, second place was really the best we could do. After that, it’s great to have both cars in the top three, we got the best possible out of our package today.

During the night, we made some improvements to the car. I think there are still some areas where we need to improve to be able to compete with Red Bull, but I want to say a big thank you to the guys in the garage. They’ve done a really hard job and given us a car with which we can really build something over the next races. This is my best qualification this season; the car felt really consistent all afternoon, and I got the most out of it. For tomorrow, I think our race pace should be a little closer to Red Bull than in qualifying. We can have a good race from this position.

Lewis Hamilton – 3rd

We made some really good changes to the settings on Friday night, and I was more satisfied with the car today. In qualifying, Jenson and I were really close, and we’re both there.

Jenson did a fantastic job to put the car in front of me, but I sacrificed a bit of my pace to have a set of soft tires in good condition for the race. We made the decision to do only one run in Q3. Of course, it was a compromise, but it means I’ll have a set of new tires for one of my stints tomorrow. And last week’s race in Malaysia showed us how important it is to have fresh tires for the race. Today’s strategy will increase my chances for the race.

It’s always good to have a set of new tires in your pocket, and I was looking to make sure I have options to respond to anything. Being able to put on a new tire at the end of tomorrow’s race is very positive and will help us.

Martin Whitmarsh

« We had very good sessions today. After failing to get the most out of the cars on Friday, we made significant improvements in the evening and quickly established a good pace in the morning practice session. We were then able to do what we did in qualifying, and the second and third place on the grid are a great reward for the efforts we made to optimize our cars on this track. »

« Jenson’s lap at the beginning of Q3 was a fantastic effort and he completely deserves his second place on the grid. Lewis had a smart end to the session, conserving tires for tomorrow, and he is very well prepared for the race. »