Saturday: Mercedes and Schumacher save tires

Nico Rosberg – 6th and 7th

I did a good quick lap in Q3 and we were able to maximize the car today, so I am quite satisfied. 7th place was the best we could have done, even though Massa was very close so it was really worth the effort.

Being on the clean side of the grid gives me a better starting position, so I will try to gain a few places and score some big points. I think it will be an interesting race here, with all the new features like DRS and Pirelli tires.

Michael Schumacher – 7th and 8th

« It was a rather tactical qualifying session, during which we chose not to run in Q3 in order to save tires for the race. In theory, this should save us time over the race distance, so it’s a calculated risk worth taking. As we’ve seen in the past, many incidents can happen during the Singapore Grand Prix, so I’ll try to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way.

I will definitely keep my fingers crossed for Sebastian to clinch his second title tomorrow.

Ross Brawn

« It was a rather straightforward qualifying for us today, and we extracted the maximum performance from the car. We were keen to have good tires for the race, and with both our drivers saving a set of super-soft tires, we are in good shape for tomorrow. Michael decided not to run in Q3 for this reason: he could have contested his place against Nico, but it was better to save the tires.

We have made progress with the car and the changes we made this weekend seem to be working well. We expect an interesting and challenging race, as there should be plenty of opportunities.