Saturday: the Force India drivers didn’t draw the right number
While Paul di Resta, with settings for a dry track, failed to make it to Q3, Nico Hülkenberg joined the Top 10 but is disappointed not to have done better than ninth place, especially since he will drop 5 places on the starting grid due to a gearbox change.
Nico Hülkenberg – 10th and 9th [14th on the grid]:
« It was a really long session with the suspension, but I think I made the most of the conditions in Q1 and Q2. It was certainly the right decision to stop the session when the rain intensified because there was too much water on the track and the car was starting to aquaplane. But I don’t understand where our pace went in Q3 when I was on intermediates because the car was more difficult to drive and the lap times were not easy to achieve. In fact, I was hoping for a better position in Q3 than 9th, especially with the five-place penalty I have for tomorrow. »
Paul di Resta – 12th and 11th [10th on the grid]:
« In fact, we bet that the qualifications would be on dry ground, and that’s the direction we took in the setup, but it made driving very difficult in today’s wet conditions. I think other cars were more aggressive with settings entirely for rain, so I hope my bet will pay off tomorrow.
Of course, I would have liked to start a bit further ahead, but we approach the race with many unknowns in terms of data on the settings and tire performance. Anything is possible in the race, and we won’t give up.
