Saturday: Schumacher ahead of a future-focused Rosberg at Mercedes
Sixth in qualifying, Michael Schumacher benefits from Romain Grosjean's penalty to gain a spot on the clean side of the track. He is well ahead of Nico Rosberg, who has decided to revert to a previous exhaust solution with a view to next season.
Michael Schumacher – 12th and 6th [5th on the grid]:
« The qualification was better than we had hoped, especially since we struggled all weekend and worked hard to make progress and did a solid job today. Qualifying in sixth position is good and it’s an important position for us as a team. I did a good lap in Q3 and everything felt fine with the car, so we were able to maximize the potential. It makes a big difference here to start from the clean or dirty side of the grid, so gaining an extra place due to Grosjean’s penalty was a nice surprise. The car seems quite consistent for the race, and I would like to achieve the best possible result tomorrow. »
Nico Rosberg – 5th and 17th:
« I ran with our old exhaust system in qualifying today, it’s part of our evaluation program for next year. We already used it yesterday and decided to continue with it for the rest of the weekend to help us in the learning process. The car seemed good this morning with the low temperatures, but the difference with Michael’s car surprised me this afternoon. So, I hope the race pace will be better tomorrow and that the change will have been worth it. I will give it my all to score points. »
