Saturday: Button makes it to Q3 with a phenomenal lap for McLaren
While advancing to Q3 seemed difficult, Jenson Button managed to extract every tenth from his MP4-28 to be among the ten contenders for pole position. This will allow him to be the first driver to go out on new tires tomorrow. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez remains stuck in Q2 by a few tenths, but aims for points on Sunday.
Jenson Button – 12th and 10th:
« This weekend was quite difficult, but tenth place is a good result for us today. The team was used to fighting for the top positions, so it’s the small things – like getting into Q3 – that can make us happy. Of course, it’s going to be a tough race tomorrow, I think. I will drive as fast as I can, but I don’t want people to expect too much from us. However, there are positives to take from today: we qualified ahead of a Lotus, which was a surprise, and I will be the first driver on new tires on the grid tomorrow. Like in China, this gives us a slight strategic advantage, so I hope to make the most of it. I think we both have a chance to score points – it would be great for Checo [Sergio Pérez, editor’s note] and me to finish in the top 10 tomorrow. »
Sergio Perez – 13th and 12th:
The qualifying session was very difficult, and it’s disappointing to miss Q3 by just a few tenths. We didn’t really have the pace to go much higher on the grid, in my opinion: Jenson showed the maximum the car was capable of in Q2 today. However, we are in a good position to fight for points tomorrow. I’ve set up my car to preserve my rear tires, so I think our race pace should be a bit more consistent. It’s still going to be tough to get into the points tomorrow, but I hope we have a good race and make it into the top 10. But it’s going to be a long and challenging race.
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