Saturday: Ricciardo puts Toro Rosso in Q3

Daniel Ricciardo – 6th and 6th:

« After several difficult races, I expected to be strong here and I was more motivated than ever. However, if someone had told me I would be 6th this afternoon, I would have been surprised. We were very close to di Resta who is 5th, but we can be happy with this position. We had a good pace all weekend, especially this morning when I was 6th, so it was nice to confirm that this afternoon. Now, I look forward to the race where I hope to score some big points. I would like to finish at least in the same position as on the grid. It would be great to do even better, and I will push hard to achieve that. I think it will be a bit warmer tomorrow which could significantly change track conditions. It’s a very challenging circuit with a lot of fast corners, so the tires get little rest, and tire wear will be an important factor tomorrow. »

Jean-Eric Vergne – 11th and 13th:

I made a mistake in my fast lap in Q2 and I’m really very disappointed because it costs me the opportunity to be in Q3, which was clearly possible. Regarding my mistake, I’m not sure of the reason: maybe I was too close to Vettel who was in front of me, but I felt like I lost downforce and then went off. But it doesn’t matter, I’m not looking for excuses. The car is working well, as it has been all weekend, now I have to make up ground tomorrow in the race. Looking at Daniel’s performance this afternoon, it’s a good sign that shows the car is fast, and we’ll have a good tool to work with for tomorrow afternoon. I think it’s still possible to have a good race tomorrow and score points.