Saturday: At Sauber, Gutierrez happy, Sutil unlucky
On the Sauber side, Esteban Gutierrez was more at ease, managing to reach Q2 and perform rather well there, unlike Adrian Sutil who didn't have much luck.
Esteban Gutierrez (no.21) – 13th and 12th
The Mexican is very satisfied with his qualification, and he credits his team for it: « It was a good qualification. This morning, we were busy, and we tried to put everything together. Everyone did a good job, and we managed to overcome a few small issues to have a reliable car. I really want to thank my team and also Ferrari, because they worked very hard to improve the hybrid block. »
He doesn’t appear too ambitious but believes the car is good: « The conditions on the track were quite difficult. However, we managed to improve the car during qualifying, adjust the aero balance and also the tire pressure. It was a good day. 12th is a good starting position considering our overall performance. Tomorrow we will try to do our best. »
Adrian Sutil (no.99) – 14th and 18th [after Bottas’ penalty]
For the German, it was all a matter of bad luck with a strategic choice different from the rest of the field: « Our strategy was to go out on the track a bit later, because track conditions are better at those times. However, it started to rain harder. We should have improved, but because of the red flag, we ran out of time. »
The race could be long, with a single-seater that still needs work, especially in terms of grip: « The car was really difficult to drive in these conditions, as the tires never had enough grip. There is a lot of work ahead of us. For now, it’s too difficult to make a good lap. We need to progress step by step and be patient. »
