Fahrerstimmen – Tag 2

“I am very happy for this result, but I am a little bit upset with my final lap because I locked up in turn 3. I knew the car was good and in the first two corners I was already one and a half tenth faster than the lap before. Then, maybe, I hit the bump the wrong way a little under braking and I locked up. In the end I made the corner, so I wasn’t that late, but obviously after that, the grip wasn’t the same. It’s a shame because I think I could have been faster, but I am happy anyway. I am sorry for Kimi because we could have both been on the front row. However, we’ll see tomorrow, It’s going to be a long race. I think it is very important to be able to fight for the pole in order to have a good chance during the race. Even if the result has been good these last few Saturdays, there’s still a lot of work for us. We know that the car can be faster. Obviously we have worked hard to get to where we are now, but everybody in the team knows there’s more to do. We have to stay focused and keep pushing. However, I am not afraid for tomorrow and I believe we have good chances”.

Wir waren heute nicht schnell genug, um Ferrari zu schlagen. Aber es ging super eng zu. Kein Sportler ist mit Platz zwei zufrieden, aber es ist schön, nach einem aufregenden Qualifying wieder in der ersten Reihe zu stehen. Das Team hat über Nacht großartige Arbeit abgeliefert, um nach einem kniffligen Freitag einen Schritt nach vorne zu erzielen. Wir waren auf unseren Long Runs etwas im Hintertreffen und haben im Mittelsektor Zeit verloren. Ferrari war unterdessen ein ganzes Stück schneller als wir. Entsprechend müssen wir noch etwas Boden gutmachen, aber es ist klasse, im Kampf vorne mitzumischen. Wir haben hart gearbeitet, um das Auto zu verbessern. Jetzt müssen wir morgen das bestmögliche Ergebnis herausholen. Lasst uns versuchen, Ferrari zu ärgern. Es wird garantiert wieder ein interessantes Rennen.

Es ist nie schön, Dritter zu sein. Aber nach dem gestrigen Tag ist es ein gutes Ergebnis. Das Team hat bei der Abstimmung des Autos großartige Arbeit geleistet. Es fühlte sich gänzlich anders an als gestern. Wir hatten volles Vertrauen darin und konnten so um die erste und zweite Reihe kämpfen. Ich habe das Gefühl, dass ich heute keine einzige perfekte Runde hinbekommen habe und ich bezweifle, dass es irgendjemand anderem gelungen ist. Auf dieser Strecke ist es einfach extrem schwierig. Als Team befinden wir uns in einer guten Ausgangslage für das Rennen. Dass beide Autos am Start hintereinander sind, eröffnet uns ein paar taktische Möglichkeiten, mit denen wir spielen können. Es ist schwer vorherzusagen, wie der Wind das Rennen morgen beeinträchtigen wird, besonders, da rund um die Strecke so viele Gebäude stehen. Es sollte also ein interessantes Rennen werden. Wir erwarten, dass es morgen zwischen den drei Top-Teams sehr eng zugehen wird. Es ist also alles drin.

“I’m happy with the second row on the grid but it wasn’t a totally smooth day. This morning we didn’t get a go on our second set of ultrasoft tyres because of the red and yellow flags. In Qualifying, Q2 was very close on the supersofts, we had a couple of yellow flags and it was looking a bit hairy but we just made it through. In Q3 on the first run I kissed the wall and then on the last lap I had to make it clean and fortunately clean was fast enough for the second row. It’s always tough on street circuits like this, you have to be on the limit to be fast but point five of a percent inside of the limit. Just finding that balance isn’t easy but I’ve felt good all weekend and obviously have good momentum from here last year and China, so we will race hard and hopefully get back on the podium. I’m looking forward to a good street fight tomorrow (laughs). I believe the top five start on supersofts and we’re all trying to avoid the ultrasoft on high fuel due to the graining in colder conditions, so that strategy makes sense for us. I’m also going to eat lots tonight to make sure I don’t blow away in the wind tomorrow as it looks like it’s going to be pretty crazy out there!”

“Qualifying today was ok; nothing special but we are also not too far away. We were in reach but of course we know that in Qualifying they turn up their engines, but in general not bad and I think we have a good chance to fight tomorrow. On the last run we were waiting to try and get a tow. I think that cost us a bit because I was waiting in the garage with the heaters already off and couldn’t get heat in the tyres like I wanted to. With the tyres the ultrasoft is not that easy but we qualified on the supersoft so hopefully that will give us a longer first stint. The top five cars are on the supersofts so I don’t think it will offer much except we can extend the stint for longer compared to Kimi who is on the ultra, but we’ll find out. The wind was very tricky today and is forecast to be even stronger tomorrow for the race, so we’ll have to see what that does. Aerodynamics are very sensitive to wind, it’s the same as in a plane, you can fly fast in one direction and can go faster in the other direction. The cars are very sensitive to that, we had some struggles in the corners, and the more downforce you have the more tricky the wind can be. We are still in a good position to fight from and many things are possible on this track.”

“In Q3, on my last run I had a lot of speed and the feeling with the car was really good; I knew I had a very good lap going. Entering the last corner I took it very easily because over the weekend the wind has been quite tricky there. But for whatever reason I got a massive snap exiting the corner and went sideways. I was able to get the car back but the lap was gone. I’m pretty sure that without that mistake I would have been in a much better position. It’s very painful and frustrating to mess it up in the last corner like that, I’m very disappointed. Unfortunately with the mistake we are not in a very good position for the race. Today it did not pay off, but tomorrow is another day and we’ll do our best”.

“It has been a very strong day for us. The car is working well and it’s been very enjoyable to drive. We’ve made good progress improving the car and we have been quick in every session. Today we were the fourth fastest team and we really deserved this result. Tomorrow is a big opportunity and we need to make the most of it. We saw last year what can happen here with safety cars and incidents so we need to be patient and stay out of trouble.”

“I am pretty happy with our performance today. It’s been a good day for the team even though we probably had the pace to be further up the grid. I don’t think we fully maximised our performance and it was a very complicated qualifying session. There were so many yellow flags and the wind made things very complicated, which is why there were so many errors. I couldn’t get a proper clean run until Q3. The race tomorrow will be all about being in the right place at the right time and making the most of the opportunities as they arise. The track suits us and I believe there is plenty of potential to make up a few more places. Days like these are a great motivation for everyone in the team and show we are making progress. We were the top team in the midfield today but it’s tomorrow that really counts.”

“It was a decent qualifying for us. I missed the perfect first sector but getting both cars into Q3 again shows good consistency and effort from the team. Tomorrow we need to have a clean start and target to stay in the points again. It could be another chaotic race so we need to be ready to maximize our chances.”

I am really happy with that. We have obviously made a step forward this weekend compared to the last couple of events, but on the other hand it's a little disappointing not to get into Q3 by such a small margin. However, I am still very happy with the job we have done and a big thank you to the team. It might have been possible, but tough to throw a Red Bull out of there. It was such a difficult qualifying with the yellow flags in Q1 and I never did a lap until the last second on old tyres, so I was lucky to scrape through, and then happy with my lap in Q2. This track has a bit of everything - high speed, low speed, walls, drama - so it is a good one. It would be nice to see more tracks like this, as it really tightens things up a little bit and we see other cars that normally don't have any problems getting out of Q2, starting to struggle. It is very different to anywhere else we go to and is a lot of fun.

It’s a good recovery. We knew there was potential from the session earlier today. I need to thank the team a lot as they were really flat out, doing a perfect job to make sure we got out on track. I’m very happy that I can thank them with a result like this. I still feel like there’s a bit more laptime. I’m not sure if it would be enough for Q3, but it would be much closer than where we are. We’re moving forwards, we’re making progress and doing a great job. Now we see that in the results. Thanks to everyone for this and we’ll keep improving.

“Qualifying still isn’t the strongest part of our weekend, but a lot usually happens during a street race, and at this track in particular. “There’s no room for mistakes around this circuit: it’s very windy, dusty, the walls are very close, and you cannot push or over-drive the car. It’s also a mentally tough race, so I think tomorrow is going to be both crazy and fun at the same time. “This weekend, we seem to have improved our top-speed compared to previous races, but we’ve also compromised some grip in the corners. Still, during Q2, the wind picked up a little, and we were losing speed along the straights due to the headwind. Tomorrow, that wind should be even stronger, so it’s going to be important to race among a group of cars to stay in the fight. “This is the third time in a row where I’ve qualified 13th, and we normally seem to score good points from that position. Hopefully tomorrow will be another one of those good days.”

„Ich bin mit meinem heutigen Resultat zufrieden. Ich konnte in Q1 eine sehr gute Runde fahren, die mir ermöglicht hat mich für das Q2 zu qualifizieren. Das war das erste Mal in dieser Saison, dass ich das Q2 erreicht habe – das ist ein positives Gefühl für einen Rookie. Das ganze Team hat eine tolle Arbeit geleistet, um uns das zu ermöglichen. Ich habe in den letzten drei Rennwochenenden viel gelernt, und fühle mich in dem Auto immer wohler. Wir haben einige positive Schritte gemacht, was das Reifenmanagement betrifft. Die Balance des Autos fühlt sich ebenfalls gut an. Ich freue mich nun auf das morgige Rennen. Die Strecke stellt uns allen einige Herausforderungen, die einen Einfluss auf das Rennresultat haben werden. Dazu kommt noch, dass wir eine Veränderung der Wetterbedingungen erwarten. Das Rennen wird besonders spannend.“

“We lost some time this morning so we can be pleased to get both cars into Q3. The balance in the car doesn’t sit quite where I would like it to, but some race weekends are like that and we can be happy that we gave it everything and tomorrow we will do the same to make up positions. The gearbox penalty is pretty bitter in this way, but we need to come back with the best strategy and fight hard. The good news is that you can overtake here and know there will be safety cars, so let’s see what we can do.”

“It could’ve been better, but we didn’t have much luck today. I think P15 is still a position we can fight back from – it’s not too far from the points. I’m still positive for tomorrow. There are opportunities. It doesn’t take a big mistake for you to go straight on here at the corners. You can gain a position, for sure, if someone ahead does that. We shouldn’t write off the race. We’ll keep focused and, hopefully, have a good race for tomorrow. I think it’s a really cool circuit and it’s good fun to drive. It has a good layout for racing and for slipstreaming down that long straight. It offers opportunities for a good race.”

“It’s been a bit of a tough weekend for me. “During practice, it seemed like, whenever I was on-track, I was in the wrong place, or encountered a yellow-flag at the wrong time. In fact, Q1 was probably the first session this weekend where I finally managed to complete a quick-lap. “In the end, I was much happier with the car; we still lack a bit of top speed, so we really need to follow another car to benefit from their speed, and I missed out on that on my final lap. “Still, our race performance looks better than qualifying. We’ve seen so many incidents under braking this weekend; and that’s a real strength of our car, it feels very good under braking, and that’s a key requirement for the race. “I think we can pull together a good race performance tomorrow.”

"It was probably the scariest moment of my career! I was sure I was going to crash into Brendon because it's the part of the track where we're going at 320kph. Brendon had slowed down massively and I had to change direction when I saw he was slow, but I didn't know if he was going left or right but I managed to avoid him. I'm really disappointed that I couldn't make it to Q2. I was improving by sixth/seven tenths which means Q2 was on the cards, this would have been a good result after the tough weekend in China. It's a big shame for the team but it's good that in the end we avoided a crash. It's clear that no one wanted anything like this to happen, but it's the second time we've had a coming together so we need to make sure that we avoid situations like these."

„Es war ein eher unglückliches Qualifying für mich. Es gab viele Faktoren, die das Resultat beeinflusst haben. Erst waren viele Autos vor mir, wodurch ich keine schnelle Runde starten konnte. Danach musste ich eine gute Runde abbrechen. Am Ende von Q1 habe ich mich bemüht eine letzte schnelle Runde zu starten, musste diese jedoch wieder abbrechen, obwohl mir nur ein paar Sekunden an Zeit gefehlt hätten, um sie zu beenden. Es war ziemlich enttäuschend. Positiv ist, dass wir gutes Potential sehen. Wir sind das ganze Wochenende schon relativ konkurrenzfähig, und gehen mit Zuversicht in das morgige Rennen. “

"It was a disaster of a day. I hadn't done a lap until the point of the incident because the previous ones were interrupted by yellow flags. This lap was coming along really well and I was happy with the car, but I clipped the inside of the wall very lightly. At the beginning I didn't think there was any damage so I was still pushing, then I realised going through the fast left-hander that there was a puncture. I had to slow down immediately trying to avoid hitting the wall, but Pierre was coming very quickly behind and I completely misjudged it. When I looked in the mirrors I moved to the left and that's the same way he wanted to go. I made a complete mess of it. I'm really disappointed and I owe him a big apology because that was really average."

“I went straight after a big lockup into the escape road. I reversed – everything was working – and then I suddenly lost the hydraulics. I couldn’t do anything else – upshift, downshift, whatever – I was stuck in neutral. It’s a bit of a shame as, unfortunately, that was it. Going into qualifying, I was hoping we’d found the right tools. There are overtaking opportunitiestomorrow, so we’ll try to do our best. It’s definitely a track where a lot can happen, and I’ve got plenty of tires for the race.”