Alonso: Vegas doesn’t suit Aston Martin
The Spaniard is satisfied with Q3 today and emphasizes: “We had a good car that we could drive, that we could push, with which we could go close to the walls.” But then why didn’t he get past P10?
He explains: “The track characteristics are not particularly good for us. I think we have been the slowest car on the straights for 22 races. So it’s no surprise that we are struggling a bit on the longest straight in the championship.”
Therefore, it was “a nice surprise” to have made it into Q3 at all. “Let’s see if we can get some points tomorrow,” said the Spaniard, who probably won’t repeat his podium finish from Brazil.
No further penalties
Six drivers were “too slow” in qualifying today and once exceeded the maximum permitted lap time. However, all drivers received no penalty because they simply drove slower to avoid getting in the way of other cars.
We experience this every weekend now, so it’s nothing special. For the sake of completeness, we mention it here anyway.
Leclerc: Is he doing it like Sainz in Singapore?
In Singapore, the teammate took Ferrari’s only win of the season so far. Can Charles Leclerc follow suit tomorrow? “In Singapore you can drive 1.5 to two seconds slower in some places and the cars behind you still can’t pass,” he reminds.
“It’s different here, and pace will have a much more important role in the race,” he clarifies and emphasizes: “We have to do a good job, but so far we’ve looked pretty good – stronger than in other races. That’s what I’m saying “Not that we will be stronger than Max in terms of race pace.”
“But we are closer than in other races,” he hopes and explains: “If we can win a race to Singapore, it will be this one.”
You can find his complete statements here!
What was going on at AlphaTauri?
The team recently scored points in three races in a row, but today Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda couldn’t get past P15 and P20 – i.e. last place in Q2 and Q1 respectively.
“As a team we are struggling this weekend […] “To find the necessary grip on the new asphalt,” explains Ricciardo, who emphasizes: “We made some pretty big changes and steps forward overnight.”
That wasn’t enough because no further steps were taken today. He was “satisfied” with his entry into Q2 because they simply couldn’t get the tires to work on a fast lap.
After all: “I’m more optimistic for tomorrow because I think we’re stronger on the long run. I don’t know what to expect for the race, but I think it’s going to be very close.”
Meanwhile, teammate Tsunoda explains: “I didn’t have enough temperature in the tires before my last lap because there was a lot of traffic in the last sector, so I had no grip.” He too is now hoping for the race.
Hamilton: Why was it already over in Q2?
The teammate will be in row two tomorrow, he himself missed the top 10 today. He reported that he lacked “confidence and grip” and explains: “Yesterday it felt better and I was more competitive.”
“Then we made some changes overnight and today it didn’t feel good,” he reveals. This is once again a sign of how difficult it is to hit the right window on the W14.
He’s not overly confident about the race either. “It will be a long race and it will be about managing the mining,” he also predicts.
Let’s see what’s left tomorrow.
P6 and P7 “a dream” for Williams
Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant will even be in P5 and P6 on the starting grid! Team boss James Vowles explains at Skythat such a result was still “a dream” before the weekend.
“We knew we would be quick here. Some elements of the track definitely suit our car,” he emphasizes, citing, among other things, the cooler temperatures as an example.
Nevertheless, it was “a great” achievement to have brought both cars into the top 10. Albon himself explains: “I struggled with the brakes all weekend and after my accident in FT3 I had to regain my confidence a bit.”
That apparently worked quite well! And teammate Sargeant reports: “I’m very happy that we finally exploited the potential we had in three separate sessions.” Because he has never been able to do that so far this year.
Russell: Starting position plays almost no role
The Mercedes driver will start third tomorrow and therefore from the position that Verstappen actually wanted. But he himself emphasizes that the starting position will actually hardly play a role.
“As strange as it may sound, I didn’t care where we qualified today as long as we were in the top 10,” he reveals, explaining: “We saw huge amounts of graining from all teams.”
This means there is a big question mark as to what will happen in the race tomorrow. Because if you can get through without graining, then one stop is probably enough. Otherwise you will have to stop more often.
“And I don’t think we drove more than twelve laps without graining. So that will be the big challenge,” said Russell, for whom tomorrow it will almost all be about the tires.
Verstappen: I would have preferred to be fourth!
The world champion moves up to P2 because of the Sainz penalty – and is annoyed about it! Because he explains: “I think it’s a bit like the first race in Austin: the inside was bad. That’s not ideal.”
“That’s why I was actually hoping to be fourth. Because then I would be in P3 [und auf die saubere Seite] moved up. But it is what it is. We deal with it. Luckily the way to the first corner isn’t that long,” said Verstappen.
“But if you have a bad start, you can still lose a lot of positions,” he fears. Let’s see how the start goes for him tomorrow – and what happens after that.