Sat: Merc, Ferrari, Williams

Editor

Lewis Hamilton claims the 45th pole position of his career despite spinning on his final lap.

Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton:
"Generally it was quite a difficult session, for everyone I think, with the conditions. I'm really grateful I got that third lap in on the first run in Q3. I was pushing hard to find more time on the final lap of the second run and just locked the rears into Turn One. At that point I was backwards in seventh gear and just focused on trying to make sure I didn't damage the car. But then, once I stopped, I thought I'd probably lost it. It was bizarre but I'm really happy to get pole. It will be an interesting race tomorrow. Ferrari have shown great pace so it will be close with them. The tyres seem to be behaving so we should be set for a good battle."

Nico Rosberg: "I had to push a lot at the end of my last qualifying lap – but I pushed a bit too much and went over the limit. I saw on my screen that I was two tenths quicker than on my previous run and therefore equal to Lewis. It was really up to the last few metres to make the pole happen but, at turn eight, I went wide and got a bit on the astroturf which was still wet. I think after that my left tyres were also wet and that made me lose control of the situation. It's a shame but I still look very much forward to tomorrow. It’s a great race here and I still have good chances to win. I will need to have a good start to have a shot at Lewis but I will definitely be keeping the pressure high."

Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel: "We didn’t deserve the pole position today, but tomorrow is a different day. We have a very good car, we’re very competitive, I feel very good in the car and the pace is good as well. We’ve proven that we can be quick in every session, even if yesterday they have been short ones. For the race we’re not the favorite, but we’ll push hard and try to put some pressure on the Mercedes. I would have loved to split them on the grid, but the gap is still too much at the moment. The position on the grid is great anyway and the race will be long. Normally between Saturday and Sunday we’re able to close the gap a bit, so hopefully the same will happen tomorrow. I believe here it’s important to have the confidence under braking, the two left handed turns in the second and third sector are quite tricky, you need to be happy with the car you’ve got and I am. Strategy for tomorrow has to be defined yet: number of pit stop and maybe safety car can change it, we’ll see. A big thanks to the guy in the garage for the work they did overnight!"

Kimi Raikkonen: "It has been a very bad Saturday and this result will not help us tomorrow. When I went out for my last run in Q1, the team informed me that I could do three timed laps, but then the plan was changed and I did not get the information. Therefore we missed one lap completely and I was knocked out. The point is that I was sent out too late and that cost us a lot. Obviously my starting position is not ideal; we should have been much higher up, I’m sure we could have fought at the front. Tomorrow we should have the speed we need, but you never know what happens in the race. In the first lap it will be better to stay away of problems because there is a much bigger chance of something happening in the first few corners. There is a long straight, but also two corners which can be tricky if you happen to be in the middle of the pack. Then we’ll try to maximize our result. Until now it has been a pretty good weekend, the car is handling well: we’ll try to do our best and see what we can do."

Williams
Felipe Massa:
"My best lap could have been quicker. I made a mistake and also the tyres would have been quicker for our final attempt, plus we would have had less fuel. That’s not to say we would have been higher than P4 though, and these things happen in qualifying. The conditions were good, so we hope it stays like that for the race tomorrow. Our long run pace looks strong and that could be key."

Valtteri Bottas: "Sixth isn’t totally representative of the pace of the car considering there is only one Ferrari in front. We suffered a lot with the yellow flags and so I am a little disappointed with where we will start from tomorrow. Saying that though, we have a very quick car in race trim and so can still have a good fight for the positions ahead."