Sebastian Vettel: "I think we are feeling a bit more competitive this weekend and I had a good day overall. We managed to beat a Ferrari, a McLaren and even a Red Bull in Q2 so I think we can be happy. Unfortunately, during my final run in Q3, I encountered traffic and then the yellow flags prevented any chance of improving, which was a shame. Overall, it was a decent qualifying session and we will see what we can do in the race. Overtaking here is difficult but not impossible and it will be a new experience for all of us."

Lance Stroll: "The car felt really good today but, overall, after missing out on Q2 by one tenth, I came away from qualifying feeling we could have got a bit more from the session. The benefit of starting from P12 is that it gives us a free tyre choice for the race. We will see how we can benefit from that because it offers us more options. The track is a lot of fun to drive: it is similar to Mugello and Suzuka, very fast and flowing, so it should make for an interesting race."

Otmar Szafnauer, CEO & Team Principal: "Sebastian and Lance both progressed smoothly through Q1 to Q2. They then both recorded good Q2 laps, Sebastian eighth-fastest and Lance 12th-fastest. Sadly, in Q3 Sebastian was unable to record a fast lap owing to the yellow flags deployed for [Pierre] Gasly's stationary car. Our strategy tomorrow will be to create points-scoring opportunities for both our drivers."

Check out our Saturday gallery from Qatar, here.