14/11/2015
NEWS STORY
Qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix saw Nico Hulkenberg set the sixth fastest time of the afternoon with teammate Sergio Perez ending the day in P13. Nico is expected to move up a position on the grid and Sergio will move up two positions due to penalties for competitors.
Nico Hulkenberg: "I'm very happy with the qualifying result. I always enjoy driving here because I love the track, the country and the atmosphere that surrounds this event. The car felt great today and I was really happy with each of my laps in all the sessions. We made some important changes to the car last night and found a positive direction, which really paid off this morning because I was much happier with the feel of the car. With the penalty for Valtteri [Bottas], it means I will start from fifth place with just the Mercedes and Ferraris ahead of me, so that's a fantastic effort by the team. At the very least we want to hold position in the race and bring home the result because there are some quick cars behind us who will try and make things difficult. I'm feeling confident for tomorrow and looking forward to a fun race."
Sergio Perez: "I think we had a clear opportunity to go through to Q3, so I am quite disappointed about today's result. I made a mistake on my final lap in Q2, braking too late into turn one and locking up, and that cost me the chance to be in the top ten. It's a very short lap and, when you make a mistake, it's difficult to recover from it. All weekend I haven't felt completely comfortable with the car: I have taken a different direction with the set-up compared to Nico and I haven't been able to find my rhythm around here. It's not an ideal situation, but I'm still looking to the rest of the weekend with optimism. I am starting eleventh, but the races in Brazil can often be very eventful and a lot can still happen. I think we can still finish in the points and come home with a good result."
Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: "Overall we feel pretty satisfied with our performance today. Nico will line up in fifth place and Sergio is expected to start from eleventh, so we are ideally placed to score well and secure fifth place in the championship. Nico found the sweet spot this morning with some set-up changes overnight, but Sergio has not been so comfortable and a small error cost him a place in Q3. Nonetheless, the car has strong race pace and I'm confident both drivers can end the weekend on a high note. Of course, the racing this weekend has been overshadowed by the tragic events in Paris and the thoughts of everyone in the team are with those who have been affected."
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