08/04/2017
NEWS STORY
Sergio Perez will start tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix from eighth on the grid. Teammate Esteban Ocon qualified P20 after losing out during the yellow flags at the end of Q1.
Sergio Perez: "I'm very pleased with the qualifying result today. It's probably a bit better than I expected, but the team did a fantastic job getting the car in shape for qualifying considering the lack of track time we had yesterday. All of my laps were clean and tidy and I think we maximised the performance today. It's looking like we will have a wet race, which could generate some more opportunities because there will be a lot of unknowns about how the wet tyres will perform. It will be a big challenge but the team is ready for the fight and hopefully we can come away with some more points."
Esteban Ocon: "It's disappointing to go out in Q1, but I never got the chance to show the car's full potential. I was setting a good lap time, on the same pace as Sergio, and I would have easily made it into Q2, but the yellow flags for the Giovinazzi crash stopped me finishing the lap. It's a shame, but it's just the luck of the draw and today it wasn't meant to be. I'm still going to put up a fight tomorrow: the weather forecast predicts rain, so anything can happen. Nobody has raced in the wet with these tyres, so it will be a case of learning as we go and making the most of the situation. Mixed conditions should give me a chance to make up some ground and get up into the points, so I will be hoping for rain!"
Robert Fernley: "It's been a case of mixed fortunes today with Sergio making Q3 and Esteban losing out to the yellow flags in Q1. Sergio's eighth place on the grid represents a great team effort given how disrupted the preparation has been leading up to qualifying. It was very unfortunate that Esteban could not complete his final lap in Q1 because he was on course to comfortably make it through to Q2. Considering the limited time he has had to learn this circuit, he can be pleased with his performance today. As for the race, the forecast suggests that wet weather is on the way, which would certainly mix things up again."
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