10/06/2017
NEWS STORY
Felipe Massa qualified seventh and Lance Stroll 17th for the Canadian Grand Prix. Both drivers went out early in Q1 on the ultrasoft tyre and continued to improve throughout the session. Felipe made it comfortably through to Q2 in P5. Lance, however, fell into the drop zone ahead of his final lap in Q1 and will start the Canadian Grand Prix in 17th.
In Q2 Felipe set a 1:13.012 on his opening run. He wasn't able to improve on his time but still made it comfortably through to Q3 in P7. In the final session Felipe set a 1:12.902 on his opening run. As the chequered flag fell he improved his time with a 1:12.858, which was good enough for a strong seventh on the grid.
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: We're very happy with the result on Felipe's side of the garage, it's a very well deserved seventh place. He was setting very competitive times throughout the session. We weren't able to match the three teams in front of us, but we certainly put some distance to those behind. It was a tricky session for Lance and he will be disappointed with his position for his first home race. On an evolving track he wasn't able to match the necessary pace needed at the time he needed to. It's always a bit tricky to manage tyre temperatures in Canada, especially this year where the tyre temperature windows are particularly acute. We're looking forward to the race tomorrow. Hopefully we can put on a show for all of the fans here and pick up some points. I also want to say a big thank you to the teams back at the factory for the number of upgrades here this weekend, both on the chassis and the power unit, which contributed to the pace we were able to show today.
Felipe Massa: It was a great qualifying session for me. I'm very happy with everything we've done this weekend and I'm very happy with the lap. We were competitive today, but seventh was the best position we could have achieved. The race is tomorrow though, and I was quite happy with the pace in the race simulations yesterday. I'm looking forward to the race as I think we have good pace to be able to fight and score some good points.
Lance Stroll: We went out at the beginning and stayed on the same set of tyres the whole session. I felt the grip was getting better, but I think the track was just improving. I think the decision not to pit for new tyres towards the end of Q1 had a bit to do with me not getting through, but it is too hard to say. You can always look back afterwards and say we should have done this and we should have done that, but we are in the position we are in. Obviously, we are starting a little bit further back than we would want to, but it is a long race, overtaking is possible and you never know what will happen. We have to stay focussed and positive. This is my first home Grand Prix, which is great and I am aiming to enjoy it.