21/07/2018
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen: "Fourth was the maximum we could do. You have to be realistic going into Qualifying and if you don't have the horsepower you can't expect to be at the front. I was very happy with my lap, I feel we extracted the most out of the car so a satisfying day from my point of view. The plan was to start on Softs but the red flag in Q2 changed that. Looking back, I think we would have been ok but we wanted to make sure we progressed to Q3, so we will now start the race on Ultrasofts. This compound should be stronger for the start sequence. It's then unknown how the tyres will degrade due to the track temperature being different from Friday compared to the race. Our pace should be better tomorrow than in Qualifying so with a good start I'll see how I can progress. I think I'm starting on the inside which isn't ideal but being on the second row helps. It was good to see all the fans out there, I'm not sure if they were cheering Sebastian as I was following him, or myself, but either way it was nice to see."
Daniel Ricciardo: "We're starting last tomorrow no matter what, so by not taking part in Q2 means we have a choice of which tyre to start the race with. If we had done Q2 then whichever tyre we went on, we would have to start the race on. This decision has given us a bit more freedom and we can decide what looks best for tomorrow and save some mileage on the car. I'm actually glad that Qualifying is dry and the others were forced to use the tyres as it gives us a bit more of an open book to choose the most aggressive strategy. It's one of those races like Silverstone which is between a one or two stop. Depending on how fast I can come through the pack will determine whether I can make it a one stop. I think we need a little bit of luck to get a podium, it's a long shot but it's never impossible. Now I'm just thinking of the excitement I will have starting from the back tomorrow. Obviously, I would rather start at the front but there will be some excitement to be had for sure. It's probably going to be doubly entertaining with Lewis now also starting towards the back too, so both of us coming through the field should make for a good race. Lewis probably isn't as happy as me right now as I knew this penalty was coming and he had a chance of pole, but tomorrow we're going to have a good time I'm sure."
Christian Horner: "Unfortunately for Daniel his Qualifying in the dry conditions was never going to go past Q1 because there was no point in burning tyres and engine mileage as he already had penalties that put him at the back of the grid tomorrow. We therefore took the strategic decision not to run his car in Q2 and provide him with more options tomorrow. Max, in progressing through Q2, aimed to get into Q3 on the Soft tyre but the delta today between the two compounds was just too great to make it through. We changed to the Ultrasoft like our competitors and thereafter in Q3 Max drove two very impressive laps. On the last lap he was flat through Turn 1 and is the only car to achieve that so far this weekend. Unfortunately, the time loss in sector 2 was disproportionate so fourth was the maximum we could achieve today. Hopefully we can make progress in the race and I'm sure Daniel will also enjoy the challenge of coming through the field."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Hockenheim, here.