15/09/2018
NEWS STORY
Nico posted a 1min 38.588secs lap on his second Q3 run at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Carlos Sainz - on his 75th Grand Prix appearance - qualified twelfth on the grid, missing out on a fight for the top ten by two-tenths of a second.
Nico Hlkenberg: "It's a little frustrating because we had the potential to be higher up on the grid. The qualifying pace in the car wasn't as bad as it looks from the timing sheets as my final attempt wasn't good. Seventh or eighth was probably possible today, but it didn't go our way. We have to remain positive as our race pace seemed good yesterday. Tyre and race management will be crucial. Starting on the Hypersoft tyre won't be easy, but we have to manage tomorrow as best we can. I want to have a good race, optimise everything and get back into the points."
Carlos Sainz: "It's a disappointing result in the end as the car felt good in Q1 and little by little we lost grip from the rear tyres. When you lose grip through the session, especially at a track like this, it's difficult to put together a perfect lap. We need to analyse why we went backwards after a promising Q1. We remain optimistic for tomorrow, however. We have a good chance with a number of options with strategy. Our target was to be further up the grid for the start, but points are given out at the end of the race."
How was qualifying for the team?
Alan Permane, Sporting Director: We're tenth and twelfth on the grid, which isn't where we wanted to be after promising pace yesterday. The car is not quick enough on a track that should have played to our strengths and we must work to understand the deficiencies.
What is possible in tomorrow's race?
AP: We have strategy options on Carlos' side of the garage with a free tyre choice and those opportunities will be explored overnight and in the build-up to the race. In Nico's case, it's a little more difficult because when you make Q3 you want to be seventh or eighth and have track position. Tenth makes things slightly harder, and we have a bit of analysis to do this evening. We remain positive for tomorrow, and we will target getting both cars into the points.
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