12/12/2020
NEWS STORY
Daniil Kvyat: "I think that's probably the best Qualifying lap of my life! I'm very happy with today, it feels great to put it together here in Abu Dhabi as it's a long track with many corners. We knew we could be competitive, but it was hard to understand the tyres this weekend. I think we did a good job in understanding everything at the right time for Qualifying, so I'll enjoy the feeling for another hour or so. Then, my focus will turn to tomorrow's race. Starting from P7, we've given ourselves a good foundation and hopefully, we'll be able to capitalise on today's result. When I get a car to my liking, I can be very fast and now I hope everyone can see the result I can achieve. I like the car the way it is now, so let's finish this season on a high."
Pierre Gasly: "It has been quite hard this morning in FP3, so we didn't really expect to be in Q3 today. I've been struggling all weekend with the balance, but we made a small step forward in Quali, probably not as much as we would have wished though. I couldn't really put in the lap I wanted but it was good enough to get us to P10 in the end, which is still a decent position to start the race tomorrow. We know it's not going to be easy to start with the Option and the first stint will be tricky, but many drivers are in the same situation, so we'll just have to be a bit better than the others as for the tyre management. Given it's the last race of the season, it would be nice to finish it with a few more points in the pocket."
Jody Egginton (Technical Director): "The final Saturday of the season was very busy, with very small lap time differences between the midfield cars meaning there was no margin for error. However, the hard work of the drivers and the guys in the garage paid off and we managed to get both cars into Q3 for the final Qualifying of the season. Today's result was good, although personally, I quite liked the idea of a prime tyre start!
"The points are awarded tomorrow, so our attention now shifts to race preparations, with the target remaining the same as it has all season: to score as many points as possible with both cars in what we expect to be a very tight race. It's been an intense season for everyone, but we are all looking forward to tomorrow's race and ending the season on a high."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Yas Island, here.