06/11/2021
NEWS STORY
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN produced a solid performance in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix, with Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi setting the 12th and 14th times after booking their places in Q2. The result, with a few penalties to rivals meaning more places will be gained, means both cars will be in good starting positions to fight for a place in the top ten in the race, with Kimi projected to start in P10 ahead of Antonio in P11.
On a still slippery Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track, both drivers looked confident in Q1, flirting with the edges of the top ten and claiming a place in the top 15. They then proceeded to deliver a good performance in the second part of the session to claim their places on tomorrow's grid.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "Having both cars in Q2 is a positive result and something that gives us confidence ahead of tomorrow's race. We will be starting just outside the top ten, with a free choice of tyres, and we are in a good place to mount a big challenge for the points. The long run down the straight to turn one will be crucial, we'll need to keep our noses clean in the opening stages and make the most of every opportunity we have. We have been knocking on the door of the points in every race lately so let's give all we have to finish the job here."
Kimi Raikkonen: "I think we can be happy with today's result: it's my best qualifying of the year, it was very close and it could probably have been a little better or a little worse, a place more or a place less, so overall it's ok. It's still only qualifying and we need to do a good job tomorrow as well if we want to bring home some points. We'll go out and do our best and see where we end up at the flag."
Antonio Giovinazzi: "Another battle for the grid in which I feel we were very close to a place in Q3. P11 would have been possible but in the end we didn't manage it: in my final lap, I locked the rears under braking - up until that moment, the lap wasn't too bad. We'll see what we can do from where we start: it will be a long race, especially considering the tyre degradation we are expecting, but if we have a clean race we can have a good shout for the points."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Mexico City, here.