11/11/2022
NEWS STORY
Pierre Gasly: "We took the risk in Q1, as the first to fit the Slicks, and it really paid off. We knew it would be really tight as the track dried in Q2, and we missed out on Q3 by just four tenths today but overall, I think it's been a positive Quali and I have to be happy with the laps I have done. The pace was obviously there, so it's a bit of a missed opportunity that we weren't able to get through to Q3, especially when you see who's on pole. I think we're in a strong position to make up some places tomorrow in the Sprint and move forward for the race on Sunday."
Yuki Tsunoda: "I'm obviously disappointed today, I've lacked grip in general straight from FP1 and we weren't able to find a solution to this before heading into Quali. I was able to go out on the dry tyre for two laps in Q1 and try to get a good lap in, but unfortunately I just didn't have the pace with this lack of grip."
Jonathan Eddolls (Chief Race Engineer): "The weather can always throw up surprises in Brazil, and so far this weekend has been no different. As it's a Sprint format this weekend, we had to complete all our set-up work before Quali, as the cars go into parc ferme and we can't make any more changes, so our focus was on Quali preparation in FP1. As there was just one practice session ahead of Qualifying, it was a busy one and we concentrated a lot on set-up work. We managed to find a good balance on Pierre's car, but Yuki struggled more with overall grip, so we made some changes to his car ahead of Quali. It rained a reasonable amount between the two sessions, so Quali started in the damp. We made reasonable choices with the tyres, however Yuki still struggled with a lack of grip and was knocked out in Q1. Pierre did a very good job and progressed through to Q2. His pace was looking promising but on the second set of dry tyres the first lap was the one that counted, as there was some more light rain, but his front tyres weren't in the optimal temperature window, which meant he wasn't able to set a lap good enough to get through to Q3. It's disappointing as it was a strong performance from him up until that point and we could've capitalised on the opportunities in that final session. The cars are now in parc ferme, so we can't make any additional changes, which means our focus tomorrow is now on learning more about the tyres to help us try to make up places in the Sprint and the race. The weather forecast for tomorrow is still saying a chance of rain, which could work in our favour, and hopefully we can look to make our way forward both tomorrow and in Sunday's race."
Check out our Friday gallery from Interlagos here.