22/06/2024
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen: "We made some good set up changes going into qualifying and the car was a lot better. I think we really maximised that and the car felt more connected and nice to drive.
"We were strong into the high speed and I felt really comfortable there and the high speed corners were really quick. We have had a clean weekend and have been fine tuning the car throughout the week. During the practice session I felt like we were not the quickest out there but qualifying felt really good. McLaren were quick the whole weekend and we have been a little bit behind them, so we need to look at what we can do to optimise the performance tomorrow and be more competitive. Looking to tomorrow, I think it will be very tight; it will be about how we approach the tyres, especially with the high degradation. It will be a close and exciting race tomorrow. We need to analyse a few things but qualifying has been good so we can aim to fight for the win."
Sergio Perez: "I am not happy with my position today, the target was to be higher up. It was a tricky qualifying, we struggled initially and we burned through the tyres quickly unfortunately, which meant we weren't able to extract the maximum out of it. My final lap wasn't as clean as it needed to be in Q3, I didn't have enough of a rhythm or a pace. We needed more of a progression through the session and we didn't have that, we will work hard to have that for the race. We have made some good changes so we should be on the right track for Sunday. It will be a difficult race from P11 with the grid penalty and it will be very important to be patient and get the right opportunities, especially if it's wet because anything can happen. We have to be ready to be out there when it matters. Hopefully we are able to secure some good points and take them away from our rivals."
Christian Horner: "That was very close. We matched the time in Montreal and today we missed out by two hundredths of a second but a great performance by Max and the Team. Equally good to see Checo stepping back into Q3. He will have some work to do with the three place penalty putting him in 11th but it's all to play for tomorrow. We've done some good work overnight; we've improved the car which sees us on the front row in a very good position. It's one of the longest runs to turn one of the year so starting in second place is not necessarily a disadvantage. There's also some chance of rain, particularly in the morning so it could be another really exciting day tomorrow, but I don't think this race will just be about the start, it's going to be about the tyres, the degradation and how the left-hand tyres survive."