Formula 1

FRONT ROW FOR THE SILVER ARROWS

For Nico, “it’s a great feeling to be on pole again. So far this weekend has been very positive and it’s a pleasure to see that the team is improving and fighting through the problems together. I know everyone back at the factory and at home will have been watching this afternoon and it’s a great feeling for all of us. 

However, we know that this is only half of the job completed and have the painful memory of what happened in Bahrain to prove that. We’ve worked very hard on our race pace but this track is tough for the tyres, particularly with graining. 

So it will be a big challenge tomorrow and our goal is to make the most of the opportunity we have from starting at the front and get a strong result for the team.”

Lewis feels the team did “a great job and I’m so happy that we got a one-two qualifying result today. It’s a real bonus for us to be so high up, and that’s all down to the hard work that the team have put into this car, I can’t thank them enough.

Of course, I’d like to be one place higher but Nico did an awesome job and really nailed his lap. I’ve not been totally happy with the balance of my car all weekend, even today, so we need to look at it this evening and see what we can do for the race. 

Limiting the degradation is going to be my major challenge as the general pace isn’t too bad. It’s going to be tough to keep these positions tomorrow but we’ll give it our best shot.”