2017 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying – Team and Driver Reaction
Here is your roundup of all the action from Qualifying today!
A lot more happened compared to the practice session yesterday ahead of the 2017 Formula 1 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix tomorrow.
Mercedes – 2017 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Team and Driver Reaction
The team looked like they were behind the Ferrari’s during their practice sessions and through parts of qualifying too however Hamilton bagged pole position for the race tomorrow.
Lewis Hamilton
Position – 1st
Time – 1:31.678
Hamilton “….pushes you to raise the bar every time you got out, which I love….”
“It’s been an interesting weekend so far, obviously after missing running yesterday. It’s been a massive challenge for us all – trying to compile a lot of yesterday’s work into running this morning.”
“Ferrari have been fast through practice and then into qualifying – we knew that it was going to be close and that we’d have to pull out all the stops to beat them. I managed to chip away at it in the session and then make my last lap, my fastest lap.”
“It’s more exciting than ever right now, we’re really fighting these guys out there and that’s what racing is all about. It pushes you to raise the bar every time you go out, which I love.”
“A big thank you to all the fans too – there were a lot of British flags out there which is great to see.”
Valtteri Bottas
Position – 3rd
Time – 1:31.865
Bottas -“Ferrari were quick – we were always expecting a close fight…”
“It’s a real shame that Sebastian managed to get between us. I think last time it was a couple of hundredths and now a thousandth!”
“Around the lap here there is quite a lot of places you can lose that and I will have to look and see what improvements can be made as always.”
“The race is tomorrow and we are first and third on the grid as a team which is a good place to start – anything can happen with the weather too.”
“Lewis was strong today and Ferrari were very quick too – we were always expecting a close fight and I think it will be the same tomorrow.”
“Thanks again to the team who did such a great job in a short amount of practice time we had today and to get the car set up well. It was enjoyable to driver so let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
Toto Wolff – Head of Mercedes Benz Motorsport
Wolff – “It’s a great battle with Ferrari!”
“Qualifying is a very different experience this year. I find it incredible that you can invent a brand new set of rules – same for everybody and the teams go away and do so much work and we still end up fighting for thousandths of a second to decide the positions on the front row!”
“It was tense to the end of Q3 and with everything coming down to that final run.”
“Both drivers improved on their final effort and it’s a great battle with Ferrari.”
“We are putting everything on the line every time that we go out on track. For tomorrow, it will be a bit of a voyage into the unknown – the conditions are predicted to be cooler – perhaps wet and we don’t have any Friday data points to work with.”
“We will need to see if we have anticipated things correctly.”
Sauber – 2017 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Team and Driver Reaction
Giovinazzi looked impressive yet again however he put a wheel on the grass – spinning into the tyre wall on the main straight.
This ended his involvement in qualifying however it helps Marcus Ericsson to sneak into Q2.
Marcus Ericsson
Position – 14th
Time – 1:35.046
Ericsson – “It’s terrible news what happened yesterday in Stockholm”
“First of all, I went to the track with very mixed feelings today after what happened yesterday in Stockholm – it’s terrible news.”
“Regarding our performance, we should be satisfied with the qualifying result today – FP3 was a productive session with a busy schedule and we focused on qualifying and race preparation after almost no running yesterday.”
“I put in a good lap time in Q1 which again, took me into Q2. P14 is an interesting starting place for the race tomorrow.”
Antonio Giovinazzi
Position – 15th
Time – 1:34.963
Giovinazzi – “I pushed a bit too much…. I apologise to the team for what happened.”
“For me, it was a disappointing end to qualifying – it was all good until the last corner of my final lap. I was already in Q2 and improving my lap time and I pushed a bit too much, touched the grass on the exit of the last corner and lost the rear of the car.”
“I really apologise to the team for what happened and tomorrow I will do my best and put in a good performance.”
Ferrari – 2017 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Team and Driver Reaction
A great day for the team who carried on where the left off in Melbourne! Dominating FP3 and looking strong throughout qualifying but didn’t manage to get pole position.
Sebastian Vettel
Position – 2nd
Time – 1:31.864
Vettel – “I trust the car and what she is telling me – it’s a good match!”
“It was a bit closer than in Australia so overall – it was a good session with lots of chances for tomorrow.”
“We’ll see what the race can bring with the different conditions and everything – of course, I would have liked to have been even closer but knowing that the Mercedes would be very strong in Q3 – as they proved to be.”
“We had some luck with Valtteri because when you’re a thousandth of a second apart – it could be one way or the other!”
“I was very happy with my lap, even if I braked a bit too early for the last corner, hit the kerb hard and then had to wait for the car to setting – that’s where I lost a bit of time but not all the gap to Lewis.”
“This is a good result and the confidence is there, I trust what the car is telling me and she seems to respond to what I tell her – it’s a good match but we need to improve further.”
Kimi Raikkonen
Position – 4th
Time – 1:32.140
Raikkonen – “The car wasn’t bad…. conditions will be different tomorrow so we will see!”
“I’m not surprised from the result after strong performance in Q2 because in the end, I was struggling with the front end – especially in the first corners.”
“It has been tricky to get everything right with limited running we had yesterday and we’re still not 100% where we want to be.”
“Handling wise, the car wasn’t bad even though I experience understeer in the beginning and then, for whatever reason, it changed to oversteer!”
“Conditions will be different for tomorrow and there will be a bit of guessing for everyone if it rains – so, we will see.”
Red Bull Racing – 2017 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Driver and Team Reaction
Verstappen suffered an engine setting issue in Q1 which limited his running. Ricciardo managed to put in a great lap allowing him to claim 5th position.
Daniel Ricciardo
Position – 5th
Time – 1:35.092
Ricciardo – “It will be an exciting race for the spectators so we will do all we can”
“Personally, I’m happy with what I was able to get out of the car this afternoon but obviously as a team and as a driver – we want more.”
“I felt like up to today, we still probably hadn’t got the most out of the setup but in qualifying I felt comfortable with the car.”
“You won’t see me looking disappointed if it rains tomorrow as the wet conditions always create more opportunities and it will be up to me to maximise those if it happens.”
“We hope to have a good car in the wet, downforce plays a huge rolls in those conditions so we’ll have to wait and see.”
“Whatever happens, it certainly will be an exciting race for the spectators and we will do all we can to be on the podium.”
Max Verstappen
Position – 19th
Time – 1:35.433
Verstappen – “Some good overtaking and an exciting race – that’s what I’m hoping for.”
“Starting from 19th on the grid is going to be tough but I think there is rain on the way.”
“There was something misfiring in the engine which meant we were down on power – I tried to do a lap that could at leas get me through to Q2 but the issue just wouldn’t let me.”
“The guys will do everything they can this evening to investigate and I’m confident that they can resolve it for the race.”
“A bit of rain tomorrow will definitely help us but I think that even in the wet – it will be tough to challenge the Ferrari and Mercedes but we need to concentrate on what we have and do the best we can.”
“I will go home tonight, get some good rest and sleep then I’ll come to the track tomorrow ready to attack on what will hopefully be a wet track.”
“If it’s dry tomorrow – you lose too much time starting from where I am on the grid, we will see – some good overtakes hopefully and an exciting race, that’s what I’m hoping for.”
Christian Horner – Team Principal
Horner – “….with the threat of rain – it can always present some opportunities.”
“A very frustrating qualifying for Max and unfortunate for him that it looks engine related but hopefully it can be salvaged without a penalty for tomorrow!”
“I thing Daniel managed to extract everything possible from the car today – fifth is a fair reflection on where we currently are and hopefully, tomorrow we can make some progress in the race and with the threat of some rain – it can always present some opportunities.”
Toro Rosso – 2017 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Team and Driver Reaction
Carlos Sainz was the unlucky driver to be eliminated at the end of Q2 with Kvyat making it through to Q3 but not finding enough pace to challenge the Force India.
Daniil Kvyat
Position – 9th
Time – 1:33.719
Kvyat – “It will be a fun race whatever the weather.”
“We had a lot of things to focus on today and in the end, we did a good job.”
“I’m feeling confident and we managed to put some very good laps together – overall, I’m satisfied with my qualifying session.”
“After not the easiest FP3 – not having much of running yesterday, this morning we struggled quite a bit with the balance of the car. The team and engineers all managed to put everything together for qualifying.”
“We are satisfied with the performance and for getting into Q3 – I missed out to P7 but I will try and make up for it tomorrow.”
“If the rain does come, I think it will offer more opportunities but also – more threats as we know that anything can happen in the rain and we need to do the best job and take calculated risks.”
“It will be a fun race whatever the weather.”
Carlos Sainz
Position – 11th
Time – 1:34.150
Sainz – “I always welcome the rain…. I think we will have opportunities to fight tomorrow”
“It’s incredible how tight the midfield is! To see two of three drivers within a tenth means that nowadays it’s even more important that the smallest detail can make all the difference!”
“I’m honestly really enjoying these fights and today’s has been quite an eventful qualifying session – every lap counts and I was trying to find half a tenth here and half a tenth there – it’s exciting!”
“Tomorrow is the big day and from there we start in P11 the best possible result is that we can choose the tyre strategy – it’s it’s a dry race.”
“If it’s wet, we know that we have a strong chassis and I always welcome the rain – one way or another, I think we have the opportunities to fight for a good result tomorrow.”
James Key – Technical Director
Key – “Tomorrow could potentially be very interesting”
“I’d say that today proved to us what we already saw in Melbourne – it’s now really close between all the teams around us.”
“Unfortunately, Carlos just missed out from getting through to Q3 after not being able to get the best out of his final lap in Q2 and with it being so tight, the smallest hiccup means that you lose places and I think that this is what happened today.”
“It would have been great for him to have gotten though and having said that – he starts from P11 so we will see what we can do from there.”
“Tomorrow could potentially be a very interesting race and given the likely weather conditions – we look forward to it.”
Nonetheless, we can’t complain, as we got him through and he’s in the top ten to start with; it really is all down to the finest of margins in the current situation. Tomorrow could potentially be a very interesting race, given the likely weather conditions. We look forward to it.”
Williams – 2017 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Team and Driver Reactions
The Williams team put in a good performance today with both their cars getting into Q3! Lance Stroll impressed by making it into Q3 for the first time too.
Felipe Massa
Position – 6th
Time – 1:33.507
Massa – “The weather may be crazy… hopefully there will be rain so we can have a fight.”
“I think it was a very good qualifying session for us – I’m happy with my performance and with my lap. The balance of the car is good too.”
“We were able to get ahead of Hulkenberg right at the end so I think we did all the best that we could today.”
“We need to be completely open-minded for tomorrow because the weather may be crazy and there may be rain so we can hopefully have a fight and also have a good performance like we did in Australia.”
Lance Stroll
Position – 10th
Time – 1:34.220
Stroll – “It was an amazing lap… I was really happy with the car”
“The first run in Q1 wasn’t good – I was just getting into it and didn’t deliver the lap that I knew I could deliver.”
“On the second set of tyres, I just kind of calmed down and it was an amazing lap – I was really happy with the car. Moving on to Q2 and agin had a good session.”
“To get into Q3 – the time was a tenth slower than my lap in Q1 but I knew that it was good enough. Since I used two sets in Q1, I only had one for Q3 so I just went for it.”
“Tomorrow, there is a long race ahead of us and even though Q3 wasn’t as good as I think it could have been, I’m still very happy with the overall qualifying.”
Paddy Lowe – Chief Technical Officer
Lowe – “We’re looking forward to the race tomorrow – I’m pleased with how everyone has worked.”
“It was a good turnout in the grandstands here in Shanghai and I’m so pleased that we were able to put on some exciting entertainment for the fans in better weather conditions today.”
‘It was a solid job from Felipe and we found good speed in the car – it was encouraging to see where we lie pace-wise and this is more conventional circuit – a true test of the car.”
“Lance was rookie of the day for me, he did an incredible job to get himself up to P10 so well done to him.”
“We’re really looking forward to the race tomorrow and see what points we can pick up from the postings – overall, I’m really pleased with how everyone has worked together as a team this weekend.”
Force India – 2017 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Team and Driver Reaction
Sergio Perez
Position – 8th
Time – 1:33.706
Perez – “It will be a big challenge but the team is ready to fight….”
“I’m very pleased with the qualifying result today. It’s probably a bit better than I expected but the team did a fantastic job in getting the car in shape for qualifying considering the lack of track time that we had yesterday.”
“All of my laps were clean and tidy – I think we maximised all we could from the car and it’s now looking like we will have a wet race which could generate some opportunities. It will be a big challenge but the team is ready to fight and hopefully we can come away with more points.”
Esteban Ocon
Position – 20th
Time – 1:35.496
Ocon – “It will be a case of learning as we go and making the most out of the situation”
“It’s disappointing to go out in Q1 but I never got the chance to show the car’s full potential. I was setting a good lap time and on the same pace as Sergio – I would have made it into Q2 but the yellow flags for Giovinazzi’s crash stopped me from finishing the lap.”
“It’s a shame but it’s just the luck of the draw and today – it wasn’t meant to be.”
“I’m still going to put up a fight tomorrow – the weather forecast predicts rain so anything can happy – nobody has raced in the wet with these tyres so it will be a case of learning as we go and making the most of the situation.”
Robert Fernley – Deputy Team Principal
Fernley – “The wet weather will mix things up a bit…”
“It’s been a case of mixed fortunes today with Sergio making Q3 and Esteban losing out to the yellow flags in Q1.”
“As for the race, the forecast suggests that wet weather is on the way which would certainly mix things up a little bit.”
McLaren – 2017 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Team and Driver Reactions
Vandoorne’s lap was disrupted by Giovinazzi’s crash and was unable to improve – Alonso only managed to qualify in P13.
Fernando Alonso
Position – 13th
Time – 1:34.372
Alonso – “I pushed like an animal!”
“I think that I extracted the maximum from the car today. I was flat-out and pushed like an animal!”
“We were pessimistic going onto qualifying and after our FP3 performance which felt very uncompetitive, we felt like we had nothing left.”
“In Quali, the car picked up some pace and we were able to make it into Q2 and get 13th position which was a nice surprise.”
“For tomorrow, the race is expecting rain which will help us – since in dry conditions it would be difficult to score points but in the wet conditions, anything could happen.”
“We need some chaos in the race basically – we’ve raced in those conditions in the past and we have to use the experience to take any opportunity that opens up in front of us.”
“If it rains, this will be good for the fans to watch – they will enjoy it and it will also be fun for us too – if we can take our chances.”
Stoffel Vandoorne
Position – 16th
Time – 1:35.023
Vandoorne – “I’m learning…a mix up in the weather will be good for us at the moment.”
“After practice this morning, I felt quite comfortable in the car but unfortunately it took a bit longer than expected to get out and onto the track for Q1.”
“We had a bit of a delay and had to rush through the programme – I’m a little bit disappointed as I felt the chance was definitely there to get into Q2.”
“Having more mileage yesterday, it would have been useful today also and it always helps when you know the track a little bit better.”
‘I think the pace this morning was pretty good so we can see what we can do tomorrow.”
“We’re pushing quite hard and it’s normal to try different things on track and to be able to extract the maximum out of the car. Today wasn’t the ideal situation but every kilometre here for me is valuable!”
“I’m learning things with every lap I do. A mix up with the weather conditions will always be good for us at the moment – let’s see what happens in the race.”
“If it rains tomorrow – it will mix everything up for everyone and there could be a lot of opportunities for us and we intend to make the most of them.”
Eric Boullier – Racing Director
Boulier – “It will be a tough race, both drivers will give it all they’ve got.”
“Fernando carved a banzai lap in Q1 today to blast his way through to Q2 – he then drove another god lap to end up in P13 – not a great result in the grand scheme of things but not at all bad given the long straights.”
“As in Melbourne two weeks ago, Stoffel was unlucky again – his running in Q1 was unexpectedly cut short through the yellow flags that were triggered after Giovinazzi’s crash.”
“Tomorrow, both our drivers must expect a tough race, whatever the weather – they will both give it all they have got – as they always do.”
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Pictures – Kym Illman