(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)
Mercedes AMG F1 Team's Nico Rosberg took pole position by two tenths of a second from team mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton. The German set a time of 1m 32.506s with Hamilton just 0.197s behind. Speaking following the session, Rosberg commented:
'That was one of the best qualifying sessions we did this year. The team did an incredible job to give me a brilliant car. It was so enjoyable to drive this wonderful track with that Silver Arrow. The balance was perfect, so I was able to push a lot and go to the limits in the corners. It’s always a great battle against Lewis; we push each other very much through the sessions.
Sometime he finds a tenth there, then I find a tenth here. That’s why I enjoy the situation so much. For tomorrow I think we are well prepared. Even in the wet our car is very quick as we have seen in Spa this year. So I definitely look forward to the race here in Japan. Again I need to thank the incredible fans here. They wait for hours to see us drivers and give us little gifts. That gives us a very special feeling.'
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who recovered from a crash this morning to start Sunday's race on the front row commented:
'It wasn’t the best of sessions today but it was a decent recovery considering the crash in FP3. I just overcooked it this morning and the team did a fantastic job to put the car back together.
Our mechanics are the best, they work so hard to get everything perfect. I feel good but I just wasn’t quick enough today. Nico did a great job, he looked very quick, particularly in Turn Eight, but I don’t feel like I’ve quite had the pace all weekend. I’m still second and we’ve seen races where we’ve come back from further than that, so I’m excited for tomorrow. I’ve heard there’s some rain coming, it’s going to make it very hard but it makes it more of a lottery.'
Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff stated:
'That was a fantastic battle between two drivers competing at the very highest level. Every day, somebody asks us whether the momentum is shifting one way or the other, but the reality is that they are both working so hard to find every little advantage, and trying to get the maximum out of every session. They were watching video replays of their laps during qualifying, analysing telemetry overlays as well, and it’s just fantastic to see this level of pure, intense competition between them.
Nico did a perfect job today and improved with every single run, finishing it off with a very strong pole position. Lewis was compromised by his accident this morning and something like this will always be sitting at the back of your mind. But he still will start from the front row, so it was a good recovery from him.
Looking to tomorrow, we are expecting rain coming in and that will give a very different picture to today. I guess we can expect one of those typical Japan races with lots of Safety Cars and exciting moment. We’d rather keep it quiet like today – but we don’t get to choose!'
Meanwhile, Mercedes Executive Technical Director, Paddy Lowe commented:
'A fantastic result to score a fourth consecutive front-row lockout and our 14th pole of this 2014 season. After Lewis’ accident in practice this morning, it was a great recovery by the team to put his car back together and get both drivers out on time at the start of Q1.
We ran the exact programme we had planned, progressing through the first two sessions with a single run and then two option runs in the final part. We saw a great fight between our two drivers for the front row, and it was great to see the strong pace of the car at this circuit which is very demanding for both the engine and the aerodynamics. Congratulations in particular to Nico on his pole position; he delivered a flawless session and very impressive pole laps.'
'That was one of the best qualifying sessions we did this year. The team did an incredible job to give me a brilliant car. It was so enjoyable to drive this wonderful track with that Silver Arrow. The balance was perfect, so I was able to push a lot and go to the limits in the corners. It’s always a great battle against Lewis; we push each other very much through the sessions.
Sometime he finds a tenth there, then I find a tenth here. That’s why I enjoy the situation so much. For tomorrow I think we are well prepared. Even in the wet our car is very quick as we have seen in Spa this year. So I definitely look forward to the race here in Japan. Again I need to thank the incredible fans here. They wait for hours to see us drivers and give us little gifts. That gives us a very special feeling.'
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who recovered from a crash this morning to start Sunday's race on the front row commented:
'It wasn’t the best of sessions today but it was a decent recovery considering the crash in FP3. I just overcooked it this morning and the team did a fantastic job to put the car back together.
Our mechanics are the best, they work so hard to get everything perfect. I feel good but I just wasn’t quick enough today. Nico did a great job, he looked very quick, particularly in Turn Eight, but I don’t feel like I’ve quite had the pace all weekend. I’m still second and we’ve seen races where we’ve come back from further than that, so I’m excited for tomorrow. I’ve heard there’s some rain coming, it’s going to make it very hard but it makes it more of a lottery.'
Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff stated:
'That was a fantastic battle between two drivers competing at the very highest level. Every day, somebody asks us whether the momentum is shifting one way or the other, but the reality is that they are both working so hard to find every little advantage, and trying to get the maximum out of every session. They were watching video replays of their laps during qualifying, analysing telemetry overlays as well, and it’s just fantastic to see this level of pure, intense competition between them.
Nico did a perfect job today and improved with every single run, finishing it off with a very strong pole position. Lewis was compromised by his accident this morning and something like this will always be sitting at the back of your mind. But he still will start from the front row, so it was a good recovery from him.
Looking to tomorrow, we are expecting rain coming in and that will give a very different picture to today. I guess we can expect one of those typical Japan races with lots of Safety Cars and exciting moment. We’d rather keep it quiet like today – but we don’t get to choose!'
Meanwhile, Mercedes Executive Technical Director, Paddy Lowe commented:
'A fantastic result to score a fourth consecutive front-row lockout and our 14th pole of this 2014 season. After Lewis’ accident in practice this morning, it was a great recovery by the team to put his car back together and get both drivers out on time at the start of Q1.
We ran the exact programme we had planned, progressing through the first two sessions with a single run and then two option runs in the final part. We saw a great fight between our two drivers for the front row, and it was great to see the strong pace of the car at this circuit which is very demanding for both the engine and the aerodynamics. Congratulations in particular to Nico on his pole position; he delivered a flawless session and very impressive pole laps.'
It was another fantastic session for the Williams Martini Racing Team who are in a huge battle with Ferrari for third place in the Constructors championship as Valtteri Bottas will start the race from third place on the grid with team mate Felipe Massa who will start the race from 4th place on the grid with the Grove based outfit starting the race just ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso who will start the race in fifth place.
Speaking following the session, Valtteri Bottas said:
'The goal was to be third and fourth behind the Mercedes so it’s good to have accomplished that. The gap to the top two was actually closer than we had expected so it’s positive to have closed that. Suzuka isn’t an easy circuit, and the chance of a typhoon tomorrow makes it even harder. I think we still have a chance to get a podium position regardless of the weather.'
Felipe Massa commented by saying:
'Luckily all the issues from yesterday were sorted today. It was a positive qualifying session for the team with both cars on the second row. I didn’t quite have enough for third today, but I know we have good pace in the car and I’m happy. We must concentrate on the job we have to do tomorrow regardless of what the weather is.'
The Grove based outfit are now ideally placed to extend the lead over Ferrari in the race for third place in the Constructors championship. Williams Martini Racing's Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley commented by saying:
'Today has been a really good day’s work. The team have all worked very hard and the drivers have delivered on the track. The new aero package has worked well so that was the first step completed. We are in the positions we hoped for and we are confident going into tomorrow that we have a car to retain third and fourth. The rain could make for an interesting day tomorrow, but for that reason it is even more important that we have qualified at the front as being further behind is really difficult in the wet.'
Speaking following the session, Valtteri Bottas said:
'The goal was to be third and fourth behind the Mercedes so it’s good to have accomplished that. The gap to the top two was actually closer than we had expected so it’s positive to have closed that. Suzuka isn’t an easy circuit, and the chance of a typhoon tomorrow makes it even harder. I think we still have a chance to get a podium position regardless of the weather.'
Felipe Massa commented by saying:
'Luckily all the issues from yesterday were sorted today. It was a positive qualifying session for the team with both cars on the second row. I didn’t quite have enough for third today, but I know we have good pace in the car and I’m happy. We must concentrate on the job we have to do tomorrow regardless of what the weather is.'
The Grove based outfit are now ideally placed to extend the lead over Ferrari in the race for third place in the Constructors championship. Williams Martini Racing's Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley commented by saying:
'Today has been a really good day’s work. The team have all worked very hard and the drivers have delivered on the track. The new aero package has worked well so that was the first step completed. We are in the positions we hoped for and we are confident going into tomorrow that we have a car to retain third and fourth. The rain could make for an interesting day tomorrow, but for that reason it is even more important that we have qualified at the front as being further behind is really difficult in the wet.'
Daniel Ricciardo did a great job for the Infiniti Red Bull Racing team as he will start the race from 6th place on grid, once again out-qualifying reigning world champion team mate Sebastian Vettel. Speaking following the session, the Australian said:
'I was quite surprised by Sebastian’s news, I didn’t know before this morning; it’s two pretty big changes for the team, Sebastian leaving and Daniil coming in, but Seb’s done his work here at Red Bull and he feels it’s time to move on. I’m glad I got one year to race with him and see how he works, I heard a lot about his work ethic before the season and it was good to see that this year and to go against him.
Daniil’s coming in and I expect him to be quick – I know him pretty well and it should be good fun working with him. I’m happy with how we bounced back in qualifying after my mistake yesterday, I thought we would be better here, but I think sixth is realistically what we could do today. If it rains tomorrow then we should be looking a bit better.'
'I was quite surprised by Sebastian’s news, I didn’t know before this morning; it’s two pretty big changes for the team, Sebastian leaving and Daniil coming in, but Seb’s done his work here at Red Bull and he feels it’s time to move on. I’m glad I got one year to race with him and see how he works, I heard a lot about his work ethic before the season and it was good to see that this year and to go against him.
Daniil’s coming in and I expect him to be quick – I know him pretty well and it should be good fun working with him. I’m happy with how we bounced back in qualifying after my mistake yesterday, I thought we would be better here, but I think sixth is realistically what we could do today. If it rains tomorrow then we should be looking a bit better.'
McLaren's Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button did a fantastic job for the Woking based outfit and will start the race from 7th and 8th place ahead main rivals Sahara Force India who they are battling in the Constructors championship.
Sebastian Vettel will start the race from 9th place while Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top ten in the second Ferrari. Speaking following the session Vettel commented on qualifying and his decision to leave the team:
'I wasn’t entirely happy with that qualifying, we lacked some running his morning but I wasn’t able to go with the track and was on the back foot, I struggled a bit on corners that I normally love, so it’s not easy, but tomorrow we still have a chance if it rains, if it doesn’t then it’s tougher from where we start but we will see.
'I wasn’t entirely happy with that qualifying, we lacked some running his morning but I wasn’t able to go with the track and was on the back foot, I struggled a bit on corners that I normally love, so it’s not easy, but tomorrow we still have a chance if it rains, if it doesn’t then it’s tougher from where we start but we will see.
Red Bull and I have had an incredible run together. I’m leaving a very happy place and of course it’s difficult but at some point you want to do something different. We had a good time and I hope we have a good final five races.
I’m not leaving because I don’t like the team nor because I don’t like individuals nor the situation, I’m not running away from anything – it felt like the right time and the voice inside me and hunger to do something new was bigger. So, even though it’s not the easiest decision to live with, you have to listen to your heart and go in your direction. I feel ready and the time is right to start something new. It’s a very difficult decision after 15 years together with Red Bull, it’s a tough day.'
Infiniti Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner commented on qualifying saying:
'On face value, sixth and ninth aren’t exactly stellar grid positions but, with the decision on set-up that we made for tomorrow’s race due to the inevitability of rain at some point, hopefully that will pay dividends tomorrow. We will see in 24 hours.
I think Daniel extracted everything he could out to the car today and it was good to have both drivers getting through to Q3.'
Toro Rosso's Jean Eric Vergne will start the race from eleventh place just ahead of Sahara Force India's Sergio Perez. Speaking following the session, the Mexican said:
'I’m feeling disappointed not to be higher up today. My first run in Q2 was good, but for my second attempt, when the track was improving, things didn’t work out for me.
On my out lap I came across a lot of traffic in the final chicane so I had to slow down and lost temperature in the tyres and brakes. So I arrived at turn one on the next lap and didn’t have the grip. It’s a shame not to maximise our performance today because we managed to improve the car before qualifying and I felt more was possible. I’m hoping for better things tomorrow.'
'I’m feeling disappointed not to be higher up today. My first run in Q2 was good, but for my second attempt, when the track was improving, things didn’t work out for me.
On my out lap I came across a lot of traffic in the final chicane so I had to slow down and lost temperature in the tyres and brakes. So I arrived at turn one on the next lap and didn’t have the grip. It’s a shame not to maximise our performance today because we managed to improve the car before qualifying and I felt more was possible. I’m hoping for better things tomorrow.'
Daniil Kvyat, who will make the step up to Infiniti Red Bull Racing will start the race from 13th place on the grid for Toro Rosso and will start the race just ahead of Sahara Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. The German commented afterwards by saying:
'Starting from P14 will be difficult and will make the race a bit more of a challenge. We lost a very good lap at the final chicane when I locked up and I have to kick myself for that.
I think we would have been on target for Q3, which would probably have been the optimum result considering our performance throughout the weekend so far. Starting 14th complicates things, but Suzuka is one of the trickiest circuits, so tomorrow there will be everything to play for. With the threat of rain, a lot can happen.'
Sahara Force India's deputy team principal Robert Fernley commented on the outfit's performance saying:
'Going into qualifying we certainly felt that Q3 was a realistic prospect and we should have ended the session a bit higher up the grid than P12 and P14. Nico made a mistake on his final lap in Q2 going into the chicane and that cost him the chance to move up.
It was a similar situation with Sergio, who did a great first lap in Q2, but didn’t get his timing correct on his second lap and was compromised by traffic.
So we didn’t extract the maximum from the car today. How this will impact the final result in the race remains to be seen. The question mark over the weather remains at the front of our minds and will present its own challenges and opportunities tomorrow.'
'Starting from P14 will be difficult and will make the race a bit more of a challenge. We lost a very good lap at the final chicane when I locked up and I have to kick myself for that.
I think we would have been on target for Q3, which would probably have been the optimum result considering our performance throughout the weekend so far. Starting 14th complicates things, but Suzuka is one of the trickiest circuits, so tomorrow there will be everything to play for. With the threat of rain, a lot can happen.'
Sahara Force India's deputy team principal Robert Fernley commented on the outfit's performance saying:
'Going into qualifying we certainly felt that Q3 was a realistic prospect and we should have ended the session a bit higher up the grid than P12 and P14. Nico made a mistake on his final lap in Q2 going into the chicane and that cost him the chance to move up.
It was a similar situation with Sergio, who did a great first lap in Q2, but didn’t get his timing correct on his second lap and was compromised by traffic.
So we didn’t extract the maximum from the car today. How this will impact the final result in the race remains to be seen. The question mark over the weather remains at the front of our minds and will present its own challenges and opportunities tomorrow.'
The Sauber F1 Team duo of Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez will start the race from 15th and 16th respectively. Esteban Gutierrez commented by saying:
'Q1 seemed to be quite positive and strong. But then I had some traffic on my out lap in Q2 which compromised my performance a bit. The tyre temperature was not on target, so it was difficult to get the tyres to work. However, tomorrow we could have some opportunities depending on the weather conditions, and we have to be prepared for that challenge.'
Adrian Sutil commented saying:
'So far, this has been a difficult weekend for us. The car is not easy to drive, nevertheless we were able to improve consistently in qualifying. I made it into Q2, and we then made some changes to the balance of the car, which enabled us to make a significant step forward. So I was able to improve my lap time at the end of Q2, but more than P15 was not possible. However, I believe, based on the current weather forecast, we could have good opportunities tomorrow.'
Following the session, Sauber F1 Team principal Monisha Keltenborn stated:
'Considering that we had a difficult Friday, we were able to reduce the gap to our competitors today. Nevertheless, it’s not a satisfactory result. According to the weather forecast everything is possible tomorrow, therefore it will be important to concentrate on the race and grab every opportunity that might come up.'
The Hinwil based outfit's Head of Track Engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara concluded by saying:
'Yesterday it was not a good day for us, so today we can be satisfied on the operational side at least. Both drivers did a decent job in bringing back some balance into the car. Unfortunately, the starting positions 15th for Adrian and 16th for Esteban are not satisfying, but this result reflects where we currently stand. However, the weather forecast predicts rain for tomorrow, so this can add some thrills into the race. We will try to get the best out of what we have.'
'Q1 seemed to be quite positive and strong. But then I had some traffic on my out lap in Q2 which compromised my performance a bit. The tyre temperature was not on target, so it was difficult to get the tyres to work. However, tomorrow we could have some opportunities depending on the weather conditions, and we have to be prepared for that challenge.'
Adrian Sutil commented saying:
'So far, this has been a difficult weekend for us. The car is not easy to drive, nevertheless we were able to improve consistently in qualifying. I made it into Q2, and we then made some changes to the balance of the car, which enabled us to make a significant step forward. So I was able to improve my lap time at the end of Q2, but more than P15 was not possible. However, I believe, based on the current weather forecast, we could have good opportunities tomorrow.'
Following the session, Sauber F1 Team principal Monisha Keltenborn stated:
'Considering that we had a difficult Friday, we were able to reduce the gap to our competitors today. Nevertheless, it’s not a satisfactory result. According to the weather forecast everything is possible tomorrow, therefore it will be important to concentrate on the race and grab every opportunity that might come up.'
The Hinwil based outfit's Head of Track Engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara concluded by saying:
'Yesterday it was not a good day for us, so today we can be satisfied on the operational side at least. Both drivers did a decent job in bringing back some balance into the car. Unfortunately, the starting positions 15th for Adrian and 16th for Esteban are not satisfying, but this result reflects where we currently stand. However, the weather forecast predicts rain for tomorrow, so this can add some thrills into the race. We will try to get the best out of what we have.'
The Lotus F1 Team duo of Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean qualified in 17th and 18th respectively, however Grosjean will start the race from 17th as Maldonado will have a five place grid penalty and will start from the back of the grid before carrying another five place penalty over to next weekend's Russian Grand Prix in Sochi following a ten place penalty for an engine change.
Speaking following the session, Romain Grosjean commented:
'We thought we were looking quite good from yesterday and this morning, enough to aim for P12 or P13 but I was less happy with the car in qualifying.
The wind changed and it might be too sensitive to that, but whatever the reason, we couldn’t get more pace out of the car. Tomorrow could be interesting depending on how much and when it rains, so we’ll see what we can do to benefit from the conditions.'
Pastor Maldonado stated:
'For sure we were expecting a better qualifying session but we couldn’t get more out of the car when we needed it most. There is potential for some excitement and some opportunities tomorrow with the weather forecast, but I have the penalty for my engine change which will give me an even bigger challenge.
I’ll keep focused for the race and we’ll be trying for the best result possible. Anything can happen.'
Speaking following the session, Romain Grosjean commented:
'We thought we were looking quite good from yesterday and this morning, enough to aim for P12 or P13 but I was less happy with the car in qualifying.
The wind changed and it might be too sensitive to that, but whatever the reason, we couldn’t get more pace out of the car. Tomorrow could be interesting depending on how much and when it rains, so we’ll see what we can do to benefit from the conditions.'
Pastor Maldonado stated:
'For sure we were expecting a better qualifying session but we couldn’t get more out of the car when we needed it most. There is potential for some excitement and some opportunities tomorrow with the weather forecast, but I have the penalty for my engine change which will give me an even bigger challenge.
I’ll keep focused for the race and we’ll be trying for the best result possible. Anything can happen.'
Marcus Ericsson will start the race from 18th place on the grid for the Caterham F1 Team just ahead of the Marussia F1 Team's Jules Bianchi and Kamui Kobayashi and Max Chilton.
© Ben Johnston 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment