Sauber: Giovinazzi crashes his second qualifying session in Shanghai
For this second round of the Championship, Antonio Giovinazzi was once again called up by the Sauber team. In contrast to qualifying in Australia, the outcome was not quite as honourable, due to a mistake. Marcus Ericsson started from 14th position.
New qualifying session and new opportunity for Antonio Giovinazzi, – replacing Pascal Wehrlein who is still injured – but a different outcome compared to Australia where he had led the first qualifying session without major issues. An error in Q1 decided otherwise this Saturday. A much smoother qualifying session, however, for Marcus Ericsson, who managed to reach Q2 in 14th position.
Antonio Giovinazzi, 15th in Q1 (1:34.963 min / super soft)
Eager to do well with this new opportunity, the 2016 GP2 season runner-up attacked hard (too hard) during Q1 at the start of the final corner, going wide, which resulted in a big scare and a heavily damaged car. A costly mistake, as he had already secured a place in Q2.
After a check-up conducted by the medical service, he shared details about his session.
For me, it was a disappointing end to the session. Everything was going well until the last corner of my last lap. I was already in Q2 and I was improving my time, but I pushed a little too hard. I hit the grass on the exit of my last corner and then lost the rear of the car.
It is a certain disappointment felt by the Italian driver who made a point of apologizing to his team.
« I apologize to the team for what happened. Tomorrow I will do my best to deliver a good performance » he concluded.
Giovinazzi walks away following his crash after Turn 16
Q2 slightly delayed as the track is cleared#ChineseGP #Quali 🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/8gtgAyxGC5
— Formula 1 (@F1) 8 avril /f1/actualite/21837-toto-wolff-revele-la-nature-de-la-blessure-de-pascal-wehrlein.html
It remains to be seen whether the protégé of Scuderia Ferrari will incur a penalty if elements of the single-seater have to be changed, like Daniel Ricciardo’s gearbox in Australia.
Marcus Ericsson, 14th in Q2 (1:35.046 / super soft)
The Swedish driver, despite making it to Q2 and securing 14th position, was affected by the tragedy that occurred in Stockholm.
« First of all, today I arrived at the circuit with mixed feelings after what happened yesterday in Stockholm. »
He continues his remarks on his performance of the day: « We should be satisfied with today’s result. I managed a good lap in Q1, which allowed me to enter Q2 again. FP3 was productive with a busy session focused on qualifying and race preparation, after yesterday’s day without track time. »
The former Caterham driver nevertheless believes that his position will be favorable for the race tomorrow (especially if rain is involved): « The 14th position is an interesting place for the race. »
