Saturday: a rather satisfying day for Mercedes
Despite a major accident during the third free practice session, Nico Rosberg was able to take part in the qualifying thanks to the work of his mechanics. As for Michael Schumacher, he achieved his best qualification of the season by taking fifth place on the starting grid.
Michael Schumacher – 5th
« Above all, I am happy to learn that Sergio is fine: that’s the most important thing. The accident reminded me of what happened to Karl Wendlinger in 1994 [the Austrian driver crashed sideways into the entrance of the safety escape route and was in a coma for 20 days] and it shows the improvement in safety quality initiated by the FIA since then, especially regarding side impacts.
As for my position on the grid, I benefited a bit from this incident and it seems that 7th place would have been closer to reality. That said, our car seems better in race configuration this weekend and a good start would allow me to make the most of it. Overtaking is difficult on this track, so we’ll need the right strategy, especially because the tires should last longer than in the recent races and we should expect fewer stops. I think the Grand Prix will be exciting.
Nico Rosberg – 8th
I must say thank you to the whole team and everyone today for their consideration after my accident. This morning I made a small mistake and lost control of the car, but no one was angry about it when I returned to the garage: the guys just came to me and said “We are going to qualifying!” Q3 was difficult, the red flag came out at the worst possible time for me. When we got back on track, it was not possible to do a quick lap because the tires weren’t working properly. I’m still happy to have participated in Q3 after this tough day. I also want to send my best wishes to Sergio. We are all glad to hear that he is fine after such an accident.
Ross Brawn
« We achieved a reasonable result given the circumstances. Nico’s accident this morning required a significant amount of effort from the team members, and they deserve praise for the fantastic work they did to get the car ready for qualifying. Nico’s schedule was inevitably disrupted today, and the red flag in qualifying didn’t help. Michael had a calmer day and did a good job by placing the car in 5th position, which is an excellent result. I think we can expect a good race tomorrow.
We were all horrified by the severity of Sergio Perez’s accident. The progress made in terms of safety is credited to the FIA and all the teams. It’s the type of moment that makes us realize that this sport can be very challenging and how important it is to continue improving safety standards. We are very happy that Sergio is doing well.
Norbert Haug
« The most important thing today is that Sergio Perez is okay after his accident. We wish him a speedy recovery. The whole team did a fantastic job getting Nico’s car ready in less than two hours. It wasn’t a given. Michael did a good job placing the car on the third row. Nico wasn’t able to do a single proper run with new tires before the interruption in Q3. After the restart, track conditions had changed, and he lacked grip. We hope to have a good race tomorrow, as the cars have been performing well throughout all the sessions ».
