Friday: Mercedes doesn’t think it can beat Red Bull
Buddh seems to be Red Bull's stronghold. The RB9s were relentless this Friday, and Mercedes hopes to be the best of the rest right behind the Austrian cars on the grid tomorrow.
Lewis Hamilton – 5th and 4th:
« We made good progress between the two practice sessions today. This morning it wasn’t good enough but we completed a lot of laps this afternoon and made progress. It’s difficult to find the right settings here and the track is very hard on the tires so I think everyone was struggling a bit with the softs. Our car is performing well at this stage but there is room for improvement. We will work hard to deliver a strong performance in qualifying tomorrow, ideally on the second row and then hopefully a place on the podium. That would be nice. »
Nico Rosberg – 3rd and 6th:
« It was a difficult day for us. We learned a lot but still have a lot of work ahead of us to find the right settings. Overall, the main question this weekend is who will be third behind the Red Bulls because they seem untouchable on this track. But I’m confident that we will have a role to play in the battle tomorrow and Sunday. »
