Nico Rosberg delighted with his qualifying lap at Suzuka: reactions from the top 3!
Moments after the qualifying session, the leading trio spoke to journalists. They all seemed satisfied with their performance, on different levels! The happiest of them all, of course, was Nico Rosberg, who held off the onslaught of his team-mate.
Nico Rosberg in full confidence!
The quest for the World Drivers’ Championship title is an ongoing battle. Helped by Lewis Hamilton’s engine failure last Sunday in Sepang, Nico Rosberg now has the chance to drive the point home against his rival.
In any case, he didn’t miss the first opportunity to do it, with this beautiful pole position, secured in his very last flying lap! The leader of the drivers’ standings flexed his muscles against the Englishman:
« The feeling has been good since the beginning of the weekend, everything seems to be working well. I found a very comfortable car setup, which gave me the confidence to perform such a lap. I am thrilled! »
As in Singapore, the former Williams driver was able to rise to the challenge during the crucial timed lap. But of course, half of the journey, the most important part, still remains to be done. As we have seen since the start of Free Practice, tire management will be the key. Especially since Ferrari seems comfortable here in this exercise:
I just have to do everything in the best way possible. The start will be an important moment because we’ve seen since the beginning of the weekend that nothing is easy; it will be an interesting challenge. We will need to manage the tires to make longer stints and succeed with the strategy. But with Lewis behind, it’s always a battle to fight!
Lewis Hamilton already happy to have gotten this far
For the ninth time this season, the reigning world champion will start behind his teammate and rival. But the Englishman seemed primarily happy to have limited the damage.
« Overall, this weekend was not easy – although there are never any easy ones – but I am not as strong as I was in the last race. »
After some upstream adjustments regarding the settings, Hamilton even held the Pole position before the last outing on the track during Q3, before seeing it snatched away by 13 thousandths of a second.
« I was going in the wrong direction with my settings, so I had to change them before the Qualifications, so I was kind of in a no man’s land at the end of FP3!
There have been some big changes and it wasn’t easy to get back on track with this different car. That’s why I’m generally happy, I’m still in a good position for tomorrow.
»
Teasingly, the former McLaren driver took the opportunity to remind everyone that he is indeed the one who holds the last two victories at Suzuka. Each time, he started behind pole sitter Nico Rosberg, only to eventually triumph under the checkered flag. So, will it be never two without three?
« I’m making progress and achieved the best possible time today. History shows that you don’t necessarily need to start on pole to win here. »
Anyway, this tiny gap was simply the smallest of the entire season between the two front-row men!
A conquering Kimi Räikkönen, not far from the Mercedes!
The offensive tire choice by Scuderia Ferrari paid off, with Kimi Räikkönen’s impressive third place. The Finnish driver expertly used his 9 sets of soft tires to achieve a commendable time, just three-tenths off Rosberg’s pole. He even briefly outpaced Nico Rosberg in the standings before the final improvement by the Mercedes driver!
« The third place is a good result for us. »
Friday, the Finn stated that there was still a lot of time to gain after having struggled with the car during the first two free practice sessions.
But this result is ultimately very interesting, with a third place, snatching it right from under Sebastian Vettel’s nose. Moreover, like Nico Rosberg, “Iceman” moves ahead of his teammate in their direct Saturday duel (9-8 for Räikkönen against Vettel).
I am surprisingly pleased with the car’s performance and speed. It was hard to find the ideal balance—we’ve been dealing with a bit of understeer since the beginning of the weekend—but everything went well in that aspect. Third place is not exactly what we aim for, but it’s not bad at all.
Let’s remember that even though the Ferrari driver can no longer mathematically be world champion (only Ricciardo is still holding his own against Rosberg and Hamilton), he will try to achieve his fifth podium of the season. And why not perform at least as well as in Sakhir or Barcelona, with a second-place finish.
« We will try to do at least as well tomorrow! » concluded number 7 in his post-qualifying remarks.
For this, it will depend in particular on what happens in front of him at the start…
