Saturday: McLaren not as fast as expected

Lewis Hamilton – 12th and 4th:

« I am surprised by the result this afternoon, as we didn’t have the pace of the faster cars, I certainly didn’t expect to be in fourth place on the grid. But it’s a good starting position. Tomorrow I hope to maintain the same position or even gain at least one. I don’t think a victory is in our cards, but we will do everything we can. »

« We struggled in the second sector, we’re missing a bit of aerodynamic support, but I know that the people at the factory will do everything they can. And it’s a much, much better position to start the season than where we found ourselves last year. Managing the tires tomorrow will be very difficult. I don’t think people can understand how difficult it is to manage them in these conditions. It’s incredible how quickly they degrade. We’ll take the race one step at a time. »

Jenson Button – 7th and 8th:

I really struggled this afternoon with my front wheel lock-ups, but we improved this issue during the sessions. I was satisfied with the car in each stint, but in Q3 something didn’t seem right. The engineers analyzed the data to see what it was. It was a surprise for us to see the pace of the fastest cars. Today, we saw which cars are fast over one lap, tomorrow we might see a slightly different picture, because these cars will behave very differently with higher fuel loads. Also, your strategy isn’t decided on Saturday, we will also need to see what the others do in the race.

« There will be a lot of vehicles in turn one tomorrow, but I hope I can pick a nice line and get through smoothly. I’m looking forward to the challenge and it will be very different from what everyone knows. It will be a long race tomorrow.»

Martin Whitmarsh, team director:

« We had some issues with grip and improvement in today’s qualifying, particularly in sector 2 with its bumpy corner. That said, both our drivers did a fantastic job with Lewis’s results, starting tomorrow from the second row and Jenson from the fourth row. It will be a hot and tiring Sunday afternoon for the 24 drivers, but Jenson and Lewis’s physical condition and determination will be beneficial throughout the 49 laps. »