What the teams said – Sprint day and Qualifying in Belgium

McLaren

Piastri made a good start to the Sprint but was powerless to prevent Verstappen flying past down the Kemmel Straight once the Dutchman got into the slipstream. Leclerc pulled off a similar move on Norris. But Norris was able to fight back and overtake Leclerc, then closing in on the front two. Verstappen made no mistakes in the closing stages, so gave no opportunities to Piastri or Norris, who just did not have enough straight-line speed to challenge the Red Bull for the win.

The good news for McLaren is that their one-lap pace was still superior to the rest of the field, as their drivers locked-out the front row for the Grand Prix. Piastri made the smallest of errors on his final flying run, which made all the difference as Norris bagged his fourth pole of the season.

Lando Norris, Sprint: 3rd, Qualifying: 1st, 1:40.562

“It was a decent lap and I’m very happy. I was confident after yesterday and confident coming into today and it’s nice to see that I could get back to the top. The car has been flying all weekend and I feel good. Oscar's been doing a good job all weekend too, we’re pushing each other a lot. It’s a good but tough battle that we have at the minute.

“The weather looks interesting for tomorrow. I don’t mind if we have sun, rain or a bit of both. It’s normal here at Spa and I’m looking forward to a fun race whatever we get.”

Oscar Piastri, Sprint: 2nd, Qualifying: 2nd, 1:40.647

“Starting P2 tomorrow. I’m a little bit disappointed as I didn’t put the lap together in the final run of Q3, losing time at Turn 14, but it’s incredibly fine margins out there, and it felt like the car was in a really good place again. The weather tomorrow means it’s tricky to predict what will happen, but starting on the front row is always a good thing. We’ll work through it all overnight and be ready to go racing tomorrow.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“The team and drivers did a great job today to come away with a double podium in this morning's Sprint and a 1-2 result in Qualifying for tomorrow's Grand Prix, with both Lando and Oscar delivering superb pace.

"This morning's Sprint race didn't deliver quite the result we wanted with Oscar taking second and Lando third, but it has put us in good condition to make some improvements ahead of tomorrow's race.

"The weather will certainly play its part on race day, as is so often the case here in Spa, and both Red Bull and Ferrari have made improvements today which will put us under pressure from the start. The whole team will make sure we are in the best position possible to finish the weekend with a victory and more valuable points in both championships.”

Red Bull

Red Bull had opted for a skinny rear wing for the Sprint, and it proved a masterstroke. With better straight line speed than McLaren, Verstappen was able to overtake Piastri on the opening lap. From there, the Dutchman drove perfectly to keep the arguably faster McLarens at bay as he took the Sprint win here as he did in 2023. Tsunoda came home down the order, unable to make much of an impact in the tight midfield.

But the Japanese racer did much better come Qualifying, making Q3 for the first time since Miami and going on to grab his best Qualifying performance since he joined Red Bull. Verstappen was a touch more disappointed, unable to split the McLarens again after adding some downforce to his car with a view to tomorrow’s weather forecast.

Max Verstappen, Sprint: 1st, Qualifying: 4th, 1:40.903

“It was amazing to get the Sprint win here today and finishing P1 at my favourite track is always great. It was good for us to have the top speed advantage that we had; I wasn’t sure if we could keep the McLarens behind but we didn’t make many mistakes and had really good battery management. It was a nice surprise, we worked really well as a Team and it was a good boost for everyone today going into the rest of the weekend. For Qualifying, honestly, I was hoping for a little bit more. For some reason in Q3 I just didn’t have the same grip and feeling in the car. I was hoping that the set up that we had would help the driving feeling, but this wasn’t the case and the balance wasn’t where we wanted it to be. I felt like I couldn’t push the car to the limit and attack the corners how I like, which you really need to do here in Spa. I had a wheel spin on the last corner of the first lap and, on the second lap, I was down on my lap time already on turn one which wasn’t ideal. We were pretty close to the McLarens, so it was a shame to finish P4 as we were at least hoping to be P3. Fighting for the win will be tough as both McLarens will still be fast in the wet, so we don’t expect any miracles. We want to fight back for a podium and lot could happen in the race with the weather."

Yuki Tsunoda, Sprint: 11th, Qualifying: 7th, 1:41.284

“The Sprint wasn't the start to the day that we were wanting and my pace really didn't stack up against my management of the car but the Team really turned things around very quickly ahead of Qualifying. P7 for my 100th start tomorrow is so exciting, it feels like yesterday that I had my first ever race in Bahrain and it really has been an interesting journey these past five years. The F1 environment can be hard but all you can do is keep pushing which is what we did today. It is a great feeling being back to the place where I should be, but I would like to say a huge thank you to my mechanics who managed to make the upgrade to the floor ahead of Qualifying. The upgrade allowed me to really push and drive much closer to the limit than has been possible previously, the car is sliding less and is a lot more forgiving, really it’s a huge credit to the Team. I really enjoyed the drive today and am feeling more confident going into race day tomorrow, we know that it is likely to rain but our hybrid set up means that we are prepared for the wet or the dry but obviously I would prefer the dry. My main focus now is on scoring points tomorrow and extracting as much performance as possible from the car. Seeing Laurent at the end of Qualifying gave me flashbacks from when we worked together at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, he smiled directly at me as soon as I pulled in today and it really boosted my confidence."

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal

"It was a very positive start to the day with a win in the Sprint. This was down to the enormous effort from everyone in the factory to deliver key upgrades, and from there it was an incredible job from Max. He had only one shot to make the move on Oscar and he nailed it, after that it was a masterclass of defence and tyre management, well supported by the Team. Qualifying was a smooth session but nowhere near perfect and it was certainly a little bit more difficult to extract everything from the car for Max. This is something for us as a Team to look at. The gap to McLaren is probably fair, it is reflecting the reality and it is still a bit frustrating to miss out. For Yuki it was a really positive step forward this weekend and it is good to see him in Q3. He progressed very well, and his best Qualifying result for the Team should give him a good boost of confidence. We upgraded his car just before Qualifying, giving him the same updated floor as Max, although not the same front wing. A big thank you for the huge effort from the crew to get that car ready on time. We will fight from P4 and P7 tomorrow and everything is to play for. We will see what the weather is like, we are not desperate for rain but we have made choices on the car to prepare for variable weather. The rain is probably the best chance to mix up the cards and to get closer to McLaren but if it’s a drier day we will still take the fight and it will be down to how we play the game and tyre management."

Ferrari

Leclerc managed to pick off Norris on the opening lap, but soon lost out to the McLaren man. He then wound up a lonely fourth, well off the pace of the front three. Hamilton could not make up many places after a poor Sprint Qualifying, but he did at least learn plenty about the new rear suspension upgrades.

Hamilton’s day did not improve come Qualifying, when his last lap time in Q1 was deleted for exceeding track limits through Raidillon. That dropped him out in Q1, on what has been a disappointing weekend so far. Leclerc did make Q3, and managed to extract absolutely everything on his final flying run to grab third, winding up just 0.003s ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Charles Leclerc, Sprint: 4th, Qualifying: 3rd, 1:40.900

"I'm very happy today, despite us still being three tenths off pole. We put it all together and it feels good to look back at qualifying knowing that we haven't left anything on the table with the potential we had today. I've felt comfortable in the car since FP1 and we've learned a lot about our upgrades. Our competitors in the front look strong but with the small changes we've made to the car with the race in mind, I hope we can put up a good fight tomorrow."

Lewis Hamilton, Sprint: 15th, Qualifying: 16th, 1:41.939

"It’s not been a great day but we got some valuable insight into the new suspension and upgrades during the Sprint.

"The team made further adjustments ahead of qualifying based on what we learned. Unfortunately, my lap time was deleted for track limits, and I take full responsibility for that. Tomorrow’s race will be challenging, with overtaking being quite difficult here, but I’m fully focused on making up ground and fighting for points to reward the hard work everyone’s done back at the factory to bring these updates."

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

"Charles did a very good lap at the end. Currently we are still working on getting the most out of the new package we brought here and there was real improvement over the course of the weekend from the start all the way to the final lap in qualifying. We learned more about the car from session to session. Rain is expected tomorrow that will also allow us to see how these upgrades work in all conditions. We are still a couple of tenths behind McLaren but we are on the pace of Verstappen. We will continue to work on improving still further for Budapest.

"As for Lewis, he was unable to put everything together but the field is so close, a matter of just hundredths or even thousandths of a second between the cars. His pace was good, he was just one place behind Charles but the track limits put him out and it is what it is. It’s true that it’s been a tough weekend for him so far and, at this track, you need to build up confidence lap after lap and with the problems yesterday and today that was made difficult for him."

Mercedes

After a difficult Sprint Qualifying session, it was always going to be hard for the Mercedes drivers to make much progress in the Sprint. Russell made up one place at least, with the team hopefully learning plenty ahead of tomorrow’s Grand Prix. Russell made Q3 in Qualifying too as his weekend started to improve, although he did admit afterwards to a slightly compromised set-up for the race – especially if it rains.

Antonelli could not join him there, the youngster once again exiting at the first time of asking. Like his predecessor Hamilton, he is having what can only be described as a very difficult weekend.

George Russell, Sprint: 12th, Qualifying: 6th, 1:41.260

"Today was a better day than Friday in terms of the result but, if you take out yesterday, then this was one of our worst Qualifying performances of the year. We are struggling here in Spa this weekend and we are working hard to understand why. We were potentially slightly light on rear wing level, given we were fastest in sectors one and three, but that is really just a compromise of where you gain lap time across the circuit.

"Starting P6 tomorrow still gives us a chance of fighting for decent points for tomorrow. We set the car up today so we could maximise Qualifying, so we will have to see what the weather does tomorrow. If it does rain, we may be slightly compromised but I’d much rather be starting in P6 with that than outside of the top 10. Let’s see what happens on Sunday."

Kimi Antonelli, Sprint: 17th, Qualifying: 18th, 1:42.139

"That was another difficult day in what has been a tricky period for us over the past few races. I was struggling with the car balance on Friday and that continued into Qualifying today. The confidence wasn’t there and that showed in the lap time. It is frustrating as we know we have more pace than we showed today.

"We are working hard to improve so we can get back on track and putting in good results. Whilst Qualifying didn’t go the way we want, we have a chance to do that tomorrow. The weather forecast is changeable, and we may have rain. That would give us a chance to make up more positions than may be possible in a standard dry race."

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

"As a team, this weekend has fallen far below our standards so far. It has been our weakest performance this year and we need to quickly understand why. We have struggled with a car facing several balance limitations, losing the vast majority of our lap time in the middle sector. We knew we would struggle to get into the points in the Sprint given our starting positions, so focused on improving these balance issues for Qualifying. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make sufficient headway and suffered as a result.

"With a mixed weather forecast for tomorrow’s race, we will be looking to take advantage of any opportunities that come our way. We are not fooling ourselves though; the pace of our car has not been sufficient this weekend to challenge at the front and that is unlikely to change tomorrow. We will race hard to maximise our result but must ensure we start the weekend in a much stronger position in Budapest next week."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"That was another disappointing day for us here in Spa. We were looking to bounce back from a tough Friday, knowing that the big points were still on offer ahead of us. Starting from outside the top 10 in the Sprint, we knew that progress would be difficult to achieve. The low wing levels being run here result in a modest DRS effect and other than Kimi making one pass, we were unable to make any further overtakes.

"We made quite significant changes to our car for Qualifying but the underlying limitations were still there and neither driver had good confidence in the rear end. Kimi was eliminated in the first cut; George did a good job to get as far as P6 but it's clear we have to get to the bottom of the issues with the car as it simply wasn't quick. We're expecting some rain for the race tomorrow. Considering our starting positions that's a good thing, and hopefully both drivers can move forward if we operate well, but our bigger focus is to understand why our pace has been so poor at this track."

Williams

Sainz started sixth in the Sprint and finished sixth, picking up three points for his team – his first score since Canada, and biggest points haul since Imola. He came close to getting Ocon too but just did not have enough straight-line speed to chase down the Haas.

The Spaniard's Qualifying did not go to plan, as he could not find much pace in Q2 and exited in P15. But Albon took the opportunity to shine instead, as he made Q3 and once there grabbed a season’s best P5 on the grid. His car looks to be there on merit too, so the Thai driver will certainly be hunting a good haul of points tomorrow.

Alex Albon, Sprint: 16th, Qualifying: 5th, 1:41.201

"I’m really happy. We fixed the issue we had on Friday, which made the biggest difference. The lap felt tricky, and it was difficult to see where I could find the lap time, so I wasn’t expecting to make such a big step forward in Q3. The working window for the tyres is very narrow and we did a good job to find that sweet spot to pull it all together. Our race pace feels strong, so I’m hoping for a relatively straightforward race tomorrow."

Carlos Sainz, Sprint: 6th, Qualifying: 15th, 1:41.758

"Disappointed with this result. I had a strong lap in Q1 but didn’t manage to go any faster in Q2, as I didn’t manage to find grip. We’ve tried different directions with car balance and experimented a bit with set-up throughout the weekend, but obviously today didn’t go our way and we need to analyse it. Hopefully tomorrow there will be opportunities as it could be wet, so let’s keep focused as the weekend is not over yet."

_James Vowles, Team Principal

"What a fantastic day all-round. This morning, with Carlos finishing P6 in the Sprint Race, demonstrating good performance across the two days, and this afternoon with Alex securing P5, our best Qualifying result since Vegas last year.

"We made some improvements to the car since yesterday, working mostly well. I think with Carlos, there’s an interesting quirk with Sprint Qualifying sessions in that you must use a set of Soft tyres in SQ3. This meant that in Q2 today, we had to use one used and one new set of tyres. Then, as the track warmed up, he struggled to find the same lap time as we had previously.

"I’m optimistic for tomorrow and look forward to it. I think the weather conditions could play a part but we’re in a strong position with two strong drivers."

Racing Bulls

Hadjar moved up a slot to eighth when Gasly did not take the start, and was able to hold that position to the finish to grab the final point on offer. It could have been more though, Hadjar stuck right behind Bearman’s Haas for lap after lap – but he could not find a way past, despite a few attempts.

The Frenchman’s day continued to look good on paper but be frustrating in reality, when he qualified eighth – believing more was possible when the margins were incredibly tight. Lawson was ninth, just 0.018s behind his team mate as Racing Bulls look poised for more points tomorrow.

Isack Hadjar, Sprint: 8th, Qualifying: 8th, 1:41.310

"It was a good Sprint for us this morning. We showed a really good pace and we managed to score a point. In Qualifying, both Liam and I got into the rhythm very quickly. I’m very satisfied, but I just expected a bit more than a P8, as we started the session really strong and Alex in P5 is just a tenth away from us, so I feel like I could have done a better job. Overall, we have a stable car, which has worked really well, and it gave me confidence from the beginning, so I’m definitely proud of the team. We have a strong pace and we also start within the points tomorrow. We know that there’s a chance for a wet race but I’m happy with our car setup, so the aim is obviously to be in the fight to try and get some points.”

Liam Lawson, Sprint: 10th, Qualifying: 9th, 1:41.328

"It was a good session for the team having both cars reach Q3, but it's tough when you see P5 was so close. The speed was building and we were learning throughout the session, but a moment at the end of the lap meant we lost some time, so with such close margins it's frustrating. Regardless of the conditions tomorrow, we need to try and have a clean race while extracting everything out of the car.”

Guillaume Dezoteux, Head of Vehicle Performance

“A good day for us today. The pace in the Sprint race was good, but with everybody on the same tyre, it was extremely difficult to overtake. Nevertheless, Isack scored a point, which rewarded the good work done by the team. Qualifying was great with both cars in Q3, which puts us in a strong position for the race tomorrow. The weather may play a big part, with rain expected, but our car has worked really well in the more technical middle sector today giving us confidence for tomorrow and a target to score points with both cars.”

Haas

Haas, like Red Bull, opted for a skinny rear wing and a low downforce set-up for the Sprint. That paid dividends, with Ocon and Bearman both able to finish in the points. Ocon was able to hold Sainz at bay for a ‘best of the rest’ P5 while Bearman somehow kept Hadjar behind, despite the Frenchman being within half a second for nearly the entire Sprint.

They added some downforce for Qualifying, and lost some of their raw pace as a result. But considering Qualifying has been their Achilles’ Heel this season, getting both cars to the fringes of the top 10 is still a handy result, especially considering their race pace is often better than their one-lap prowess.

Esteban Ocon, Sprint: 5th, Qualifying: 11th, 1:41.525

“I’m super pleased with the Sprint, six points for the team today is a really good result. We can be satisfied with that as the cars in front were out of reach, so we finished on top of our race, so to speak. It was very close out there in qualifying this afternoon, but there are some positives as we’ve fixed some issues with the balance of the car. It’s still a decent starting position and we’re only one place away from a point which is pretty good, so we need to maximise the potential there.”

Oliver Bearman, Sprint: 7th, Qualifying: 12th, 1:41.617

“I lost three tenths in Turn 1 as my tyres were just not ready. After that, I managed to bring it back and do a very good lap, but it was a big shame as we really had the pace to be in Q3. We added a lot of downforce so hopefully that plays into our hands tomorrow. The Sprint was good, and it was nice to score some points – getting both cars into the points in a Sprint is no mean feat.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“The Sprint was very good; we wanted to convert our starting positions of P5 and P7 into results, and we finished exactly there. Six points is an amazing result. For qualifying, we had to consider the weather for tomorrow as there’s a high chance it's going to rain. It’s tricky to decide direction, so we split listening to driver feedback to cover the widest range as a team. It's frustrating and a bit deflating right now because we have speed. We lost out getting to Q3 by a tiny margin to Albon and he qualified P5, so I feel that’s where our potential is. The good thing is, with Ollie's set-up especially, he's very confident and our target is double points again.”

Kick Sauber

Bortoleto inherited an effective P9 on the grid after Gasly failed to start, but he just could not chase down Hadjar ahead for the final point. Finishing ninth is still an encouraging result for the rookie, especially considering Hulkenberg wound up way down the order. The Brazilian continued his strong form in Qualifying, making the top 10 yet again. He had no fresh tyres for Q3, but qualifying 10th is still a very handy result. Hulkenberg was further down the order after a messy session where his front wing was broken in the pit lane.

The German attempted to edge into the fast lane, only to collide with Stroll’s Aston Martin. The stewards had a look at the incident, and opted to give Kick Sauber a reprimand for the incident.

Nico Hulkenberg, Sprint: 18th, Qualifying: 14th, 1:41.707

“Qualifying didn’t quite go our way today – I was lacking a bit too much on the straights, and without a proper tow, we left a couple of tenths on the table, which made the difference in the end. On the positive side, the car felt much better today compared to Friday. We already made a step forward in the Sprint this morning, which gave me more confidence heading into qualifying. Sprint weekends are always a bit of a challenge – limited track time, and if you're out early in SQ1, you miss out on valuable laps. We approached the Sprint more like an extended practice session: with the data we gathered we made solid progress and I found a better rhythm on this particular track layout. In terms of setup, we also factored in the possibility of rain tomorrow – probably like everyone else. Now let’s see what the race brings.”

Gabriel Bortoleto, Sprint: 9th, Qualifying: 10th, 1:42.387

"I am happy to have made it back into Q3! I think it's safe to say sometimes you do need a little bit of luck in this sport, and today it was my turn: Hamilton's lap got deleted, and that allowed me to make it into Q2. I hadn't given my best in Q1 – I was honestly pretty frustrated about it – and I knew I had to reset and focus on improving in Q2, giving everything I had: I am glad it worked out. Looking back at this morning, it was a rather uneventful Sprint from my end, although it still allowed me to get some more track time. Sprint weekends can pose some extra challenges, but also a chance to learn something more, too. Overall, I am feeling more comfortable in the car every weekend: I would like to thank the team – both trackside and back home in Hinwil - for this. Looking at tomorrow – rain or dry – we’ll be ready and give it our best."

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal

“The day started with the 15-lap sprint, which turned out to be a largely uneventful race overall. Unfortunately for Nico, the race did not go the way we hoped, first struggling to balance the car and, secondly, due to a combination of being overtaken and then sitting in traffic. For Gabi, he once again executed a very mature drive, starting in P10 and finishing in P9.

“The team then regrouped for qualifying and what proved to be a dramatic session here in Spa. Gabi originally qualified in P16, just 0.024 seconds off progressing into Q2. However, Hamilton’s time was then deleted and Gabi found himself through to the second period of qualifying where he did a great lap, qualified P9, and put himself into Q3 for the second time this season. By Q3 we had run out of new tyres and, after two runs, he ended up qualifying in P10 for the race. It was great to see the garage busy throughout qualifying and Gabi’s P10 marked Sauber’s highest starting position at Spa in a decade.

"Nico, on the other hand, started off with damage in the pit lane following the incident with Stroll, which meant we had to change the nose of the car. Solid runs in Q1 got Nico into Q2 and ultimately a starting position of P14, just two tenths off getting into Q3. Sprint weekends are always a test of team endurance and once again we came together, enabling both cars to be in Q2 for the first time this season. The energy in the team is great going into Sunday and, with two good starting positions secured, we are ready for whatever surprises Spa might throw at us.”

Alpine

Alpine had a torrid start to the day, with Gasly’s car springing a water leak before the Sprint had even started. They tried and failed to fix that on the grid, so the Frenchman did not manage to start the Sprint. He did briefly come out three laps down to test out a few things, before retiring after a few more laps. Colapinto had started from the pit lane anyway after the team opted to change his car under parc ferme regulations – and he could not make an impact, finishing last.

Gasly’s day improved slightly come Qualifying, as he made it to Q2 at least, Colapinto could not join him there though, exiting in Q1 for the second straight race.

Pierre Gasly, Sprint: DNF, Qualifying: 13th, 1:41.633

“It has been a tricky day with the Sprint Race and Qualifying. Frustratingly, the Sprint was over before it started as we had a water leak on the car on the way to the grid. The team managed to repair it so we did some laps – almost like a Free Practice 3 for us – but not anything meaningful in the end. These things happen and the team did a great job to even turn things around to have some track time. For Qualifying, everything felt quite good. We progressed through Q1 and then in Q2 the final lap was decent. We probably just needed someone in front of us for a tow but we were the first car on track so missed out. A tenth or two would have been enough to reach Q3, and we know all the little details count. We will see what we can do tomorrow. We know some teams have opted for different set-ups but we will focus on ourselves and give it everything to come away with the best possible result.”

Franco Colapinto, Sprint: 19th, Qualifying: 17th, 1:42.022

“Taking the day as a whole it has been a frustrating one, but with the work we've done as a team since yesterday, the car has improved a lot and felt like a good step forward. It felt more alive today, particularly in Qualifying but the margins are so tight that we unfortunately narrowly missed out on getting to Q2 by a tenth of a second. It's a pity as that's something you can find over a lap, but I think ultimately, we're still lacking a little bit of pace compared to the others and, with such a condensed field, it shows. Starting from the Pit Lane in the Sprint, it turned into more of a practice session for us, which gave us some useful insight and data for tomorrow. We now turn our attention to the Grand Prix tomorrow and will see what we can get out of it. With rain forecast hopefully we'll be a bit stronger and more competitive, and here at Spa anything can happen. So, we'll prepare for all eventualities.”

Aston Martin

The two Aston Martin drivers managed to trade places in the Sprint, Stroll picking off Alonso and chasing Russell hard in the closing stages. The suspicion was that they have a much better race car than their pace in Sprint Qualifying suggested. Whether that is the case tomorrow remains to be seen, but the team will have a very tough job to show any pace from the back row of the grid. Neither Alonso nor Stroll could extract any pace whatsoever in Qualifying – the Canadian not helped by a pit lane collision with Hulkenberg which broke his endplate.

Fernando Alonso, Sprint: 14th, Qualifying: 19th, 1:42.385

"This weekend hasn't gone our way so far. We made some set-up changes for the rain, but we just lacked pace today. We need to go back and understand why our package isn't performing here. Starting near the back is never easy, and this performance doesn’t reflect where we are as a team this season. I still feel quick in the car, and we'll keep pushing to see what we can do tomorrow."

Lance Stroll, Sprint: 13th, Qualifying: 20th, 1:42.502

"We simply didn't have the pace today and qualified in P20. I'm not too surprised about the result as we've been struggling with pace all weekend. We'll look into it and see what we can learn. It looks like it's going to rain tomorrow so anything can happen."

Andy Cowell, Team Principal

"A challenging day here in Spa. We knew heading into the Sprint it would be difficult to score points as both Lance and Fernando started further down the field. Unfortunately, the race then didn't offer any opportunities to move forward.

"In Qualifying, both cars sadly didn't make it out of Q1. While we made slight adjustments to the set-up in anticipation of rain tomorrow, fundamentally we just didn't have the pace today. With a wet race forecast, there's still a lot to play for. We'll make the most of any opportunities that come our way and fight hard to score points."

Pirelli

Mario Isola, Motorsport Director

“A very busy Saturday as is always the case on a Sprint weekend. From the short race, we were able to gather plenty of useful information on how the Medium tyre, used by the great majority of drivers, behaved. Degradation was a factor, obviously as this track is very hard on tyres, but it definitely wasn’t dramatic, especially as there was no graining, something we had already realised in yesterday’s free practice.

“As for strategy, the first thing to take into consideration is that the forecast is for a high chance of rain. Therefore the hypothetical scenarios are many, in every sense of the word. If it’s a dry race with track temperatures significantly lower than today’s or yesterday’s, the Soft and Medium compounds will be the most competitive.

"As there is not that big a difference between a one-stop and a two-stop, any combination of Soft and Medium is possible. That doesn’t mean the decision to bring a very hard Hard here was a mistake: if we had kept the same trio as last year, the one-stop would have been significantly quicker. One must also bear in mind that overtaking at this track is not that easy, as could be seen in all today’s Sprint races, in F1, F2 and F3, when trains of cars were formed despite or indeed because of the DRS. This means that the start, and especially the first sector on the opening lap, should make the difference and slipstreaming could play an important role.

“If the race starts in the dry, but with the threat of rain, one can easily imagine the Medium would be the favourite compound so as to have greater flexibility in managing the moment to switch to rain tyres or to extend the first stint as much as possible.”