Yas Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi
5.554 km / 3.451 miles
Weather: Hot and dry
Temperature: Air: 24-25°C Track: 29-32°C
Q1
F. Massa 1:38.629 (8th)
L. Stroll 1:39.503 (15th)
Q2
F. Massa 1:38.565 (10th)
L. Stroll 1:39.646 (15th)
Q3
F. Massa 1:38.550 (10th)
Qualifying Notes
– Felipe Massa qualified 10th and Lance Stroll 15th for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
– Both Felipe and Lance qualified on the ultrasoft Pirelli tyre
– Felipe improved with a great lap of 1:38.550 at the end of session but was unable to move up from 10th.
– Lance improved on each of his laps in Q1 and Q2 but it wasn’t enough to progress into Q3
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: Today, one of the main focuses was on Felipe’s last Formula One qualifying. It’s tough out there competing in the midfield to get those places in Q3 and he did a tremendous job to achieve that. It was very difficult conditions with changing temperatures and the way that affects the tyres to try and make the tyres last through all three sectors. Putting that perfect lap together is really difficult, but we saw on Felipe’s final lap he did a great job, even just looking at the last corner. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough of an improvement to move up from tenth, but it was a great lap all the same. On Lance’s side, it has been a tough day for him trying to put the right lap together and we saw that in qualifying. He was able to get through into Q2 but wasn’t able to improve from there, however tomorrow is the race and we have potential to get points with both cars which is our ambition.
Felipe Massa: I’m so happy with the qualifying and with my lap. I just managed to get to Q3 and I got the best out of the car. I’m finishing with my head held high, and showing that I’m at the top of competitiveness. I’m so happy with what I achieved and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s race. Some points would be great!
Lance Stroll: It wasn’t the perfect day and not a great qualifying. I never really got into it. I just couldn’t get the balance right and drive the car the way I wanted. It was hard as we still have the disadvantage of the old power unit after the change in Brazil. I also made too many little mistakes and I don’t think we were in the window for the tyres. I locked up in the last corner and lost it there on the first lap, and on the second lap there was a lot of traffic, and I was slower than I planned in the last sector. We need to understand why this happens over the winter, to try and improve our Saturdays. I am not saying it is the end of the world as tomorrow is another day and we have started further back this year and come through to score some good points.
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