P7 and P8 was best possible for Mercedes GP
Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher qualified in seventh and eighth places this evening for the Singapore Grand Prix. Both drivers completed just one run in each qualifying session using the soft tyres in Q1 and the supersofts in Q2 and Q3, putting them in a great position for the race, tyre-wise.
Both Nico and Michael will have two sets of new soft tyres and one set of new supersoft tyres for the race tomorrow.
Nico Rosberg, MGP W02 / 07, P7, 1:46.013:
"I had a good fast lap in Q3 and we were able to take the most out of the car today so I'm quite satisfied. Starting in seventh place was the maximum that we could have achieved, although Massa was very close so it was definitely worth trying to catch him. Being on the clean side at the grid gives me a good position for the start, so I will try to make up positions there and score some good points. I think it will be an exciting race here with all the new things like DRS and the Pirelli tyres."
Michael Schumacher, MGP W02 / 09, P8, No time:
"It was quite a tactical qualifying session, in which we chose not to run in Q3 to save new tyres for the race. In theory, this should be worth some time over the race distance, so it was a calculated risk worth taking. As we all know from the past, a lot of incidents can happen during the Singapore Grand Prix, so I will certainly go for any opportunity which might occur. I will definitely keep my fingers crossed for Sebastian to clinch his second world title here tomorrow."
Ross Brawn, Team Principal:
"It was a fairly straightforward qualifying session for us today and we got the maximum performance from the car. We were mindful of the need for good tyres in the race, and with both drivers saving a set of supersofts, we are in reasonable shape for tomorrow. Michael decided not to set a lap time in Q3 for this reason; he could have challenged Nico but it was more sensible to save the tyres. We have moved forward with the car, and the changes that we have made for this weekend look to be working well. We look forward to an interesting and challenging race tomorrow, and there should be a lot of opportunities."
Norbert Haug, Mercedes Motorsport VP:
"Our team have worked very hard and constructively since yesterday when we struggled on this challenging high downforce track, and Nico and Michael achieved the best possible result today with our current package. We took a disciplined approach throughout qualifying in order to save tyres for the race, and both Nico and Michael will have a fresh set of options available which should be valuable in the race. We only used prime tyres in Q1 and, unlike the cars ahead, attempted only one outing in Q3. Our target for tomorrow is to improve our positions from today and to continue our trend from Spa and Monza."
Weather: Hot & humid
Temperatures: Air: 29-30°C Track: 31-32°C
