Mercedes AMG keeps options open for the race
Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg qualified in ninth and 10th places this evening for the Singapore Grand Prix. Once in Q3, the Mercdes AMG team decided not to start a timed lap to enable both drivers to save tyres for the race and keep the options open in terms of strategy.
Michael Schumacher, F1 W03 / 09, 9th:
I am reasonably pleased with our qualifying result, considering what we have seen this weekend. Of course, we could have tried to make up one or two positions, although this would have been very difficult. However we decided to give up this possibility in favour of the fact that we now have a fresh set and free choice of tyres going into the race. We decided this strategy after the final practice session, and after seeing who made it into Q3, we went for it. Hopefully we can make the best of this choice tomorrow.
Nico Rosberg, F1 W03 / 07, 10th:
Our new updates are working reasonably well this weekend, although it will definitely take some more time to optimise the package. After not taking part in Q3, we will have more opportunities for the race tomorrow, and we can decide whether we want to start on the soft or supersoft tyre. It should be an interesting race, so let's see what we can do.
Ross Brawn, Team Principal:
We've made good progress over the weekend with our new aerodynamic package which is encouraging. This weekend has been the first opportunity for Michael and Nico to try the upgrades, and it has taken a little while to get the set-up into a reasonable shape. Given the closeness of the second part of the grid, we made a strategic decision not to go out for a lap in Q3, and we're happy to have the choice of tyres and new sets for the race tomorrow.
Norbert Haug, VP of Mercedes HPE:
We improved our performance today compared to yesterday. Michael's time in Q2 was three-tenths behind P3 with Lewis and Sebastian almost a second quicker than the others. We decided to save tyres for the race so Michael and Nico did not start a timed lap in Q3 and will both start from the fifth row tomorrow.
Temperatures: Air: 28°C / Track: 29-30°C
