Step forward for Williams

It has been a good qualifying session for the Williams F1 Team, especially for Nico Rosberg who will start from 10th position on the starting grid tomorrow. Team mate Mark Webber was less fortunate as he qualified 14th for the Japanese Grand Prix.

“It’s good to get one car in the top ten. It’s pretty clear that Bridgestone have the advantage here and there are no problems on the car, so now we’ll work on strategy tonight to see how we can get some points tomorrow. Nico made it easily into Q3, Mark has flexibility on his fuel strategy and all the systems on the cars are working correctly, so we’re hoping for a good race.”

“It was a good qualifying for us today, and being in the top ten is a good step forward. I was third quickest in the first session and then seventh in the second, so we’ve obviously made some progress with the car, which is a good sign for next year. The Bridgestones were working very well today, so a positive outcome in the race tomorrow is within reach.”

“Qualifying proved tricky for me as I couldn’t quite get the balance that I would have liked. I think we could have done pretty well in the end but I had a moment at turn five and paid a big price for it. It’s a shame because the car is obviously quick. I didn’t have one of my better qualifying sessions today, but we’ll just have to see how it goes tomorrow in the race.”

“There are some big bumps here and, combined with the winds today, Cosworth saw significant time running right into our 20,000RPM soft limiter during qualifying. Strong engine performance always helps, but it is more significant around here than at many Formula One circuits. Nico made good use of his fresh Series 6 engine to see final qualifying on his first visit to the track and Mark was unfortunate not to join him. My thanks to everyone representing Cosworth in Suzuka for doing a sterling job.”