Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2013: Saturday's Qualifying Report - Nico Rosberg strikes back with pole position

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Nico Rosberg took the second pole position of his career in Bahrain today with Lewis Hamilton qualifying in fourth place.

• The result gave the team its first consecutive pole positions since the return of Mercedes-Benz as a works team in 2010

• Lewis was forced to take a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change following the third practice session

• A piece of debris on the circuit caused a left rear tyre failure which led to suspension and gearbox damage

• He qualified in fourth place in spite of these setbacks and will start tomorrow´s race from ninth position

Nico Rosberg
“For the first time this season everything went perfectly today and that´s a great feeling. Pole position feels like a kick start for me and it´s a great achievement from everyone in the team. We still had some work to do after the practice sessions yesterday and the team had a busy night to turn it around. Thanks to them for the quickest car out there today. The race tomorrow is a different story and we´re very aware of that. It will be difficult, especially with the rear tyres, and we know that other teams were stronger than us on the long runs on Friday. It will be a big challenge to stay ahead but starting from the front helps.”

Lewis Hamilton
“It wasn´t the best of days for me but big congratulations to Nico. Back to back pole positions for the team is great and Nico did a really good job out there. I couldn´t quite find the pace today and with losing five places from changing the gearbox, we´ve got a tough challenge ahead starting from ninth place. These things happen and I´ll do my best tomorrow. The best chance to gain some positions will come at the start and then we´ll see how it goes. Tyre degradation will be a huge factor so it´s going to be a very interesting race.”

Ross Brawn
“As a team, we recovered well from two difficult practice sessions yesterday. Neither driver was happy and, together with their engineers, they did a great job to put us in a much stronger position today. Nico produced a great lap to take pole. I said earlier in the season that I think we have the best driver pairing in Formula One and they are proving it with their performances. Lewis had some problems this morning but he coped with them well and recovered strongly to qualify fourth fastest. He will drop five places on the grid tomorrow but we can still expect him to deliver a strong race. We know tomorrow´s race could be very different and perhaps today´s slightly cooler conditions favoured us, so let´s see what it brings.”

Toto Wolff
“First and fourth places were a strong result this afternoon and we have to be very happy with Nico´s pole position. He did a great job and both of his timed laps in Q3 would have put him on pole position. Lewis has had a more difficult and disrupted weekend so far so qualifying was all about damage limitation for him, which he managed to do extremely well. However, we should be under no illusions about tomorrow. It will be a very tough race and it will be important for us to race hard in order to get both cars to the finish in strong positions.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS ~

Copyright © 2013, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2013: Saturday's Qualifying Report - Jenson Button P10, Sergio Perez P12

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JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-28A-03
- FP3: 17 laps, 1m34.117s (+0.870s), 12th
- Q1 (on Options): 1m34.071s, 11th
- Q2 (on Options): 1m33.702s, 10th
- Q3 (on Primes): No time set, 10th overall

“It’s been a very difficult weekend so far, but 10th is a strong result for us today.

“The team is used to fighting at the front, so it’s the little things – like getting through into Q3 – that can make a positive difference. Of course, it’s going to be a tough race tomorrow, though. I’ll race as quickly as I can, but I don’t want people to expect too much from us.

“However, there are positives to be drawn from today: we out-qualified a Lotus, which was a surprise, and I’ll be driving the first car starting on new tyres tomorrow. As in China, that brings a slight strategic advantage, so I’m hoping we can have another decent outing.

“I think we’ve both got a chance of scoring points – it would be great for both Checo and me to finish in the top 10 tomorrow.”

SERGIO PEREZ
- MP4-28A-02
- FP3: 18 laps, 1m34.282s (+1.035s), 13th
- Q1 (on Options): 1m34.310s, 9th
- Q2 (on Options): 1m33.914s, 12th overall
- Q3: -

“Qualifying was very difficult, and it was disappointing to miss out on getting into Q3 by just a few tenths. We didn’t really have the pace to get any further up the grid, though; I think Jenson showed the maximum that was possible for us in Q2 today.

“Still, we’re in a better position to fight for points tomorrow. I’ve set my car up to look after its rear tyres, so I think our race pace should be a bit more consistent.

“It’s still going to be hard to get into the points tomorrow, but I hope we can have an okay race and make it into the top 10. But it’s going to be a long, hard race.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH - Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Both Jenson and Checo did a very disciplined job out there today. Going into this race weekend, we knew it was going to be difficult for us – this is a rear-limited circuit, a characteristic that accentuates the weaknesses we have with our car.

“Still, those circumstances required patience and hard work, and I think the drivers and the engineers got the best from a package that’s more limited on a circuit like this.

“Jenson’s lap in Q2 was a phenomenal effort and allowed him to get through to Q3. While that’s not what anybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is used to accepting, we acknowledge that these are currently difficult times, and that lap was a welcome fillip.

“Equally, Checo drove extremely well in Q2, and was just a couple of tenths shy of Jenson’s top-10 effort.

“As in China last weekend, our efforts are primarily focused towards aiming for a decent result in the race tomorrow. Both our drivers are great racers, and I’m sure they’ll go out there and do a fantastic job for us.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ~

Copyright © 2013, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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Chinese F1 Grand Prix 2012: Saturday's Qualifying Report - Maiden Pole for Lewis Hamilton at MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS

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Lewis Hamilton secured his first pole position for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS at the Shanghai International Circuit today. Team-mate Nico Rosberg qualified in fourth place and will start from the second row of the grid.

- Both drivers completed just one run on the soft compound option tyre in each of three qualifying sessions

- Lewis finished top of the timesheets in every session and secured pole by just over two and a half tenths

- Nico qualified in fourth place, despite losing time in P3 this morning with a hydraulics problem

Drivers ++ Car No. ++ Chassis No. ++ Practice 3 ++ Qualifying 1 ++ Qualifying 2 ++ Qualifying 3
Lewis Hamilton ++ 10 ++ F1 W04 / 04 ++ P3 ++ P1, 1:35.793 ++ P1, 1:35.078 ++ P1, 1:34.484
Nico Rosberg ++ 9 ++ F1 W04 / 03 ++ P14 ++ P2, 1:35.959 ++ P5, 1:35.537 ++ P4, 1:34.861

Weather - Warm & sunny
Temperatures - Air: 27-28°C / Track: 35-41°C

Lewis Hamilton
“Pole position is a great result for us today and to achieve it in my third race for the team is such a good feeling. I had to make sure the radio was off after my engineer told me I had pole because I was so excited! None of us expected this level of performance at this stage of the season and it’s a real bonus. The guys have just been working away, pushing really hard, and I’m so pleased for everyone back at the factories and here at the track that I’ve been able to deliver my first pole in a Silver Arrow. It would be great to convert the position in the race tomorrow but it’s going to be a challenge and we’re realistic about how tough the race will be. The soft tyres don’t last for very long, and with a couple of quick guys starting on the mediums, it’ll be interesting to see how the race plays out. I’m looking forward to it and will give it my all.”

Nico Rosberg
“A very good team result today and P4 is a decent grid position for me. I wasn’t able to do my qualifying simulation this morning due to the hydraulic problem which was a bit unfortunate. So I needed to catch up through the qualifying sessions and find my way. I took some settings from Lewis for the initial set-up which worked out well. I made a small mistake at the last corner on my lap in Q3 which cost maybe a tenth and a couple of places. But I’m in a good position for the race and we’ve worked a lot on the race performance this weekend so I hope we can gain some places tomorrow. It’s going to be an interesting race with some of the guys starting on the medium tyres so let’s see what happens.”

Ross Brawn
“A great qualifying session for us today and all credit to Lewis, Nico and the team for a strong performance. It’s a nice reward for all the hard work both here at the track and back at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth over the winter and in the last few weeks as we continue to develop the car. However there are no points gained on a Saturday as they say and there is a tough job ahead of us tomorrow to convert our qualifying positions. It’s going to be a fascinating race from a strategy and tyre perspective so we will wait and see how it plays out. Congratulations to Lewis today on his first pole position in a Silver Arrow, and to Nico for achieving fourth place and the second row despite losing his qualifying simulation this morning.”

Toto Wolff
“Congratulations to Lewis and Nico. We’re really happy about our pole position today at the Chinese Grand Prix, which the team achieved for the second year in a row. Lewis’s performance was excellent and Nico also did a great job to qualify in fourth place following a hydraulic problem which prevented him from completing his qualifying run in practice this morning. Today’s results are a nice reward for everybody at the team who have worked so hard during the winter to develop the F1 W04 into a competitive car. However we will not get ahead of ourselves with this result as we expect an interesting race which will be decided by the different tyre strategies. A few competitors have chosen to qualify on prime tyres to run a longer first stint instead of the options which we and most of the runners used in Q3.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS ~

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