Allan McNish, Racing Director: "It was a very tight qualifying session at a circuit on which getting laps together is not easy.

Despite this, both Nico and Gabi, as well as the crews, were able to deliver a good performance. Unfortunately, less than two hundredths of a second was the difference between getting into Q3 or not for Nico: it was a tiny margin, but we were just on the wrong side of that. I think that was the most we could extract for our car, so we can't be too disappointed with that. Overall, with both cars up there on the edge of the top ten, it was another strong performance by the team, especially in light of the upgrades our rivals have brought in the last few races.

Nico Hulkenberg: "It was incredibly tight today, and we missed out on Q3 by just 0.019s. We knew qualifying around a brand-new circuit would be close, and that's exactly how it turned out. Tomorrow is still a bit of an unknown. It's the first race here, so nobody really knows how things will unfold. We have to be ready for whatever comes our way. The priority will be to stay out of trouble early on, and then see what we can make of the race."

Gabriel Bortoleto: "I actually think today was not too bad, but it was difficult to put the perfect lap together. In all fairness, it's been a bit of an odd weekend so far: we have changed the car quite a lot from yesterday, and I did find more confidence in Qualifying, but I think there was definitely more on the table for us today.
"Looking at tomorrow, I think there is a chance for us to move forward, but it will depend a lot on our pace and how much tyre degradation will impact us. As always, we'll give our best and see where it takes us."