Allan McNish, Racing Director: "First of all, my heart goes out to Gabi, who had been so quick throughout the weekend. Conditions were extremely difficult in qualifying, and unfortunately he made a small mistake, which was enough to bring his session to an end. However, knowing his strength of character, I am sure he will be fighting back tomorrow.

"On the other side of the garage, Nico delivered another fantastic performance. His team gave him a great car, and he once again demonstrated his pace in the wet, showing why he is the Regenmeister, the rain master. Qualifying sixth overall and moving up to fourth on the grid following penalties for other drivers is a well-deserved reward for him and the team.
"Overall, it is our best qualifying performance to date, and we are very much looking forward to tomorrow's race."

Nico Hulkenberg: "Going into qualifying, I just wanted to give it my best shot. I've raced here quite a few times, so I know the circuit well, although missing yesterday's running was obviously not ideal. The key was to keep it clean in very tricky conditions. We had a good session this morning and I felt confident straight away during qualifying, both on the full wets and the intermediates, which allowed me to put together some good laps.

"There is still a big job ahead of us: it's not going to be easy, especially with a wet race expected tomorrow. We'll need to stay sharp, remain focused and aim to bring home the best possible result."

Gabriel Bortoleto: "It's been a tough qualifying for me, and obviously not the way I wanted it to go. I locked up early on at turn 12, went straight into the grass and could not stop the car from hitting the wall. Unfortunately, that resulted in rear wing damage and, eventually, and end to my session. Still, I want to thank my mechanics for having tried to repair my car in time to get back to track. Tomorrow is another day, so I want to clear my head and focus on making the most of the race."

Check out our Saturday gallery from Interlagos here.