Verstappen: “My car was on rails”

Max Verstappen (PBS/Red Bull Racing) – Pole position

“The car was really good and I could have done better on my last lap but we stopped because we had pole. Qualifying was really tough with the weather but once it started to dry out it was fine. And in Q3, my car was on rails. It was really nice to drive today (Saturday). I love coming to Barcelona, ​​I love the track, I love the fans, they love the race. I have a lot of great memories here and hopefully tomorrow (Sunday) we can have another one. »

Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Ferrari) – 2nd

“It was super tight and very tricky conditions today (Saturday) and even getting through Q1 and Q2 without any problems was not easy. It’s probably one of the toughest qualifications I’ve had here in Barcelona in terms of conditions, but we did it! I think we are in the best possible position before the race because Max Verstappen is very fast. Now we can focus on trying to take away the benefit of pole position tomorrow with a good start. It was very tight even with the McLaren, with Alpine, the Mercedes, Aston Martin, we were all in the same group this weekend. So I think second place is the best I could do today (Saturday) with a really good lap. I left nothing on the table today (Saturday). I was pushing hard. So I will do the same tomorrow (Sunday). »

Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren) – 3rd

“I’m surprised to be here. A total surprise. But it’s an incredible job for us. Third, almost second! As it is the home race for Carlos Sainz Jr, so I thought I should give him a few tenths! I am very happy. Being third is pretty good. Throughout qualifying we were pretty quick so it’s all good. It was a difficult qualifying, but still, in these conditions, we seem to be doing well. It seemed to suit me anyway. The car is also good with gasoline, maybe not third. I think some riders will come back up. But I’m aiming for a Top 5 or 6 tomorrow (Sunday) if all goes well. »

Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine) – 4eme

“Honestly, I’m trying to do the best with the information I had at the time, then we’ll see exactly what happened. I think… So far, I just got out of the car 30 seconds ago, I’m just extremely happy with the performance we’ve shown. We did a second row, fourth fastest in qualifying, which is extremely good. We progress every weekend, that’s what we want. It’s only the beginning of the season, and what matters to me is to evolve with the team, to show that we are performing. And today, we are, so that’s what you have to remember. Afterwards, the rest, I will analyze when I have a little more time, because that has not yet been the case. We are eight hundredths from second place, I think it was really very, very good. We expect to fight with the cars around us, so there is a very big card to play for tomorrow (Sunday). We’ll see what happened, but I hope we’ll be able to keep the position we’re starting in, because for sure there are big points to pick up tomorrow (Sunday). »

Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) – 5eme

“The incident with George Russell is just a disagreement between us. It’s pretty clear, I don’t think we’re risking anything. For Pierre Gasly, I don’t know, I haven’t seen the images. We will see. It was a real surprise to see us so well in front and to see us fighting for a front row at one point. We are not far from it. But we have done a good job since yesterday (Friday) with the analysis of the developments and I have done a lot of work to try to see where we can find the time. I knew when I woke up this (Saturday) morning that I was on a mission. But I certainly didn’t expect us to fight for the front row. The car really came to life today (Saturday). A big thank you to everyone at the factory as it shows that we are making progress. I really enjoyed driving my F1 today (Saturday) and it hasn’t happened often in recent months. »

Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine) – 7eme

“It was a very good qualifying session until the last attempt. It’s the one that counts. In the end, we didn’t put everything in order. Compared to the rest of the session, where we were doing really good laps, this last attempt was not like the others. I think we didn’t warm up the tires as well, the grip wasn’t as good on the lap. I lost the rear a bit in turn 10, which made me lose the time that I should have gained on this lap. That makes us only seventh. It’s still a good starting position, a solid position. I think we can race, well, from where we start. We will see what it gives. »

Sergio Pérez (MEX/Red Bull Racing) – 11eme

“The tires were overheating, I couldn’t get them back in a good temperature window and I just didn’t have the grip on my last lap. That’s a shame. The conditions were tricky, and I finally lost control of the car at turn 5. I guess I had some damage. Yes, it’s frustrating, but it’s not Monaco. It’s a circuit where we can race and score a lot of points tomorrow (Sunday). »

George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) – 12eme

“I didn’t even know Lewis Hamilton was there. I started my lap, trying to follow Carlos Sainz Jr. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. We will talk about it with the team but, in the heat of the moment, I don’t think they could have warned us. We are summoned to the commissioners, we will see what they will say. Nothing was right to be honest. As soon as I left the garage in Q1, I had no grip on the tyres. The car started to bounce around the corners a lot at high speeds, so I couldn’t get into the corners hard like we were doing this (Saturday) morning. A really, really strange session. I’m not surprised to have come out in Q2 with such a car. She was just totally out of rhythm. I didn’t have a good feeling with it. It’s disappointing for sure. We changed a few things, but nothing that we expected to have such a substantial effect. It was clearly tricky for everyone. But we shouldn’t be in this position, too bad. »

Charles Leclerc (MCO/Ferrari) – 19eme

“I don’t have an explanation yet, but I think we’ll have to look at the data because clearly there was something wrong. Finally, especially with the right-back, there was something really weird. In the left corners I had grip and suddenly I lost all grip. So let’s watch and see what happens. But it was a very weird feeling. We had the same evolutions with Carlos Sainz Jr but again, this (Saturday) morning it was much better, so we will look at the car, but for me there is something. »

Sources: official Formula 1 interviews, Canal+, Autosport, Sky Sports F1