Pascal Wehrlein felt the change in temperature between free practice and qualifying hampered his chances of qualifying higher up the grid, and will start nineteenth for Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix.
The Manor Racing driver was able to get ahead of both Sauber’s and team-mate Rio Haryanto during the session, but bemoaned the temperature decrease that he believes made it harder to get his tyres to work during his qualifying runs.
“Qualifying was a bit frustrating today,” reflected Wehrlein. “This morning the track temperature was much hotter and the sun was out, so it was easier to bring the tyres to temperature. This afternoon it was harder to get them into the working window.
“We were hoping for more to be honest, because in FP3 we looked good. I think the race will be a different story; you can see from today that my lap times have improved so I think after 5 to 10 laps we’ll be okay.
“In qualifying you only have one or two laps and when you are just sliding; it’s hard. So, I’m focusing on tomorrow and hopeful that we can have a good battle with Stion: form-data; name=”vwpc_is_e-mate Haryanto was able to out-qualify the second Sauber of Marcus Ericsson and will start from twenty-first on the grid, and felt the team have made a step forward this weekend compared to the three previous events, and hopes for a strong race on Sunday.
“It was an interesting session for us; it feels like we’ve made a step up and we’re closer to those around us versus previous races,” said Haryanto. “My last lap could have been better. I suffered a bit with traffic and lost about two tenths in the last sector, so it was frustrating not to get a clean lap.
“As for tomorrow, I can’t wait. The aim is to get a good clean start, especially with such a long run down to the first corner, then get the maximum from the car.
“Our long runs on Friday looked positive so with good tyre management I’m looking forward to a strong race tomorrow!”
