Felipe Nasr felt a loss of power on the run out of Lesmo on his final quick lap cost him the opportunity to progress through to the second segment of qualifying at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Saturday.
The Sauber F1 Team driver was ultimately eliminated by 0.173 seconds by the issue, but despite the setback, the Brazilian feels the team have made good progress with its aerodynamic package following its recent upgrade.
“It is unfortunate that we could not make it into Q2 today, as I think it would have been possible,” said Nasr. “I had a decent first stint in Q1, and knew that I could improve on the second set of tyres.
“It was a good lap, but unfortunately I lost engine power at the exit of Lesmo on the second and last try in Q1, which compromised my lap time. On the other hand, it is positive that we have definitely made a step forward with our aero package.”
Team-mate Marcus Ericsson will start just behind the Brazilian in nineteenth, and like Nasr felt Q2 was a possibility but struggled to put a lap together, ultimately missing out by 0.304 seconds.
“It was a disappointing qualifying,” admitted Ericsson. “Q2 was our objective, which could have been possible today.
“For me the balance of the car has shifted a bit from FP3 to qualifying. I was struggling with more oversteer, which made it more difficult to put a lap together. That cost me some lap time, which was enough to miss out in Q1.
“For the race it will be important to look after the tyres.“
