Robert Fernley was happy to see both Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Perez make it through to the top ten shootout at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Saturday, with both drivers progressing at the expense of their rivals at Williams Martini Racing.
Williams appeared to have had the advantage during free practice but overnight changes to the Sahara Force India F1 Team VJM09’s unlocked some more pace, and Hülkenberg and Perez were able to qualify eighth and ninth respectively.
Fernley, Deputy Team Principal of the Silverstone-based team, was delighted with this outcome, and believes the team can have a strong race performance as well, regardless of the weather conditions that present themselves on Sunday afternoon.
“Getting both cars into the top ten was the target today so we’re very pleased with the outcome,” admitted Fernley. “The team worked hard on Friday night to make the necessary changes to extract performance from the car.
“The progress we made overnight and this morning made the difference and helped us squeeze through to Q3. It sets us up nicely for a strong race tomorrow.
“Our race pace looks solid and we’re pretty relaxed about the changeable weather. Come rain or shine, we have a car capable of converting our qualifying effort into important points.”
