Williams Martini Racing will fill out the back row of the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix after a very poor Qualifying session for both Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll on Saturday.
Sirotkin ended nineteenth, almost one and a half seconds down on eighteenth placed Stoffel Vandoorne, with the Russian admitting it was just a case of surviving around the Marina Bay Street Circuit and putting the car on the grid rather than fighting for a better grid spot.
“It was really tough, one of the toughest qualifying sessions of the year, more of a survival,” said Sirotkin. “The way we have to approach each lap is to try and finish with as little damage and losses rather than attacking as a qualifying lap.
“I am very disappointed, we knew it was going to be tough, but with the change of conditions, it fell away from us. Tomorrow will not be the easiest race for us, so let’s hope for some rain!”
Team-mate Stroll will start right at the back after an equally trying session, with the Canadian admitting that a distinct lack of grip has hampered the team across the weekend, which left them fighting for the back row of the grid and praying for rain on Sunday.
“We need more grip to be faster, as this just didn’t suit our car,” said Stroll. “Looking at the time sheets today, tomorrow is likely to be a misery, but perhaps some rain could help.
“We have to figure out why we are off the pace, which we are severely lacking. Looking where we were, we tried something different with the car for the last run and my first few corners were even slower than the first run.
“I tried to brake deep into turn seven to see what happens, but I didn’t stand a chance, and just missed the corner. Tomorrow is going to be tough, but anything can happen.”
