“We’ve looked very fast all weekend, and the car’s felt great. Obviously, the Mercedes-Benz engine is the best suited to this circuit, and our car’s aerodynamic package also works well here.
“On my first run in Q3, I was the first driver into Turn 14, and the track was drying but still a bit wet, so I didn’t push hard enough and lost ground – maybe half a second.
“I thought we could have got pole, but I went a bit wide at La Source on my final run. There was one little patch of rain over Turn One, so it was a bit slippery, and I lost about three and a half tenths there. But I was able to extract some good time from the tyres in the second and third sectors – and that’s where I made up the time I lost in sector one.
“Still, it’s not essential to have pole here – I still feel like I’m in a good position. There’s a very long straight from Eau Rouge to the top of the hill, and it’s quite tricky to stay ahead of a chasing car, even if you’re on pole. I’m hopeful of getting a good start tomorrow, and we’ll take it from there.
“For tomorrow’s race, and in Monza, we need to capitalise on the fact that our package appears to be very competitive. Tomorrow will be a tough race, but we’ll keep pushing.”
