In qualifying at Zandvoort, the Mercedes racers battled for pole until the yellow flags appeared in the final minutes…
Toto Wolff, team leader: “It’s a shame we didn’t have the opportunity to improve the time in the last minutes. Lewis was tenth ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc when Perez pressed the accelerator too hard and lost control of the car, but I don’t blame him. You can lose pole to yellow flags, or give up a few hundredths by going first – after that it always seems like you know what to do.
This weekend our car is fast, from the second row tomorrow any result is possible. Our car gets more downforce with a lower suspension height. On some tracks you can’t lower it to get the car off the ground, but in Zandvoort it was easier to find the optimal settings.
Lewis Hamilton (4th): “The last attempt was good, I started the third sector with an advantage, but I saw that the vehicle in front was going in the opposite direction, and I took my foot off the accelerator. This lap was good enough for at least third place, now I’ll try to bounce back tomorrow.
I’m happy that our car is more competitive this weekend. Over the course of qualifying I was only a tenth behind Red Bull and believed I could win it back at the decisive moment, but this didn’t happen. I am very happy with the settings and the balance of the car, I hope that tomorrow, with less tire wear, we will be able to stay ahead of our rivals.”
George Russell (6th): “In Zandvoort the asphalt condition improves significantly during the session, so it’s important to give everything at the right time. This was also our strategy in Budapest: do a fast lap at the last minute, when the track is in the best condition, and there it is all or nothing. Obviously this strategy didn’t work today, but sixth place isn’t the worst starting position. We have to get into the first corner well and drive the early laps, I see no reason to stop us fighting for the podium.
We understand why we were so slow at the Spa and why we were so fast here. These two races will be key to our understanding of how we can keep the car fast all season.”
Source: F1 News
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