I have mixed emotions after qualifying, I think P2 was possible, but I lost a little bit in sector two and couldn’t put my perfect lap together, I also think Ferrari were super strong today. We are on a very different strategy when it comes to downforce levels to most of the grid, we will see if that helps us tomorrow, definitely on the first stint I should be strong. From there it will be down to the amount of progress I am able to make and then, it will be head down and hopefully we are able to be strong in the race. As long as we are in the mix for the victory it should be a good weekend. I like this circuit, I have always done well here but I think it’s more that we are in a much better window than we have been for most of the season. The Team is pushing in the right direction, we have a clear development direction and hopefully we can make another step for Singapore because we still need more. 

We made some final changes going into qualifying, so this might have tipped things over the edge unfortunately. As soon as I went out into Q1, I felt that the car became a bit more difficult to drive, which was a shame as you want to always have the perfect set up. On a street circuit you need to be comfortable and confident to be able to attack corners and it is harder to do this when the car is a bit more unpredictable. We tried to find solutions throughout qualifying and my lap in Q2 was good but my Q3 could definitely have been better. I hit the kerb and it was the worst time it could have happened, which was a shame. There was a balance disconnect and we are working and fine tuning that so we can optimise the car ahead of tomorrow. From last week, we have improved the car and it would have been nice to have been on the front row. We will see what happens tomorrow: it is not ideal starting from P6 and the Ferraris are always quick around here, but the cars looked quite close today. 

It’s frustrating to drop out at Q2. It’s not what we expected in terms of performance. We were lacking pace and it was quite difficult to drive, but we gave it our all. Tyre degradation seems trickier than usual compared to previous years, so it seems like tyre management will be key tomorrow. The new floor is definitely working here compared to Monza, it feels completely different; the team have done a great job in analysing the data. Other tracks might be a different story, but the next few tracks will be similar to this one, so I’m excited for that. We’ll keep digging into the performance, but we’ll keep calm and do what we can do tomorrow. 

Qualifying was close today. I went in a bit deep at turn four which compromised my exit, so there was some time left on the table there. Otherwise, the lap didn’t feel too bad, and I was surprised we were out in Q1. It was very tight over one lap between everyone, which is unusual for such a long lap at a street circuit. Any Q1 exit is frustrating, but it’s such small margins around here. However, it’s possible to overtake at this circuit. Even seeing the F2 race today, there were opportunities, so that brings us optimism. We’ll try to pick it up for tomorrow, it’s a race where you can make something happen.