Lotus
Romain Grosjean: “We’re at a very high altitude, at a track with very low grip, requiring good downforce – which we know are not our strongest points - so we weren’t massively confident of our performance heading into qualifying. We did better than expected, even though we struggled to get the tyres to work. We still have a good opportunity tomorrow; it’s a long race where everyone’s brakes and engines are likely to struggle. The start will be very important; we’ll try to use all our experience and make a decent result happen.”
Pastor Maldonado: “I was hoping for a little bit better from qualifying but we were struggling for front grip and the rear stability wasn’t fantastic. We expected more of a benefit from running with the new tyres but we weren’t able to unlock it. It’s a long race, we usually have good race pace so let’s go for some more points.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “It was a tricky session for us. The grip levels were changing with the temperature and the circuit seemed to get slower at the end of Q2. The trick was to be on a fast lap in the fast-slow-fast lap cycle when the track surface and temperature were at their best. We’re not a million miles away from where we expected to be in qualifying so we’re looking to maximise everything for the race.
“There’s a greater chance of rain than today which we’re very aware of as this can make for a very dynamic race. If it is dry then we can expect very low tyre degradation and close monitoring of the brakes. We should learn a lot tomorrow as the race unfolds and there’s potential for exciting battles through the field. We’re certainly targeting points.”
REPORT: Rosberg beats Hamilton to Mexican GP pole
AS IT HAPPENED: Mexican Grand Prix - Qualifying
Click here for the F1 drivers' girlfriends gallery
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
