Hulkenberg surprised by qualifying performance

Nico Hulkenberg put in an impressive performance this afternoon in Austria, securing a fifth place in qualifying as the Force India driver split the Williams of Massa and Bottas.

Keeping up his momentum which started a week ago at Le Mans, Hulkenberg was surprised however by his performance, not expecting to be as far up the grid.

"I think a top ten result was always possible as the car has been good all weekend, but fifth is definitely a surprise to us, " commented Hulk. "Even beating one Williams is a small miracle, so a great performance today. We just have to do it one more time tomorrow."

Given the Force India's relative lack of development, with upgrades finally set for the next race at Silverstone, today's performance is indeed a welcome satisfaction although the German driver was quick to emphasize the nature of the Austrian track which is particularly well suited to his Mercedes power unit.

"Montreal and here are power tracks, so the engine is very important and we definitely have the right engine. We also have the soft tyres which help us a lot on our car. But in the last couple of races, we've also learned a lot about the car, we understand it better and we know how to set it up to get around some of the weaknesses. And then building up confidence as a driver around the track, especially here, is very important."

Click here for the gallery of the Formula Una girls at the Austrian Grand Prix

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