Lance Stroll says Racing Point took a gamble by running the medium compound in Q2 but coupled with the Canadian's P3 spot on Sunday's grid, it's a bet that sets up the team for big points.
There was definitely a big smile under Stroll's mask at the end of qualifying, the 21-year-old outpacing teammate Sergio Perez for the second weekend in succession to lead the pink charge behind the unassailable Mercedes Black Arrows.
While Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas could afford to try and make the Q1 cut by running on Pirelli's yellow-rimmed medium rubber given their car's superior pace, the venture was riskier for Racing Point.
But both Stroll and Perez pulled out the stops to gain access to the final top-ten shootout, and they now find themselves in an advantageous position relative to most of their mid-field rivals who will start the race on the fast-degrading soft tyre.
"For sure it was a gamble," Stroll admitted. "But that's going to put us in a good position for tomorrow so I'm really happy we managed to get through on the mediums.”
"My lap at the end really felt like it was spot on. It always feels great when you put it all together at the end of qualifying.
"[I'm] very happy at the moment, the car was really strong all the way throughout qualifying, throughout the weekend really.
"We've had the pace, it was just about piecing it together during that qualifying session. Really great job by all the guys, I'm really pleased with the session.
"Now my sight is set on tomorrow, going to try and grab some big points."
Perez concluded qualifying just 0.168s behind his teammate but the Mexican admitted feeling suddenly unwell during the afternoon session, complaining of dizzy spells.
"It was a good result for the team but from my side a lot of things happened," he said.
"During qualifying I wasn't feeling 100% physically. For some reason I started to feel dizzy during the session.
"It happened suddenly. My neck hurts a bit but I suddenly started to feel dizzy in some parts of the circuit. Even so, with all that, to be fourth is a good result for tomorrow."
Perez doubted his physical issue will set him back tomorrow, feeling confident like his team mate that a solid bag of points are in order.
"We looked good all the way through," he said. "Yes, I'm happy with the team results. And hopefully tomorrow we can put it together in the race and score a lot of points for the team.
"We have a good pace. We are starting with the medium compound so I think that can benefit us tomorrow. We believe that the softer tyre can struggle during the first stint."
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