Qualifying - Monaco GP report: Force India Mercedes

Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix took place under glorious sunshine with Sahara Force India’s Sergio Perez making it into Q3 and securing a tenth place starting slot for tomorrow’s race, one place ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg.

Sergio Perez

"Although it’s good to be in the top ten, I’m feeling a bit disappointed not to be higher up the grid. My hot lap in Q3 was quite difficult and I had a lock-up going into the Nouvelle Chicane – so there was definitely more speed in the car. One of the main challenges was getting the tyres in the perfect working condition and I don’t think we maximised that today. We need to look at ways to make up positions tomorrow and we should be aggressive with our strategy because I don’t think there will be too many overtaking opportunities. Hopefully it will be an interesting race.”

Nico Hulkenberg

“A place in Q3 was very close today – less than a tenth away – but I’m not feeling too disappointed because I was pretty happy with my lap in Q2. There was just a tiny bit missing because it’s very hard to get a perfect lap in Monaco. The traffic management by the team was good and although I had some traffic in both Q1 and Q2, it was not at the crucial moments. Starting from P11 with an extra set of fresh tyres gives us a good chance of scoring points tomorrow. It’s a long race and we have to be ready to react quickly with the strategy to try and gain some positions. We also expect more cloud cover tomorrow and there is even a chance of rain.”

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director

"Qualifying in Monaco is crucial and starting the race in P10 and P11 is not a bad result, all things considered. Sergio produced a good effort to make it into Q3, but it was a pity Nico missed out, although he will at least have an extra set of new tyres for tomorrow. Our starting positions mean both drivers have a very good opportunity to race for points. In all the sessions so far we have seen the cars around us having a similar pace to ours, which means making the right strategic calls will be the key to gaining positions tomorrow.”