Yuki Tsunoda (AT04-02, Car 22)
Third Practice Session – Best lap: 1:28.337, pos. 10th, 21 laps
Qualifying – Best lap: (Q1) 1:30.025, pos. 17th

“I ended up very close to Q2 again, it’s frustrating and a shame, but I’m happy with my performance. Track evolution was high and almost fully dry in the end, but the team did a good job with the strategy. We tried many different things with the new upgrade, and compared to yesterday, the car felt better. I feel more support in the places I need, especially in the low-speed corners, and more rotation in the high-speed corners, which we were aiming for. There is room for improvement, but we’re still trying to understand the car’s behaviour more. I reset myself and do whatever I can tomorrow to extract as much performance from the car and finish as high as possible.”

Nyck de Vries (AT04-03, Car 21)
Third Practice Session – Best lap: 1:28.504, pos. 11th, 20 laps
Qualifying – Best lap: (Q1) 1:30.513, pos. 19th

“Today’s qualifying was a very tricky session, with changing conditions as the rain was coming. We did a decent lap at the beginning of qualifying, but towards the end, when it became a one-lap shootout, my tyres were very cold. I didn’t have the confidence and temperature to push and attack as required, making a mistake in the last corner where I out braked myself and went deep, losing a lot of time there. During the session, we were more competitive and in the mix, so I feel our final lap wasn’t entirely representative. In these changing conditions, we maybe didn’t put it together when it mattered. We did some long runs in practice, but it’s certainly not going to be easy tomorrow. A big part of the track is high-speed, so it’s difficult to overtake and follow, so a little rain is welcome because it might bring some opportunities.”

Jody Egginton (Technical Director)

“The run programme for both cars in Q1 was smooth, with the right tyres fitted, the right sequence of push and cool laps being adopted, and the timing to box for a new set sensible. However, the red flag disrupted things and unfortunately, the final runs were not good enough. Frustratingly, Yuki was very close to making the cut for Q2, but due to a snap during brake entry, he lost a little time during turn 16. Nyck was further away with his final run, so we need to look into the data to understand what happened. Our starting positions make things more difficult for the race, but we’ll be fully focused on being ready to take any opportunities which allow us to move forwards with both cars tomorrow.”