The Force India duo of Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil were both pleased with their efforts on Saturday after they qualified seventh and eighth.
However, thanks to penalties for both Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton, they will both be promoted two positions for Sunday’s grid, moving them up to fifth and sixth – a position the pair believe will enable them to score “good points.”
“We knew we were in good shape to challenge for Q3 today and we looked strong throughout all the sessions,” said Di Resta. “As the tracked gripped up we didn’t quite have the speed we expected.
“I’m still pretty happy with what we’ve achieved, especially as I will move up to fifth with the grid penalties.
“We’re in a great position for tomorrow; the car is strong and our long run performance yesterday gives us every reason to be hopeful of challenging for some good points.”
Team-mate Sutil agrees and he too expects to move forward and maximise his position.
“The car was quite tricky to drive today and the grip level of the track made it difficult to complete the perfect lap,” he added. “My final lap in Q3 could have been better, but I’m pretty happy with the outcome, especially if I move up to sixth.
“The track suits us, we like the warm weather and things look promising for tomorrow. It’s a good starting position to have both cars on the third row and we will be looking to move forward in the race.”
