Carlos Sainz: I see that the car has potential.

      Carlos Sainz qualified for the finals for the fourth time in a row and beat Alex Elbona, his Williams teammate, for the fourth time in a row.

      Carlos Sainz (6th): "I'm very happy, although I probably shouldn't be too happy. After all, I know that the car was potentially capable of completing a lap in about 1:15.01 – 1:15.00, and in the second part of qualifying I showed exactly this result.

      But in the final attempt, my time was already only 1:15.43, because on the way out of the pits, I was severely hampered by traffic. But we took a chance and tried to get on the track closer to the end of the session, when the condition of the track surface was the best, and when we had the opportunity to use the slipstream.

      However, I'm not too worried, because I see that the car has potential, and so do I, and I was very comfortable driving. Moreover, the difference between my result and the time shown by the rider who rose to 5th position is not that big, and our maximum for today was the top five.

      By the way, we understood that the Medium tires would allow us to complete a lap a couple of tenths faster, but the team decided to act with discipline, sacrifice these two tenths – but tomorrow we will have a fresh set of tires suitable for the race. And everyone who used the Medium today will have to start on flat tires on Sunday.

      Let's see who turns out to be right in the end. But regardless of this, it was very difficult to work with rubber today. Therefore, I am very proud of the speed we have shown on this difficult track, where you need to drive with maximum confidence. If I'm that fast in my sixth race for Williams, then that's not a bad sign!"