Bortoleto: We'll try to make up positions in the race

      Sauber’s best result in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix was thirteenth place for Gabriel Bortoleto. The Brazilian driver qualified ahead of his experienced teammate Nico Hülkenberg for the fifth time in a row. For Nico himself the fight ended in the first session, in which he posted the seventeenth fastest time.

      Gabriel Bortoleto (13th): “Today’s qualifying was difficult. A couple of times in the first session I scraped the curb with the floor of the car, which cost me time, and the track conditions were unstable.

      After the first session I asked the team to check the car’s floor and make some setup adjustments, but even with those the lap time in the second session wasn’t enough to reach the final. In addition, on my final attempt I was in the ‘dirty’ air behind Yuki Tsunoda in sector two, which didn’t help either — I lost time compared to my previous attempt.

      I think reaching the final would have been possible if everything had gone perfectly, but that wasn’t our case. Tomorrow is a new day, and we’ll try to make the most of the opportunities that arise in the race. In Friday’s practice we had a decent race pace, so if we stick to the plan we should be able to recover a few positions and move up the order.”

      Nico Hülkenberg (17th): “The results are incredibly tight — eighteen cars squeezed into just eight tenths. It’s frustrating that I was only a tenth short, but that’s how tough qualifying was.

      In the end it came down to a few corners that we couldn’t get right. There’s always something you want to improve, but you work with the car you have and focus on getting the most out of it.

      When it comes to the race, overtaking is difficult on this track. Possibly even harder than in Hungary. Track position is key and we are probably not as strong in terms of pure pace. The team will consider different strategy options — we’ll see what we can do to recover.”