Jonathan Whitley: The results are encouraging

      In Monza Gabriel Bortoleto once again, as he did at two of the previous three rounds, progressed to the qualifying final, although Nico Hülkenberg, his Sauber teammate, was also close to doing so, but in the end he could only manage 12th.

      Jonathan Wheatley, team principal: "Today's team results are encouraging. In the first session the gap between the best and worst times was only eight‑tenths of a second, and that shows how incredibly tight the results are this year. Both cars made it into the second session, but Gabriel kept up a strong pace that allowed him to reach the final. Even though he didn't have two fresh sets of tyres, he delivered a great result and will start from 7th, since Lewis Hamilton has been penalised. Nico missed out on the final by just six hundredths and was only one and a half tenths behind Gabriel. We'll try to build on the pace we've shown in tomorrow's race, as both drivers have a good chance of scoring points."

      Nico Hülkenberg (12th): "I didn't have the best qualifying today. My first flying lap in the second session wasn't good; I had one last attempt left, so I couldn't take my usual level of risk and had to be cautious to post a decent time. As for tomorrow, it looks like we have a quick car and we're in a decent position, so there's something to fight for, especially with such tight margins. I'm confident in the car, so we'll see what we can achieve in the race."

      Gabriel Bortoleto (8th): "I'm really pleased with today's results, as we once again made it into the qualifying final. The lap I did on the decisive attempt wasn't perfect — I feel I could have found a little more — but we're still starting from a good position tomorrow. The car feels strong, we have the pace, and I think tomorrow will be an interesting race. Drivers from several top teams will start ahead of us, but I'm confident we can put in a strong showing in tomorrow's race."