Bortoleto: I hope we can compete for points.

      Gabriel Bortolotto once again outqualified Nico Hülkenberg, his Sauber teammate, but in Baku he also failed to make the final session. Still, on Sunday both drivers expect to make up ground.

      Jonathan Wheatley, team principal: "It was a chaotic qualifying, affected by the wind, and it was stopped six times by red flags, which is unprecedented. One of those incidents involved Nico.

      In any case, it was difficult for both drivers to put together a proper lap, and in the end we'll be starting the race from 13th and 17th. Clearly you'd like to forget results like that as soon as possible, but it's great that in Formula 1 every race offers the opportunity to move forward. So this evening we'll try to reset and will focus all our attention on preparing for tomorrow's Grand Prix."

      Nico Hülkenberg (17th): "The outcome of the session was disappointing, there's no doubt about that. For the first time this weekend I had serious issues with front brake lock-up, so it was hard to put together a good lap. Everything had been going reasonably well before qualifying, so I'm upset that I couldn't deliver when it mattered most.

      Of course starting from that position will make things difficult, but the craziest things can happen at this track and we're ready to fight. Overall the car has left a decent impression since the start of the weekend, and if opportunities arise during the race we'll try to fully take advantage of them."

      Gabriel Bortolotto (13th): "It seems I didn't manage to put in a perfect lap in qualifying. I lost time in the final corner, and with the windy conditions it was difficult to piece everything together. Still, I did make it into the second session — that's not bad, although of course every driver always wants to show the best possible result.

      So I'm a bit disappointed, of course, but I think that was the maximum we could have expected today. We're already preparing for tomorrow, and our race pace looks decent — there is definite potential. If we can get the opening laps right, I think we can show a strong pace, and we'll hope to be able to fight for points."