Fernando Alonso: I'm very surprised to have made it to the final.

      Fernando Alonso set the eighth-fastest time in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix. The Aston Martin driver did not hide that making the final was a pleasant surprise for him. Qualifying was less successful for his teammate Lance Stroll — only 19th on the grid.

      Fernando Alonso (8th): "I was very surprised that we made it to the final today, so I'm very happy with eighth. For qualifying we only had four sets of new Soft tyres left, so we decided to use them in the first and second sessions, and for the final we only had scrubbed tyres left.

      Earlier I scored two points in the sprint, but I'm preparing for a tougher race because tyre degradation is quite high. Right now every point matters in the Constructors' Championship, so we'll give it our all."

      Lance Stroll (19th): "A disappointing day with qualifying in nineteenth. I feel I was driving at the limit of the tyres' grip on the track and couldn't find any more pace. I'm fairly comfortable in the car, but I just couldn't put a lap together and go faster.

      It's going to be a difficult race because it's hard to overtake on this track. But we'll see what chances I have."