Qualifying report
Formula 1 Spanish GP
40th Formula One pole position for the Silver Arrows in Barcelona front row lockout!
Nico Rosberg: "It's been a positive start but Sunday is where it really counts..."
Published: May 9, 2015, 3:31 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Nico took his first pole position of the season and the 16th of his Formula One career. Lewis will line up P2 on tomorrow's grid, completing a third front row lockout of the season for the Silver Arrows.
Both drivers ran twice in Q1 (prime / prime), once in Q2 (option) and twice again in Q3 (option / option).
Drivers
P3
Q1
Q2
Q3
Nico Rosberg
P1
1:26.490
P2
1:25.166
P1
1:24.681
P1
Lewis Hamilton
P3
1:26.382
P1
1:25.740
P2
1:24.948
P2
Nico Rosberg: "Today was a good day in the office for me. The conditions were really difficult out there but, thanks to the team, we nailed the setup and got it all together. I really feel great in the car this weekend and was able to improve from session to session. So now I hope to have a good start and to control it from there. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and can't wait for the race. It's been a positive start but Sunday is where it really counts..."
Lewis Hamilton: "It was quite tricky out there today. I did the best I could - but it wasn't quite fast enough and Nico did a really good job. I think he's been a bit more comfortable with the balance than I have so far this weekend. The rear was under-rotating quite a bit today, which means you have oversteer and poor traction, so I lost a lot of time in the middle sector. In the end, P2 isn't so bad. Of course, being on pole makes life a bit easier but it doesn't mean you can't win from elsewhere on the grid.
Generally speaking, the outside of the grid is cleaner here so you can usually get a good start from there. The main opportunities to gain places will be the start and the pit stops as it's hard to overtake but I'll give my best shot like always.
Every race you do, you're thinking about racing for the Championship and I'll keep driving the same way I always do. It may not have been the greatest weekend so far but it's not over yet - tomorrow is where it counts."
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "That was a brilliant lap from Nico in Q3 to take his first pole of the season. It just goes to show that things turn quickly in Formula 1. There have been lots of people asking questions about whether he could bounce back or had lost his momentum. But they have to remember that these guys are tough, they're resilient and they're not so much affected by these ups and downs in results as people think.
Nico stayed focused this weekend, did his job so far and took a great pole position. Lewis suffered from an oversteer balance on his laps and it's very hard to find the limit at this circuit when that's the case. But he still took P2 and can target a strong race tomorrow. We have a solid half-second gap today but I am sure things will be closer in the race.
The conditions are very hot and we will have to manage the tyres carefully tomorrow in order to find the right balance between durability and speed. I'm expecting a pretty interesting afternoon."
Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): "That was a great qualifying session and we're really pleased to get the front row at Barcelona. It's a very important result because overtaking is more difficult than usual at this track. Likewise, it was pleasing to be able to save two new sets of option tyres for the race - one with each car - and that will be an advantage tomorrow. Congratulations to Nico on his first pole position of 2015 - in fact, he set two laps capable of securing pole, so it was a fantastic job and I'm really very pleased for him.
Conditions out there were pretty tricky, too, with a lot of gusting wind. Looking at the relative performances, we seem to have maintained a good differential at this first European circuit where everybody brought a lot of upgrades; which is a really important achievement. We're looking forward to tomorrow and to seeing if we can convert our front row positions into a lot of championship points."
Mercedes AMG Petronas
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Ricciardo doubts Red Bull has made progress
Next article Ferrari: Mixed fortunes in qualifying for tomorrow's Spanish GP
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lewis Hamilton
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Why Ferrari caved in to Lewis Hamilton’s failed Singapore F1 gamble
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Why Ferrari caved in to Lewis Hamilton’s failed Singapore F1 gamble
Latest news
Christian Horner takes cheeky swipe at Guenther Steiner: 'He never achieved an F1 podium'
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
Christian Horner takes cheeky swipe at Guenther Steiner: 'He never achieved an F1 podium'
Franco Morbidelli on securing most coveted WSBK ride: 'Clearly Ducati has some trust in me'
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Japanese GP
1 h
Franco Morbidelli on securing most coveted WSBK ride: 'Clearly Ducati has some trust in me'
"Not allowed, not made possible": Was BMW denied its title chance?
DTM
DTM DTM
Hockenheim
2 h
"Not allowed, not made possible": Was BMW denied its title chance?
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe