Scuderia Ferrari
Fernando Alonso says he was unable to set a competitive time during the final segment of qualifying due to a loss of power in his Ferrari F14T.
Alonso was the slowest of the Q3 runners but will start from ninth on the grid due to Daniel Ricciardo's 10 place grid penalty.
"We tried our best as usual today and now we need to wait for the car to come back from parc ferme to work out why there was a drop in power in Q3," he said. "In winter testing here we had already seen that this circuit is particularly suited to the Mercedes powered cars, because the long straights allow them to use their top end performance.
"But given how free practice and the first two parts of qualifying had gone, maybe we could have hoped to be a bit higher up the order. Now, we must think only of doing well tomorrow, especially at the start, given we are on the clean side because of Ricciardo’s penalty.
"Then we must work out the best strategy, choosing between two or three stops. A lot will depend on how the tyres perform: I think that, in lower temperatures than we have seen so far, the Medium could throw up some surprises."
Scuderia Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen will start higher up on the grid after setting the fifth fastest time but acknowledged that Ferrari can't yet fight with Mercedes.
"I am reasonably pleased with my qualifying, because up until this morning, I did not feel completely comfortable in the car, but the faith I put in what we had at our disposal was paid back with this result," he said.
"We are improving in all areas, on the engine, data acquisition, electronics and the new parts fitted to the car have given me a better feeling from the front end. Sure, we are not yet where we want to be, but I think we are on the right path and we have the right people to give us every possibility to continue to move forward.
"It’s hard to say how tomorrow’s race will go, because in the simulation done yesterday, I was struggling on the Medium tyre, while the balance was better on the Soft. We know we can’t fight with Mercedes, but today’s result gives me more confidence than at the previous races and I will do my best to bring home a good result."
