#BahGP: Qualifying

2019 Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix – Qualifying – Saturday

Weather: FP3: sunny and dry, 26-27°C air, 36-40°C track; Qualifying: dry, 25°C air, 28-30°C track

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal Alfa Romeo Racing and CEO Sauber Motorsport AG:
“So far, it has been a tricky weekend for us. We had an issue on both cars yesterday and could not run in the second practice session. We are lacking some data on our qualifying and longrun performance but given the circumstances we had quite a solid result today. Our pace is good and both drivers feel comfortable in the cars. Kimi will be starting in the top ten, and Antonio will have the challenge to fight his way forward in a very tight midfield. We will push hard and aim to finish the race with both cars in the points here in Bahrain.”

Kimi Räikkönen (car number 7):
Alfa Romeo Racing C38 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 9th in Q3 (1:29.022 / soft (C3) tyres)
3rd practice: 11th (1:31.333 / soft (C3) tyres / 21 laps)
“We got the maximum our of our car today, and we are doing a good job. The car feels good, but we can’t predict how the race will be tomorrow because we missed our second practice session yesterday and didn’t do any longruns. The weather could take on a leading role in the race – I heard it will get windy, so we will see how that plays out.”

Antonio Giovinazzi (car number 99):
Alfa Romeo Racing C38 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 16th in Q1 (1:30.026 / soft (C3) tyres)
3rd practice: 18th (1:32.132 / soft (C3) tyres / 21 laps)
“It has not been an easy weekend until now. The second session would have been very important for us yesterday to see where we will stand in qualifying and the race. We don’t really know what to expect from the race tomorrow. The conditions will be quite different to what we experienced in FP1 and FP3, so we will do our best to have a good race and fight our way forward in this tight midfield.”