Suzuka: The qualifying pace shown by the Sauber F1 Team in Korea has continued to Japan with Sauber F1 Team driver Nico Hülkenberg making it into the top ten again, and setting the seventh fastest time. Although Esteban Gutiérrez was 14th quickest in his Sauber C32-Ferrari, the times tell more than the position, as in Q2 he was only two tenths of a second off the time set by his team-mate. The team believes scoring points in the race is a realistic aim.

Nico Hülkenberg said, “We knew we could fight for the top ten today, but P7 is a nice surprise. It was very tight, everything had to fall into place and I think we managed to do that. Compared to yesterday, the wind changed so we had a tail wind on the straights and this makes you really quick. That means we have a head wind in sector one, which gives you a lot of grip. It was so much fun to put a really good lap together in Q3. I am very happy. Clearly tomorrow we’ll be aiming for points.”

Esteban Gutiérrez said, “We are not as competitive as on previous tracks. I was just two tenths slower than Nico in Q2. This is the first time for me driving on this track and I pushed right to the limit. Regarding the fire, I just saw it and jumped out. The guys had everything under control and I was relieved that I was able to continue my qualifying. We put a good lap together and now I have to stay optimistic for tomorrow, as I think we have a good pace in the long runs. Points are not easy, but we will do our best.”

Meanwhile, Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal said: “We are happy with this qualifying, because we knew it was gong to be extremely tight. Nico, again, did a fantastic job and is in a good position to score points tomorrow. Esteban also did a great job on a track that was new to him, and it is impressive how he has improved over the weekend while learning such a difficult track. The difference for him to be 11th was not even a tenth. All in all an exceptional qualifying and we are hoping for points tomorrow.”