Hulkenberg takes surprise 5th in qualifying

It was a surprise result for Force India in qualifying with the team beating a Williams, on a track the Grove based team was expected to be the second fastest car.

Coming on the back of his Le Mans, Nico Hulkenberg appeared in fine form to qualify for the Austrian Grand Prix in fifth, only to be beaten by the two Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa. It wasn’t all smiles though, with team mate Sergio Perez falling at the first hurdle, and although 16th would gain thanks to the number of penalties, especially from the Red Bull cars which would qualify ahead of the Mexican.

Talking after qualifying, Hulkenberg was in good form, “!I’m feeling very happy with how things went today. We knew we had a good chance to be in the top ten, so to be starting in fifth place is an excellent effort by the team. Q1 was fun on the drying track, but in Q2 and Q3 I found a really good rhythm and was able to deliver the laps when it mattered.

“I’m feeling happy and confident in the car at the moment and I think that showed with the result today. Tomorrow will be a tough race because there are some quick cars behind us, but we’ve already built a good foundation for a strong race.

“This track can sometimes spring surprises and we still don’t know what the weather will do tomorrow, but if we maximise things I’m sure we can score some good points.”

Deputy Team Principal, Bob Fernley added, “Fifth place on the grid for Nico is a tremendous effort and a well-deserved result for the team. The car has been performing well here and Nico had a great run this afternoon putting together some fantastic laps.

“It’s a shame that Sergio was not able to join him in the top ten, but those sessions on a drying track are always a bit of a lottery and on this occasion he just missed out. With some other cars picking up penalties we expect him to start from P13, so there’s every chance to progress and challenge for points.

“Our long run pace yesterday looked competitive and we also need to keep an eye on the weather with the possibility of more rain tomorrow.”

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