Mercedes Benz

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Abu Dhabi/Yas Marina, UAE, Nov 13, 2010

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg qualified in eighth and ninth positions today for the final race of the 2010 season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which takes place at the Yas Marina Circuit at 17:00hrs on Sunday.


Both drivers progressed well through the first two qualifying sessions with Nico looking particularly quick on the harder tyre in Q1 and Q2 where he finished in second and third positions. Q3 saw both drivers switch to the softer rubber which didn’t suit the car quite as well and they will line up on the grid with Michael on the fourth row and Nico on the fifth row.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
“I didn’t have the best last lap in Q3 today unfortunately as I didn’t quite get the sectors together. That was a shame because I could have ended up one or even two positions higher. However this gives me room to improve for tomorrow and that will be my target for the race. We’ve had a pretty straightforward weekend at this fantastic venue. I really enjoy driving here, the atmosphere is great and driving from day into night is very special. It’s a big spectacle and I hope the race adds to it.”

NICO ROSBERG
“The speed was there today, however unfortunately only on the hard tyre, so it’s disappointing to be starting from ninth place on the grid. For our race strategy, I had to run the options in Q3 and I just struggled with them all the way through qualifying.”

ROSS BRAWN
“We made very solid progress into Q3 today with the car looking pretty reasonable throughout qualifying. However we were much better on the prime tyre with both Nico and Michael struggling on the option in Q3. This gives us reason to be optimistic in the race tomorrow when we should be on the right strategy. Overall we’re in a reasonable position.”

NORBERT HAUG
“In the first two qualifying sessions, our lap times looked pretty strong on the harder prime tyre. We knew that the option tyre would probably cost us lap time in Q3 but it was still the right decision to use them. The little handicap today will hopefully help us tomorrow when we aim to improve on our grid positions during the race tomorrow.”



* Official photos and details courtesy of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS *

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