Fernando Alonso: "I was feeling competitive yesterday but I think with the wind direction change we weren't quite as fast today.

"I was happy with all of my laps in Qualifying and we finished P14 in Q1 and P13 in Q2, so I think that was our pace. We need to improve our car performance to be able to reach Q3. We'll try fight for the points scoring positions tomorrow."

Lance Stroll: "Today's Qualifying session was challenging. The red flags in FP2 and FP3 prevented us from running Soft tyres, making it hard to get an accurate read on the car. Unfortunately, a strong gust of wind caught me during my final push lap, causing the car to lose balance and forcing me wide at Turn 6. As a result, we didn't make it into Q2. With rain likely tomorrow, we will look for any opportunities to capitalise on in the race."

Andy Cowell, CEO & Team Principal: "I think Fernando's assessment after Qualifying is a fair reflection of our pace right now and it was the maximum available to us today. There was a lot of consideration given to set-up adjustments throughout the session, but in Q2 Fernando made the call not to make any further changes. It was the right decision and he found a couple of tenths on his final attempt.

"Lance's session was cut short when he ran wide at Turn Six due to some strong tailwinds. There was a gust of wind 12kph stronger than his earlier run and that pushed him wide and through the gravel. We knew the wind was going to be an issue today, but he was just unlucky.

"There is still plenty to play for tomorrow, especially if the weather forecast brings the expected rain."

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