Then it was Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg third fastest followed by the two Ferrari drivers, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, respectively. The best placed Mercedes AMG driver was Nico Rosberg, who was sixth fastest today, and then it was recent Red Bull Racing recruit Daniel Ricciardo, who managed to bring in his Toro Rosso seventh fastest.
Eighth and ninth on the grid went to the two McLaren drivers Sergio Perez and Jenson Button, respectively, and rounding out the top ten is Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne.
There is still a chance of rain for the race so even though top drivers like Kimi Räikkönen of Lotus (11) and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes AMG (12) are further down on the grid than fans would like, the race will be about tire management and there’s a chance they’ll get some points tomorrow. Tire supplier Pirelli has nominated its P Zero Orange hard tires and P Zero White medium tires: the same used for the previous Belgian Grand Prix.
Going into tomorrow’s race, Sebastian Vettel leads the Drivers’ Championship with 197 points. Fernando Alonso is in second with 151 points while Lewis Hamilton is in third with 139 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull Racing commands 312 points versus the 235 points of Mercedes AMG and the 218 points of Ferrari.
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