Paul di Resta could have challenged for a front row position in Valencia on Saturday, but the Scot was left annoyed after repeating his European Grand Prix qualifying error of last year. However, Force India still enjoyed its first double Q3 result since Abu Dhabi last year, with Nico Hülkenberg leading the way from eighth position.
“I could have been higher up the grid because I didn’t get the perfect lap together in Q3,” di Resta admitted. “If I repeated my Q2 lap time, I would have been a couple of rows higher up the grid. I was trying to squeeze a little bit extra from the car but I locked a wheel and lost time in the final sector.”
Before today, Hülkenberg’s best grid position of 2012 was his ninth place at the season-opening event in Melbourne. He has now gone one better.
“I think, overall, it’s a great result for the team to get both cars into Q3, but maybe we were hoping for a little bit more than P8 and P10, especially considering how we have performed so far this weekend. I don’t think the increase in temperatures helped us because the car felt more difficult to drive today and a bit nervous at times.
“For the race tomorrow we are still near the front and will take the fight to the cars around us to try and come away with some points.”
Force India has scored points at the last three Valencia races, dating back to 2009.
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:38.086 | 15 |
| 2. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:38.410 | 17 |
| 3. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 01:38.475 | 21 |
| 4. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 01:38.505 | 16 |
| 5. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 01:38.513 | 16 |
| 6. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:38.623 | 17 |
| 7. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 01:38.741 | 12 |
| 8. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 01:38.752 | 19 |
| 9. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:38.801 | 16 |
| 10. | P. di Resta | Force India | 01:38.992 | 18 |
| Full results | ||||
| Nico Hülkenberg | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Nico Hülkenberg photos | |||
| Paul di Resta | |||
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| More Paul di Resta photos | |||
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