Jenson Button was outqualified by his teammate Kevin Magnussen, but more crucially, missed out on getting into the top ten by 0.17 seconds. The Brit made a small mistake on his final flying lap, locking up partway round, but was struggling with the balance of the car, anyway.

"After that it was always going to be very close – but, even if I’d got through to the top 10, I think it would have been difficult to make much further progress up the Q3 order. To explain things further, during Q1 I’d already dialled the front wing settings up to their maximum, and, as the circuit gripped-up into Q2, I struggled because I didn’t have enough front-end. I did everything I could to compensate, by using the differential and engine braking, but it wasn’t quite enough."

Meanwhile, Kevin Magnussen was up into the top ten and qualified ninth, but also thinks they just weren't quick enough to do any more. Racing director Éric Boullier describes how his drivers will have to fight in the race, particularly pointing to Button's "wiry" abilities, and Magnussen's "fast and forceful" racing style.