Marussia’s Jules Bianchi has admitted that he is disappointed with his performance in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix after finishing 19th in Saturday’s session.
“I am happy with where we ended up on the grid for tomorrow’s race, but I am a little disappointed with my lap to be honest,” Bianchi said in a team statement.
“I made a small mistake which cost me lap time and there was certainly more to come. I think we have struggled a little more today perhaps, but I have confidence in our race pace and so I am looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”
The Frenchman was looking set to make it into Q2 at one point during the session, but he was eventually edged out by both Toro Rossos and the Williams of Valtteri Bottas. However, he believes that he can still produce a good result in the race tomorrow.
“It will be key to get a good start and ensure the cars behind us stay behind us, then I am sure we can continue our trend of getting closer to the cars in front and hopefully feel the full benefit of our upgrades.
“I think it could be an interesting race generally because of the tires and the track conditions, and I hope we will be able to take advantage of some circumstances which might work in our favor.”
Bianchi has made an impressive start to his Formula One career, and his disappointment acts as evidence of the will to win he possesses. If he can take advantage of the varying strategies throughout the field though, it could still be a fruitful weekend for the Ferrari Driver Academy member.
