Alex Albon:
"I’m happy to be through to Q2 today after what’s been a tough weekend so far. I was on the back foot going into this session, having only done a handful of laps, especially at a track like Madrid where you need a lot of laps to get up to speed. We changed some parts on the car, which thankfully paid off and got us out of Q1, which is an achievement given all the issues we’ve faced. Tomorrow will be a challenge as it’s not an overtaking track, but we’ll do what we can to get a good result."

Carlos Sainz:
"It was a good lap but a scrappy qualifying overall, with several issues that cost us precious tenths in the end. We knew we would struggle at this track but we also went out very early for the last push, losing out on track evolution, and had some deployment losses that prevented us from getting into Q2. Apologies to Valtteri for impeding his lap, I wasn’t aware he was pushing and had no time to get out of his way.

On a positive note, this track has been a lot of fun to drive at qualifying pace, and I’m enjoying being so close to the walls and always driving at the limit. It’s been incredible to feel the support of the fans throughout the weekend so far, and it’s a dream come true to be here racing in front of my home crowd. Tomorrow, overtaking will be difficult, but we will try our best to come back and give everyone something to cheer for!"

James Vowles, Team Principal:
"It's been fantastic to be in Madrid - really impressed with the track, the facilities, the environment. It is really world class. It was always predicted to be a tough weekend for us and unfortunately that's transpiring to be the case. Well done to Alex, he had almost no laps underneath his belt after a small incident in FP3 but put in a really strong lap to put that car into Q2.

“With Carlos, as you saw there was just milliseconds between the two drivers as there always is. The impeding penalty is the team's responsibility - we didn't warn Carlos of Valtteri behind him and we need to change and improve our systems to make sure we do so in future. We are not here to be fighting for 17th but we will give our all tomorrow. It is a race that I feel could present some twists and turns and we need to be ready for them when they come."