Daniel and Esteban comfortably advanced through Q1 after two runs on Pirelli’s Soft tyres.

In Q2, Esteban found improvements on his second run but it was not enough to make Q3 on his debut in Renault DP World F1 Team colours, finishing in fourteenth place.

Daniel went through the second round of qualifying in ninth and looked to build on that position in the top 10 shootout.

However, a yellow flag while improving on his lap meant he had to abort the final part of his effort and he settled for tenth position.

Daniel Ricciardo, #3, R.S.20-03, Q: P10, 1:04.239 / FP3: P12, 1:05.088
“I had to lift on the last run with the yellow flag. We know we could have been better than tenth as we’ve shown that all weekend. To be in Q3 is positive for us, especially after last year here. It’s a sign of more progress. Things like this are out of what you can control, so it’s a bit frustrating but it happens. We’ll have to go and do it tomorrow and look to push towards the top eight if not, even higher. I’m looking forward to the lights going out tomorrow!”

Esteban Ocon, #31, R.S.20-04, Q: P14, 1:04.643 / FP3: P11, 1:05.037
“I’m not very satisfied with today as it’s not what we wanted to achieve. I know we could have done better with what we had in hand. There were just a few little details that we didn’t get right. I want to review what happened as the gap to where I want to be is pretty big. We’ll take a look and keep working hard. It wasn’t enough today, but tomorrow we’ll aim to come back stronger.”

Ciaron Pilbeam, Chief Race Engineer:
“The end result wasn’t quite what we were targeting but, nevertheless, we’re in a position to contend for points tomorrow, which is when it counts. The yellow flag for Daniel in Q3 on his push lap on new tyres meant he had to lift, and it was impossible for him to improve his lap time. For Esteban it was a case of not piecing it all together and he also missed out on a tow on his Q2 lap, which likely cost him a little bit of time. We have some options on strategy to assess for tomorrow.”