What the Drivers Said: Qualifying Press Conference

Hypercar: Antonio Giovinazzi – no51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P
"First of all, I want to say thanks to Ferrari, to my crew, to my teammates. Think we’ve shown that since FP1 we have a fast car, and fast pace. Yesterday we were P1 and this morning was another great lap in FP3, but we were delayed by the track limit. 

“Then, two good laps in qualifying and Hyperpole. So I’m really happy with the performance we put all together.  Also, the race pace was pretty good yesterday, so let's finish the job tomorrow.

“Today is a good day and we need to celebrate, but I'm already focused on tomorrow to do well. This year, the crew of the 51 didn't deserve the pace that was in our car so let's put it all together tomorrow in the race.

“I think the biggest step was from yesterday to today was the track. In FP1 on the new tarmac, the grip was really low, and this morning we found more grip in those corners.  And then again, there was a small step from FP3 to qualifying. 

In general, we found overall, a better track. We were testing here in July, and the track was quite bumpy. Now, it is really enjoyable to drive. Of course, with a good car that we had, it was a great lap, a great feeling with the car.”

LMGT3: Ian James – no27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 

“Coming to our home race as the American team and getting pole position is just a really great way to start off the race.  I've been living in America for a long time now, so I've raced at CoTA a lot, so that probably helped me a little bit today, and over the weekend, I felt really comfortable. Big hats off to the whole team, who always provide us with a great car, and it was good enough today. 

“The build up between normal qualifying and Hyperpole, letting the heat sink through the tyres and how you attack Hyperpole is a little bit different. But we got all the pressures right. There was only one lap, and we managed to nail it.

“We're quite limited on how many tyres we can use in the race and this is a high load track, so we've got to be a bit careful of that. I will probably have to double stint the set. So, if it's a little bit cooler, that'll be good, but any inclement weather we'll just deal with as it comes.  The car has been good in all conditions this year, so we just got to make a smart race and keep our nose clean and hopefully be there at the end.”