Jules Bianchi: “We have everything to gain”

This is the best qualifying performance of his young career to date. Jules Bianchi achieved a promising 15th place this Saturday at Spa-Francorchamps, a real feat at the wheel of his modest Marussia. ?It?s a fantastic result for the team today?, rejoiced the Nice resident. It was a good feeling for everyone, including me, as it was also the first Q2 of my career in Formula 1 » Not very enthusiastic at the start of the weekend, the two Anglo-Russian single-seaters never let up their efforts. “Things continually improved for us throughout the sessions and I'm really pleased that the hard work paid off,” continues the protégé of the Ferrari Driver Academy.

To achieve this performance, Marussia decided to equip its two F1 cars with slick tires on a track that was drying during Q1, where the vast majority of drivers did not take any risks by remaining in intermediates. A poker move, which will allow Bianchi and his teammate Max Chilton to move on to the second stage qualifications. “This result has nothing to do with luck, insists the Frenchman. Because everyone was faced with this dilemma, was it too dry for the intermediates or too wet for the slicks? During the first lap of the last run, it was difficult to know what to do, only the drivers could really see the condition of the track and the conditions were different from one corner to the next. At the end of the lap, I decided to go like that, staying with the medium tires. (the softest available this weekend, Editor’s note) and this bet was exactly the right one to make. »

Station in Van der Garde

Jules Bianchi is already focused on this Sunday's race. “Tomorrow we will start from 7th row, which will be a good time, he expects. Of course we don't really know what the weather will bring us. We have everything to gain and we will do our best to seize all our opportunities. » However, watch out for Giedo Van der Garde. Author of a feat similar to the two Marussias, the Dutchman will start from 14th position, just ahead of Bianchi. If the latter does better than 13th place at the finish tomorrow, Caterham would take back the 10th and very lucrative position in the Team rankings from the Anglo-Russian team.