Sahara Force India to start Chinese GP from the eight row

Sahara Force India drivers did not manage to find themselves in a strong position for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix but Paul di Resta felt the qualifiers on Saturday were a lot closer than what the eventual positioning may suggest.

While di Resta will begin the race from the 15th position (1:36.317), Nico Hulkenberg is a place behind (1:36.745). "It was a very close qualifying session, especially Q2 where finding a few tenths could have gained us another five places on the grid. My Q2 lap was good and I think I got the maximum from the car, but it only puts me P15," said di Resta adding that he continues to be optimistic about his prospects in the race.

Hulkenberg though admitted that it was a tough Saturday for him and chose to blame a possible change in conditions in Shaghai. "It was quite a tough qualifying session for us, but I think the conditions had changed since free practice and I didn't feel as comfortable with the car. My final lap in Q2 was a little compromised by some traffic coming out of the pits, but I guess P16 reflects the pace we have at the moment."

The session was dominated by the Mercedes drivers with Nico Rosberg claiming his career's first pole while Michael Schumacher finishing with the third best time, a place behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton who however, will move back as he had previously been handed a five-place ban. (See our Racecentre for more)