At the season opener in the desert, the teams had expected anything but rain which, on Saturday morning, resulted in just one short free practice session taking place, instead of the two scheduled sessions. To top things off, this track time was interrupted by red flags. Qualifying, which is normally divided into a group phase and a Super Pole shootout of the six fastest drivers, took place in two groups immediately after free practice.
“I think all of the teams suffered very much under the conditions on this difficult race track that was new for everyone,” said Team Principal Allan McNish. “Qualifying was like a gamble and nobody was able to prepare perfectly. In the end, we have to settle for Daniel (Abt) and Lucas (di Grassi) still having finished in the points but, obviously, the result is not what we expected or capable of. We’re taking plenty of homework with us to Neuburg and clearly want to improve for the next race in Marrakesh.”