- British GP - Qualifying
Hulkenberg nearly aborted lap for P4
Nico Hulkenberg nearly aborted his fast lap in qualifying for the British Grand Prix, but decided to stick with it and secured fourth place - his best grid slot of the season - as a result.
The top five drivers all set times in the closing stages of the session, opting for slicks on a drying track in the hope they would improve. Lewis Hamilton was among the drivers to attempt a lap at the end but aborted it because he felt he was not improving in the first sector. Hulkenberg nearly did the same, but then found four seconds in the final sector.
"To begin with it was nowhere and I thought almost of aborting it because it felt really bad," he said. "Obviously I was the first car out and with the track still being at its dampest of Q3, but as I progressed the lap it went better and better - especially in the final sector where before I lost a lot of time due to rain I thought I won about four seconds so that made up for it.
"Obviously it was a very tricky and challenging session with the changes in weather, the unpredictable showers when it comes - not being visible on the radar - then the changes in the track being damp, dry; the track went so quickly from being wet to dry to damp it was unbelievable. Adjusting the right things was a big challenge but also a good challenge. Not a straightforward dry session where everything goes to plan, this is a bit more hot."
Asked about his chances in the race after struggling in Friday practice, he said: "Yeah I think yesterday was very difficult. It was not really representative. If the wind is not as it was yesterday; we seemed to suffer a lot in the windy conditions. Today it was a lot less. Hopefully it will be the same tomorrow - not so windy - and I think we will have better pace for sure than what we have seen yesterday."
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