It was a very good day for Alfa Romeo as Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi both made it into Q3 following strong and consistent performances throughout qualifying; it was the first time since Austria 2019 last year that both cars got into the final segment of it. 

On his 329th Grand Prix weekend, the Finn admitted that the treacherous conditions were ‘’awful,’’ but the laps he logged during FP3 helped him to P8 on the grid; despite a couple of spins, he showed good speed throughout qualifying and finished ahead of a Mercedes.  

“We brought home a good qualifying result as a team,” said Raikkonen. “And we can be happy with it. These were some of the most awful conditions I’ve faced in my career but there wasn’t much we could do about it, we just had to go out and face them. We struggled a lot in the morning, but I think the laps we did in FP3 helped us later in the day.  

“Even when the rain stopped, the track remained very slippery and it was hard to stay on track, but in the end I think the conditions benefited us. What really matters is tomorrow, we have to do our best and see where we end up. We have a good chance to convert our grid places into a good result.” 

Antonio Giovinazzi decided to gamble on inters in Q3 unlike his teammate, but it didn’t pay off. Nonetheless, he was happy to get into the final session and said the conditions were probably the most difficult he’s faced in his career. 

“It’s really nice to be in Q3 for the first time this year,” said Giovinazzi. “Especially to do so with both cars: it’s a nice way to celebrate the team’s 500th race, but there’s still plenty to do to get the job done.  

“The conditions out there weren’t easy, probably the most difficult in my career, but we put together the laps when it mattered and we achieved our best result of the season so far. We tried to switch to inters for Q3 but in the end I couldn’t get them to work as well as I wanted: still, we can be very happy with what we achieved as a team.  

The Italian has made up at least one place on the opening lap of every single race in 2020 and will look to continue that tomorrow, even if it might prove to be much tricker from P10.  

“From these positions we have a chance to do really well, especially if conditions remain like these. It won’t be easy to make up as many places as we usually do at the start, but I will definitely try!” 

Oh how we've missed you... #TurkishGP pic.twitter.com/5bR22zAp5z

— Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN (@alfaromeoracing) November 14, 2020