Van der Zande delivers stunning time in qualifying

Renger van der Zande secured his best qualifying result of the season at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo this afternoon, placing his Mercedes car an impressive third on the timing screens. However, due to receiving a penalty for a tyre regulation breach, the Dutchman will start from fourth place. “This weekend I only had one goal and that was to tie all the knots in one lap,” said a delighted van der Zande after qualifying. “I was not concerned with setup adjustments, but only with driving on the limit. That has succeeded! It is nice for me in my first year to have the big boys behind me in qualifying. I was also the fastest Mercedes driver here. Let’s see if we can repeat it in the race tomorrow.”

Sunday’s race in Valencia starts at 2pm local time.