Hulkenberg thrilled to qualify fourth but faces investigation over pit exit incident · RaceFans

Nico Hulkenberg admits he was not expecting Haas to be as strong in qualifying as they were after he ended the session inside the top four.

In his final qualifying session for the team, Hulkenberg secured his second-best qualifying result as a Haas driver to take fourth on the grid.

However his second-row starting position is under threat as he faces an investigation for overtaking Alpine driver Jack Doohan at the pit exit road in Q1, in violation of the race director’s event notes.

Despite both Haas drivers showing promising pace in the three practice sessions, Hulkenberg admitted he did not envision being potentially so far up the grid.

“I had a good feeling from FP1 yesterday and I had a sort of good idea that a top ten was definitely possible this weekend. But that good? No – I did not expect,” Hulkenberg told Sky.

“So many of the top dogs are struggling a little bit. But the car’s been good. We’ve been good on the execution side, so a very good quali for us.”

Asked if he had any concerns that Haas’ race pace would not match their performance in qualifying like it has so often over the years, Hulkenberg stressed “I think we’re way past that.”

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“We’ve shown all year that it’s not ‘the quali car’ anymore and that we are good on Sundays, too,” he continued.

“I think it’s all to play for tomorrow, but there’s obviously going to be a challenge. There’s a bunch of very similar pace cars behind us and even a few faster ones with Max and Checo and a Ferrari. So I expect a challenging, tough race.”

Hulkenberg’s team mate Magnussen was eliminated from Q2 following an incident at the end of Q1 when he hit a bollard at the inside of turn 14 attempting to keep out of Lewis Hamilton’s way. Team principal Ayao Komatsu felt, until then, both his drivers could have reached Q3.

“I think from FP1, both drivers are happy with the car,” he told Sky.

“We had a decent balance, so we thought we could get both cars into Q3, but Kevin’s car had damage because he hit the bollard in Q1 – so, I think, quite the performance loss. So that’s a bummer. But Nico has done a fantastic job.”

However, Hulkenberg’s second row start remains under threat from a potential penalty as he will be investigated by the stewards for overtaking Doohan in the pit lane exit road during Q1.

While drivers are normally permitted to pass rivals after crossing the pit exit line…