Liam Lawson believes his Racing Bulls team could never have achieved sixth on the Las Vegas Grand Prix grid if it were not for a "rare extreme" test.
Qualifying in Nevada was hit by heavy rain, with drivers forced to use the full wet tyres in Q1 and Q2 before the track started to dry for intermediates in Q3.
Owing to the poor performance of the full wet tyres, drivers often prefer to use the intermediates in wet conditions, but such was the standing water in the first two segments, the full wet was called for.
Racing Bulls did not expect to have a strong package in Las Vegas, with Lawson crediting his third row spot to acing the tyre strategy through qualifying, including the rare use of the extreme tyres.
"It was a strong session, we had a quick car, and these conditions normally help us, and I feel like we had even more in the tank.
"We missed the final lap by one or two seconds, and with how the session had been going up until that point, I felt pretty confident we could have improved.
"It was a couple of tenths [to George Russell in fourth], and we probably had that, but I am happy.
"If it had been dry, it would have been tough for us to be rolling off P6, I don't know if we had that kind of speed in the car, but obviously, we have a great opportunity [in the race].
"For us to be running the extreme wet tyres is very rare, and how shows how slippery it was, so we made the right choice with the tyres. It is already slippery in the dry, so in these conditions, it was very tricky, like driving in slow motion.
"It feels easy to overstep the limit, and you're trying to push, naturally, you are in a qualifying session and trying to push the car, but with this type of grip level, if you push, you lock up, and it is like driving on a fine wire."
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Lawson's race pace
As for the race pace, teams were unable to collect their usual data with red flags in FP2 and the rain of FP3.
But Lawson was confident Racing Bulls would be okay with its set-up decisions.
"We did try and prioritise [race pace] this weekend, and we did spend a little bit of time doing long runs, but it was cut short.
"It is the same for everybody, but with a straight this long, we need to have a quick race car. I have no idea how we're going to be in the race.
"I think we've done the right thing with the downforce, but we will find out pretty quickly."
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