Nico Hulkenberg will battle for "something rewarding" in the United States Grand Prix sprint after qualifying a superb fourth for the one-third distance race.
The Stake driver capitalised on his strong practice pace, which saw him second-quickest, at the Circuit of the Americas to reach a Q3 session for the first time all season.
When he reached the final segment of the grid-setting session, he did not relent, outperforming a host of cars, including George Russell and both Ferraris.
Reflecting on his exploits in Austin, the German shared his feelings towards a strong afternoon's work: "Satisfied, happy, as you might imagine.
"Obviously, FP1 things were looking good already, but it kind of looked too good to be true. So we weren't sure if that's the real deal or what other people were up to with their programme.
"But yeah, we were able to continue that trend; the car felt quite alright. Your own feeling and perception maybe doesn't always match what the lap times say.
"But the lap times... and the stopwatch doesn't lie, and that looked pretty good all day. So, happy. Take that forward, and hopefully we can hang on to it this weekend."
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Hulkenberg's defiant message
When asked if he could explain where the C45's sudden, strong form had come from, the 38-year-old suggested the Hinwil-based squad had hit the "sweet spot" of the car.
"The pace was just there," the one-time podium finisher said. "The car seemed to be fast here and in a good window. Kind of, you know, hit the sweet spot — and I think that's all.
"Plus, I like it a lot here. It's a good, fun track still to drive, and good times!"
Hulkenberg is acutely aware of the formidable task ahead of him to stay in a points-paying position across the 19-lap race. Nonetheless, he vowed to "fight" to stay within the top eight places.
"I think it's gonna be difficult," he said. "Even though, okay, it's not a full race, but even in the sprint, there's a bunch of really quick cars, with usually also a little bit better tyre deg [degradation] numbers.
"But, obviously, we'll fight, [and] see what we can hang on to, and hopefully, something rewarding."
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