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Bahrain Grand Prix - team and driver preview quotes |
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Q. Jarno, a great result for you and a great Q3. But many problems today with the brakes, the wind and the heat. Jarno TRULLI: It wasn't an easy qualifying I think for everyone but for me it made everything more difficult as after the first run we found out a couple of troubles on my car especially I was struggling with the brakes. The pedal was getting longer and longer and I was not able to brake the way I wanted. Nevertheless I did not give up as I knew I had a good car and I could fight for pole, so it was really nice to end up with first and second for the team especially for Toyota. Mr Okamoto is also here to support us, so it is great to show him what a great result and what great work we have been doing over the winter time and today. Q. Timo, you lost a little bit of time in P3 this morning with an electrical problem. But a great qualifying for you too. Timo GLOCK: Yeah, it was not too bad. We found quite a lot overnight as we struggled yesterday with the brakes quite a lot. You know overnight we did the right changes to the car and I was really, really happy this morning. I was quite surprised that I was still quickest at the end and I was quite happy for qualifying. In qualifying the wind changed and I struggled a little bit in the first run. It was a bit more points, a bit more nervous, it was a bit difficult. And in the Q3 lap I knew when I crossed the start-finish that it would not be enough for Jarno as he is really, really good in qualifying, especially in Q2 getting everything out of the fuel load. I had one mistake in it when I lost a bit of time but at the end I think it would not have been enough for pole but I am happy for the team. The mechanics had a hard time the last couple of weeks. The first four races were really, really hard and I think it is really good for the team. Q. Sebastian, on the back of your great win in Shanghai continuing your record in the top three again. It looks like you saved a set of tyres in Q2 and a big smile on your face now as we go into the race. Sebastian VETTEL: Yes, I think it was a good session for us. I think we could see already in Q1 that it was very tight. It was not enough to do one run on the prime, so I think everybody had to put the option on. The whole field, we could see already this morning, is very close together. But to come back I think it was a smooth qualifying session for us, we did not have any problems. We have a very, very quick car. In Q2 we only needed one run and we still managed to stay quickest, so that was very good. Even the circuit was improving. But I think in Q3 the two Toyotas today were just a bit too quick. I am looking forward to tomorrow though. I reckon they will pull in a bit earlier but it is a long race. Let's see, but of course I am looking forward. Q. Jarno, your reaction to Sebastian's comment there that maybe you are going to be pulling in a bit earlier than he will and also your thoughts going in on potentially the day Toyota might win their first grand prix. JT: To be honest I did not feel very confident for the qualifying lap. I have been working quite a lot more on the race pace and I felt more competitive and this is why probably I am on pole as today when we fuelled the car, it felt better. I feel especially confident for tomorrow. I should not have any problems apart from the fact that we need to analyse the brake and see the situation there. PRESS CONFERENCE Q. Jarno, it does sound that there is a bit of a worry about brakes. What can be done between now and the race itself? JT: It was a hard qualifying. I had troubles with my car. At the beginning we found out that maybe we had some problem with the fuel, so I had a bit more extra fuel on board to make sure I was not running out of fuel. And then the biggest problem was the brakes. We have not had any problem during the whole weekend but unfortunately in qualifying after the two runs I was struggling and I lost a couple of tenths on all my runs from Q2 to Q3, so I think there is much more potential in the car. But I cannot be so disappointed being on pole. Obviously I was not so confident to be here today because I have been spending most of the time on the race pace and I think I was much more comfortable on a heavier fuelled car and this probably I have shown in Q3, so I am extremely confident for tomorrow's race as the car in general has been running pretty well. Q. But what can be done between now and tomorrow morning? JT: We need to analyse the data to see if we have some problem on the brakes and eventually if we can change it as straight away after the first run I had a problem and all weekend I never appeared to be in trouble, so this is a bit of a worry. Q. After yesterday you said that you wanted more drivability to the car and the team also said that tyre choice was not particularly critical which is interesting as well. JT: Yeah, there are a few things which are interesting which we discovered yesterday and today compared to winter time testing as I believe the position has changed dramatically. All in all we are happy with the data collected and I think we have quite a good idea what can happen tomorrow. Obviously we just have to wait and see but I must say I am very confident for the race as my race pace and looking after the tyres has been pretty good all weekend. Q. Timo, you have not had any brakes problems? TG: We had the problems yesterday. I struggled quite a lot yesterday with the car already and was far away from the test pace and overnight we had a lot of stuff to change and it worked out this morning that we were quickest in P3, so I was pretty happy with the car. But in qualifying the wind changed a bit and we struggled already in Q1 on the prime tyres and I couldn't get the lap together and had to get used to it first. After that I was quite happy in Q2 in the last run and this was okay. In Q3 I was still struggling a bit to get used to the heavier fuel load from low fuel in Q2 into Q3 and after turn eight I knew it would not work out for pole because I did a mistake. In the end I have to be happy with the first row for Toyota and it is really good for the team. A perfect result and thanks to the mechanics for all the hard work in the last four weeks. I think it was one of the toughest beginnings of the season for them and it is a good result for us. Q. Presumably they had quite a lot of work last night as well because you were saying yesterday that the car was quite hard to drive and yet you set fastest time this morning and then stopped on circuit. TG: Yeah, what we had this morning was a bit strange. Suddenly the engine went off and we had a little bit of an electrical problem. We found that quite quickly and were able to repair it in time. In the end, I think we have to be happy with the result. Q. How much is this performance due to the modifications that have been made to the car since China? TG: I don't think it was a big step, just some small improvements on the car, so nothing big to notice. At the end the result in qualifying is just the result of a smooth qualifying and we've never had a smooth qualifying. I think we've made our lives a bit difficult in the first couple of weekends. We've started two times from the pit lane and we've had to fight quite a lot in the race. Now we've had a smooth weekend so far in qualifying especially and hopefully we are quick in the race. Q. Sebastian, was third on the grid better or worse than you expected? SV: It's always difficult to know what to expect when you go into qualifying, especially with different fuel loads. You either go aggressive, conservative or average. It really depends, so you don't know what to expect. We have known since yesterday - yesterday afternoon was quite good for us and also this morning - that our car is quick. I think we proved that in Q1 and Q2, so that was very good. In Q3 I was personally a bit surprised by how big the gap was to Jarno, he was very, very fast but I think it was the best we could have achieved today, so thanks for that and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. It will be very hot, it will be a long race, so a long way to go. I think it's very important to be in front of Jenson as it was very tight with him. I think we did more or less the same lap time, so that was good; gaining any grid positions always helps, so let's see tomorrow. Q. Have you had any problems with brakes? SV: Well, I wouldn't say problems. I think Bahrain is well known as a heavy braking circuit, so you ask a lot of your brakes. There's a lot of stop and go here, so tomorrow, also with these temperatures, it will be difficult to cool them but I think this is the kind of problem everybody will face. I think we are prepared, so I hope we don't have any problems tomorrow. Q. And is there a big difference in tyres for you? SV: I would say that both compounds are working really well here. We were basically focusing on getting the car into race trim over the last two days, so I think we will have a good time on both compounds and not face any problems similar or close to Australia where we had a lot of graining. I think both compounds are working well here, and Bahrain isn't that heavy on tyres, more so on the brakes, so I think we will be fine, even though it's very hot. Let's see tomorrow - if there's no sand storm it will be a good race. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q. (Ottavio Daviddi – Tuttosport) Jarno, I think the pressure will be very big starting from pole; are you afraid of that? JT: I wish I could always have this pressure. I'm not afraid. One time I was on pole I won, I think, so it's not a problem. Q. (Marco Evangelisti – Corriere dello Sport) Jarno, do you want to dedicate this pole to someone? JT: Well, definitely my thoughts have recently always been with my region. As you all know, I'm supporting a charity campaign with all the drivers as well, the GPDA, and I'm trying to involve as many people as possible, so my first thoughts are with my region, obviously as well to the Toyota team and everybody. One of the big bosses, Mr Okamoto, is here, so it's nice to show him that we are doing well this year. Q. (Frederic Ferret – L'Equipe) Question to Jarno and Timo: can you explain why you are on the front row together today compared to the other circuits? Is it that the track suits the TF109? JT: I think half of it is thanks to the fact that we have been testing here over the winter time, part of it is also thanks to the fact that we have seen in the past that this is one of the tracks which our cars seems to like and partly because we have done a better job than the others. I don't know, but putting everything together puts both cars on the front row, so it just shows that the whole team has done a reasonably good job. TG: I think, as Jarno said, we have just put everything together this time and had no trouble, and the car was closer to that which we knew from winter testing. Maybe that's due to the fact that we tested more here but in the end, I just think it was a good qualifying because everything went smoothly and we just got it together. That's it. Q. (Frederic Ferret – L'Equipe) And what do you fear from this race? SV: Sand storm. JT: I don't know. During the first three races, I don't think things have really worked out well for me. I just hope for a trouble free race and I'm sure we can do a good job and get a good result because if I look back at everything that's happened during the past races, it's always been a bit difficult for me, so I just hope everything goes alright. RG: Yeah, for me the wind and the KERS cars. I think the best KERS car is Lewis Hamilton in P5 and that could be a little worry for us up to the first corner. I think the KERS cars have shown that they are really, really strong at the start and that could be one point. I hope we have a clean start and not the same problems that we had in Malaysia and get a clean race. Q. (Juha Päätalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Sebastian, what do read from the results of Q2 and did the results of Q3 make you any more worried? SV: No, not worried. I think in Q2 there's no need to play around, so everyone tries to go as quickly as possible. I was surprised how good we were, so we only needed one run, so we were able to save tyres for tomorrow. I think it showed that we are doing well here, the car is behaving well, so in Q3, when I crossed the line and I got the message and also the lap times from the guys ahead, from Timo and Jarno, I was a bit surprised but on the other hand, you never know, sometimes your car is a lot better on lighter fuel levels, sometimes it's better on high fuel levels but I think we should be sorted for tomorrow. Q. (Beniamino Casadei – Il Giornale) When you were a young boy, an Italian fan of Formula One, did you enjoy more success for an Italian team on pole or for an Italian driver? JT: As an Italian, Formula One was represented by Ferrari, so anything which was Formula One had to be red, I remember, but I grew up in a family which was a big fan of motor sport in general and they were actually not just big fans of Ferrari but talking about and discussing drivers a lot and their performance, so I grew up more with an overall mentality, rather than just a Ferrari mentality because unfortunately in Italy, Formula One is not represented by me or Giancarlo (Fisichella) but it's Ferrari and this can be a down point for us but on the other hand you just have to deal with it. I'm lucky enough that I was able to get here and I'm on pole now and that's it. Q. (Roland Hughes – The National) Question for all of you: how much do you think the heat will play a part tomorrow, not only for the cars but for the drivers themselves? JT: I'm not concerned at all, to be honest. If you look back, all my best performances always come in the worst, difficult conditions. I'm more than happy to race in these hot conditions. TG: For me it's not a problem. I think at the end, when you see the numbers – 40 degrees or 38 degrees – you think it's pretty hot in the car but at least it's a dry heat, so it's reasonable. I don't have so many problems and it's OK. SV: I think it should be colder tomorrow if I'm not wrong, not too much, still hot but maybe a little bit colder. I think the worst time is when you're waiting in the pits in the garage to go out again and you're kind of standing and the car is stationary and the car is hot. It's much better when you're driving on the circuit, you get a little bit of air and as Timo said, it's probably not as bad as Malaysia because there's not so much humidity. How hot is it going to be in Abu Dhabi when we are there? (Reply: Cooler.) Q. (Peter Hesseler – Pitpress) Jarno, what was the problem with the brakes and what do you think was possible without any problems on the car? JT: To be honest we don't understand what happened. I could only feel that after the second run in Q1 the pedal was long, I was getting knock-off. We had to do a quick hot bleed between the two sessions but I was still having problems, so basically I was not stopping the car well and I could not handle the brake pedal well, so I couldn't feel it very well. Some time was lost there but as I say, I cannot be too disappointed now and see what we can do tomorrow. |
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Jarno Trulli (1st, Q3 - 1m 33.431s): “I'm thrilled to be back on pole again. This weekend has gone well and it's great to be starting at the front tomorrow. In fact this afternoon didn't go quite as smoothly as yesterday because I had a bit of a problem with my brakes during the session. That's a bit of a worry for the race so we'll have to look into it overnight. Still, I'm confident for tomorrow because our race pace has been good this weekend and we've been looking after the tyres well. The first three races haven't really worked out for me but I hope we can now change that. We tested here over the winter and this track has gone well for our cars in the past. To have both cars in the top two shows we did a very good job. I'd like to dedicate this pole both to my team, who have worked so hard, and to the people of my home region Abruzzo, who suffered a disastrous earthquake this month." Timo Glock (2nd, Q3 - 1m 33.712s): "It's brilliant that we've been able to take the top two places today. We had a problem on my car yesterday and we were struggling but the team did a good job to change things for today. We were quickest in the session this morning, though I lost a bit of running with an electronics glitch. But qualifying went extremely smoothly. The wind changed a bit and it was a struggle to get used to the prime tyres in Q1. After that I felt more comfortable in Q2 but in Q3 I made a small error after Turn Eight so I couldn't catch Jarno. A big thank you to all the engineers and mechanics because it's been a hard start to the season for everyone and this is a great result for us." Pascal Vasselon, Toyota senior general manager chassis: "We're obviously delighted with today's result. We have been competitive throughout the weekend so we were targeting pole and things went as expected - though the gap to the cars behind us is a bit bigger than we anticipated. Both drivers did a great job and from the very first lap in Q1 we could see the pace was there so we just had to manage it over the sessions. Tomorrow's race will be very interesting because the tyre situation generates huge differences between the two specs and it opens windows for very different strategies. We already saw yesterday that our pace over one lap and our consistency over long runs has been good. This morning went well except for a small electronics problem on Timo's car. Congratulations to the engineers and mechanics who fixed it in time. Now we have to convert this perfect start into a result tomorrow." |
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Red Bull |
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Sebastian Vettel (3rd, Q3 - 1m 34.015s): “That was a good session, we could see in Q1 it was very tough and it wasn’t enough to do one run on the prime tyres, so everyone had to put on the option. But it was a smooth qualifying session and we had no problems. The car was very quick, we only needed one run in Q2 and we remained at the top, even though the circuit was improving, which was very good. In Q3 the two Toyotas were a bit too quick - I’m looking forward to tomorrow, I reckon they might pull in a little earlier than us! But, it’s a long race, so let’s see.” Mark Webber (19th, Q1 - 1m 34.038s): “Traffic. I had traffic on the last corner and therefore wasn’t quick enough to go through. I don’t usually get caught out with that problem and that was the worst place to get nailed, as it wrecked both my flying laps. I had nowhere to go in the last corner of my first lap and then Sutil slip-streamed past me for the start of my second, so it was a disaster. Q1 is the worst session to have had that problem, as now we’re at the back for tomorrow - my race is screwed.” Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal “I think the car weights will show that both Toyotas are set for an aggressive strategy tomorrow - we’ve got a fresh set of tyres remaining from today so I think we have a strong strategy for tomorrow’s race. We’re bitterly disappointed for Mark who was blocked by Sutil in Q1, both drivers should have been up at the front today which is really frustrating. It was a great performance from Sebastian though - he’s on fire at the moment, he did a great lap in Q2 and a very good lap in Q3, so let’s see what tomorrow’s race brings.” Fabrice Lom, Renault, principal engineer track support: “Very mixed feelings. We had a very good qualifying with Sebastian, who was top in Q1 and Q2. He’s third, but I think he has a good strategy so we’re confident for tomorrow. It will be very hot and the engine will suffer a bit, but we will try our best to get some more points and I hope a victory! It’s such a shame for Mark, he was having a great weekend but then was blocked in qualifying. I’m sure he can bounce back from there tomorrow - we’ll cross our fingers.” |
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Bridgestone |
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Bridgestone's super soft tyre allowed Panasonic Toyota Racing driver Jarno Trulli to qualify on pole and head up the first ever all-Toyota front row for tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix.
Trulli set a time of 1min 33.431secs, almost three tenths ahead of team-mate Timo Glock. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) went third fastest. Track conditions were improved from Friday, with more rubber laid and the temperatures were even hotter. Glock used the super soft tyre to go fastest in the morning practice session with a time of 1min 32.605secs. Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development What was significant about today's running? "Today was very good for Toyota as both of their cars qualified on the front row, so congratulations to them and Jarno Trulli for his fourth pole position. We saw further progress from Friday's running with the circuit grip level improved, particularly in the practice session, due to the track being cleared of sand, and more rubber being laid. Qualifying was very exciting through every session, with even the faster cars using the super soft tyre to get through the first qualifying session." How are the two compounds working here in Bahrain? "We are seeing an interesting weekend in terms of tyre performance. The super soft tyre has worked very well so far this weekend. It delivers a good fast lap time on average 0.7 seconds faster than the medium tyre. In terms of degradation the super soft presents an interesting challenge. Some teams can use the super soft for a long stint, however some teams will have to work hard to maintain the super soft from degradation. This means that usage of the super soft tyre will be the key point to the race. The medium tyre takes longer to warm up than the super soft, even in these hot conditions. In the race medium tyre will be very durable, however with a slower ultimate lap time than the super soft." |
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Renault |
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Today's qualifying session saw Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet qualify in 7th and 15th places respectively for tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix. FREE PRACTICE 3 Fernando Alonso: 13 laps, P13, 1:33.482 on lap 11 Run 1: 4 laps, new hard tyres Run 2: 4 laps, same set of hard tyres, change to suspension and front antiroll bar Run 3: 4 laps, new soft tyres Nelson Piquet: 19 laps, P6, 1:33.176 on lap 17 Run 1: 4 laps, new hard tyres Run 2: 5 laps, new hard tyres Run 3: 5 laps, new hard tyres Run 4: 4 laps, new soft tyres, change to front wing QUALIFYING Fernando Alonso P7, 1:34.578 Q1: 1 run on new hard tyres, 1 run on new soft tyres Q2: 2 runs on new soft tyres, change to front wing Q3: 1 run on used soft tyres, 1 run on new soft tyres. Change to fuel level. Fernando: "Once again we saw a very close qualifying session. It's difficult and stressful inside the cockpit, but I guess it's very interesting for the viewers. We haven't made many changes to the car since China, but the team has been working late into the night once again to give me a competitive car. Qualifying went more or less as we had expected and starting 7th is about what we imagined was possible. Tomorrow we need to do everything we can to finish in the points, aiming for the top six and maybe even higher." Nelson Piquet, P15, 1:33.941 Q1: 1 run on new hard tyres, 2 runs on new soft tyres Q2: 2 runs on new soft tyres Nelson: "I pushed a bit too much to try to get into Q3. I had four cars around me and I really couldn't do much so I had to take some risks and pushed hard, but it wasn't good enough to go through to Q3. Hopefully we will have a strong start to the race and can adopt a good strategy so that I can challenge for the points, which is what we need right now." Technical Debrief with Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering Track conditions: We had very warm conditions today with ambient temperatures reaching 38C and track temperatures around 50C. Both cars and tyres where therefore tested severely. Performance: Our performance today is mixed. Fernando's position in qualifying again reflects where we think our level of competitiveness is at the moment. But Nelson unfortunately made a mistake during his important lap in Q2 and is probably not showing everything he is capable of. Race outlook: The race will be difficult tomorrow. The wind has already caused problems today and is forecast to be even stronger tomorrow. Strategically it will be important to look after the tyres, but I'm confident that we can have a strong points-scoring finish. |
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Ferrari |
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The fact that getting both F60s into the top ten on the grid is considered a decent result for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, clearly shows the state of play at the moment, but it is an encouraging sign that Felipe Massa, eighth on the grid felt the car had improved slightly. Kimi's tenth place came down to the fact that, in order to make sure of getting into Q3, he had used all his new soft tyres in the earlier parts of the session and had to make his final run on worn ones. With one car already in a points position and the other not far off, the Scuderia tackles tomorrow's fourth round of the world championship in the hope of finally bringing home its first points of the season. It was even hotter today than yesterday, although a drop of around 5 degrees is currently predicted for race day. Even so, racing in the mid-thirties means that all elements of the package, car, engine, tyres and drivers will suffer in the heat and reliability will be put to the severest of tests. Both Felipe and Kimi went back to using KERS, following an assessment of the "with and without" comparison test yesterday, having removed it from the cars a week ago in China. In a season that continues to throw up surprises, which is good for the race fans at least, this time it was Toyota's turn to secure pole, it's third, and indeed make it an all red and white front row: Italy's Jarno Trulli secured pole position for the fourth time in his career, with his German team-mate Timo Glock in second place. The second row sees China winner, Sebastian Vettel in third place for Red Bull-Renault, with series leader Jenson Button alongside him in the Brawn. The third row features reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton fifth for McLaren-Mercedes, with the other Brawn of Rubens Barrichello next to him. The session was pretty much trouble free, but Force India's Adrian Sutil has been penalised three places (to 19th spot) on the grid for impeding Mark Webber in Q1. Massa, the winner here for the past two years and Raikkonen both feel they have a good strategy for tomorrow afternoon's test of endurance. However, the first three races have all seen strategies for the majority of competitors disrupted by rain or other unforeseen circumstances. Hopefully, the Bahrain Grand Prix might see a return to a straightforward but exciting contest. Although inevitably, as has been the case ever since Formula 1 first came to the desert in 2004, there are rumours that a sandstorm could be heading for Sakhir tomorrow afternoon! |
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Brawn GP |
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Jenson Button (4th, Q3 - 1m 34.044s): "We were aiming for pole position today but unfortunately it wasn't our best qualifying session of the season and the pace just wasn't there. I didn't have a great lap on my final run in Q3 and we were struggling for grip on the corner exits and locking tyres throughout the session. We were surprised by our lack of pace and the quicker pace of our competitors today who have obviously made advances and caught up quickly. It's going to be a tough race tomorrow however our long-run pace with heavy fuel was really competitive on Friday so that will stand us in good stead if we can get a clean start." Rubens Barrichello (6th, Q3 - 1m 34.239s): "Unfortunately qualifying didn't go as well as we planned today. I suffered from traffic on my final run in Q3 when I was in the middle of a group were taking it slowly on their out laps. That was different to my approach and meant that I couldn't get enough temperature into the tyres which compromised my quick lap. Our competitors are improving and it will be interesting to see how that affects the race. It's going to be tough but I am confident that good points are possible tomorrow." Ross Brawn, Brawn team principal: "The track and ambient temperatures are incredibly high here today and we are learning all the time how to make the tyres and chassis work in such extreme conditions. The track has evolved since morning practice and neither driver was completely happy with the balance of their car. However we were able to make progress through the sessions and have secured decent grid positions for the race tomorrow. The forecast is for slightly cooler weather which should be beneficial for the performance of the track and car. We will reflect on our qualifying performance overnight and see what we can learn ahead of the race." |
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McLaren |
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Lewis Hamilton (5th, Q3 - 1m 34.196s): “We have been pushing incredibly hard over the last couple of months and this is a result of all our hard work. I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved: firstly, it was good to get into the top 10, then it was even better to battle inside the top 10! We’ve got a similar pace to some of the guys in the top five; as long as everything goes smoothly we should be able to get a top five finish tomorrow. I can almost see pole position now – and I’m really looking forward to getting there soon!” Heikki Kovalainen (11th, Q2 - 1m 33.242s): “I didn't have any major problems today but, obviously I wasn't as fast as I would have liked. We have to analyse what went wrong. Nevertheless our competiveness has improved compared to the previous grands prix. We are lacking pace especially in the middle sector. However, the fact that I was less than one tenth of a second behind 10th position in Q2 shows that we have made some more progress. I am now looking forward to the race, where my target is to achieve a solid points result." Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal “After our top-10 qualifying position in Shanghai last weekend, today’s performance once again shows that we are continuing to make progress with MP4-24. Lewis’s top-five position is a fantastic achievement and, considering he began the first race of the season from 18th on the grid, a fantastic indicator of just how much progress the team has made. Of course, while our qualifying positions mark the team’s best Saturday performance of the season, they were made without compromise to our race pace; both Lewis and Heikki are well placed to pick up some more points for the team tomorrow.” Norbert Haug, vice-president Mercedes-Benz Motorsport “Looks like we are heading in the right direction. Lewis did a great job yesterday and today. The layout of the track is not bad for us as our car is strong under braking and we feel that our KERS hybrid is helping here as well. A shame for Heikki that he missed Q3 by less than one tenth, finishing 11th while Lewis was eighth: an incredibly close session, with 0.05s covering fourth to eighth! It is extremely tight these days in Formula One but that is great for the spectators - they are what we are here for.” |
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Williams |
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Lewis Hamilton (5th, Q3 - 1m 34.196s): “We have been pushing incredibly hard over the last couple of months and this is a result of all our hard work. I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved: firstly, it was good to get into the top 10, then it was even better to battle inside the top 10! We’ve got a similar pace to some of the guys in the top five; as long as everything goes smoothly we should be able to get a top five finish tomorrow. I can almost see pole position now – and I’m really looking forward to getting there soon!” Heikki Kovalainen (11th, Q2 - 1m 33.242s): “I didn't have any major problems today but, obviously I wasn't as fast as I would have liked. We have to analyse what went wrong. Nevertheless our competiveness has improved compared to the previous grands prix. We are lacking pace especially in the middle sector. However, the fact that I was less than one tenth of a second behind 10th position in Q2 shows that we have made some more progress. I am now looking forward to the race, where my target is to achieve a solid points result." Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal “After our top-10 qualifying position in Shanghai last weekend, today’s performance once again shows that we are continuing to make progress with MP4-24. Lewis’s top-five position is a fantastic achievement and, considering he began the first race of the season from 18th on the grid, a fantastic indicator of just how much progress the team has made. Of course, while our qualifying positions mark the team’s best Saturday performance of the season, they were made without compromise to our race pace; both Lewis and Heikki are well placed to pick up some more points for the team tomorrow.” Norbert Haug, vice-president Mercedes-Benz Motorsport “Looks like we are heading in the right direction. Lewis did a great job yesterday and today. The layout of the track is not bad for us as our car is strong under braking and we feel that our KERS hybrid is helping here as well. A shame for Heikki that he missed Q3 by less than one tenth, finishing 11th while Lewis was eighth: an incredibly close session, with 0.05s covering fourth to eighth! It is extremely tight these days in Formula One but that is great for the spectators - they are what we are here for.” |
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Williams |
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Nico Rosberg (7th, Q3 - 1m 35.134s): “That was not a good qualifying from me as I really didn’t feel comfortable in the car today. We were just lucky we made it through to the third round because it was very close. In the end, P9 is ok because we have a lot of fuel onboard so, strategy-wise, I think we are looking pretty competitive. My hope for tomorrow is definitely to finish in the points and I think that’s achievable. Our race car is pretty good, so we should have a consistent pace and everything is possible from ninth.” Kazuki Nakajima (12th, Q2 - 1m 33.348s): “It’s difficult to say where I lost my time. I didn’t make any mistakes and the car was performing pretty well. If I think about the gap separating Nico and me, I’m pleased with my afternoon. Overall, though, I have mixed feelings as I should have made it into Q3.” Sam Michael, Williams' technical director: "This result is where we expected to be. Ninth is a good position from where Nico can target a points-scoring finish tomorrow and Kazuki did a good job considering he doesn’t have the same package that Nico is running. He also equalled his season best qualifying position today. In conclusion, we will be aiming for points with both cars. Congratulations to Toyota for taking the front row." |
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BMW Sauber |
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Robert Kubica (13th, Q2 - 1m 33.487s): "We already knew before qualifying it would be difficult today. We lack overall performance. In qualifying 2 I struggled with the grip of the new option tyres. Additionally, our radio didn't work today so, as a result, it was quite hard to fine-tune tyre pressures and stuff like that. On top of that, we also had two small fires during refuelling in the pits. Although this didn't influence the performance, it didn't help. However, we now have to go on working in a concentrated and calm way." Nick Heidfeld (14th, Q2 - 1m 33.562s): “This was quite a difficult qualifying for us. A lack of pace is obvious and, as we are waiting for our aerodynamic update for Barcelona, it is clear we lose lap time in comparison to competitors who already have new parts. At least we knew this before qualifying. Also today the car's balance between the runs was very inconsistent. On my second run in Q2 I was quicker than on my first of that session, but not as quick as in Q1. I was really fighting hard and missed the apex in turn nine. It seems unlikely we can collect points tomorrow, but certainly we will not give up and will try everything." Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director: "Qualifying was as difficult as expected after seeing the close gaps in free practice. One point five seconds between first and last means every weakness will result in a loss of a few grid positions. In the decisive second run in Q2 both our drivers complained about the car's inconsistent balance and because of that were not able to fight for the top ten." Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering: "Of course we cannot be satisfied with our starting positions. After an acceptable Q1, in Q2 we were - in comparison to most of the others - not able to improve on our times from the first part of qualifying. This was the case, although the track conditions had improved. The reason for this has to be analysed. From these positions it will be very difficult to score in tomorrow's race." |
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Force India |
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Adrian Sutil (16th, Q1 - 1m 33.722s): “It was quite a good qualifying but conditions were very difficult out there. The grip was much lower than in free practice in the morning so the balance was not perfect and it was quite hard to go on the limit. I managed a good lap in the end and I think P16 is a good effort so we should be quite happy. There was a little problem with Mark Webber in the last corner: I was just trying to make a gap to Alonso to start my lap and Mark came in on a flying lap, but I didn't know that. I just tried to stay in my position to get a clear start to the lap. It was a misunderstanding and I apologised to Mark after the end of the session.” Giancarlo Fisichella (18th, Q1 - 1m 33.910s): “We made a good step forward today and were very close to getting into Q2. I wasn't totally happy about the car balance in the session. It was better on the hard tyres but as soon as I went on the soft tyres the car was much more unpredictable. We made some changes to make it slightly better for qualifying but we still had some inconsistencies. I think that's the reason we couldn't improve the time but anyway we definitely made progress and it was a very good effort from the whole team. Tomorrow we need a good strategy to get to the end of the race but we know our pace is better over a race distance.” Dominic Harlow, Force India chief race engineer: “We have clearly improved the car for this event and out-qualified one of our closest competitor teams. In this respect the contrast to China is obvious and that bodes well for the race. However we didn't make Q2 and to be so close is tough, of course. The track was the hottest we've seen since 2005 so the cars naturally lost some performance. It will be a hard race tomorrow and we're looking forward to giving our best and to another strong showing.” |
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Toro Rosso |
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Sebastien Buemi (17th, Q3 - 1m 33.753s): “It should have been much better and I ought to have comfortably got through to Q2, but I made a mistake in the third sector. I’m disappointed with my performance as the car performed better than expected and with the sector times I was doing, maybe I should have been more cautious, just to make sure of getting into Q2. Track conditions were similar to this morning. Tomorrow, I still think we can have a good race, because this afternoon’s performance does not show what the car is capable of, so I am hopeful I can make up some places. How many is difficult to say. As for the tyres, it’s clear that the softer ones are those we will want to run the most in the race.” Sebastien Bourdais (20th, Q1 - 1m 34.159s): “Losing track time this morning did not help. This afternoon, my first run was quite good, better than I thought and I was optimistic. But on my second run, we picked up a lot of understeer, which I corrected with the front wing for the final run. But suddenly the car went the other way, with massive oversteer. The car is extremely sensitive to the changes we make and we suffered with a lack of downforce and therefore grip. It is disappointing to finish so far down.” Giorgio Ascanelli, Force India technical director: “We had troubles so far this weekend with a reliability problem, but we think we’ve fixed it now. In terms of this afternoon’s performance, we were simply not quick enough and that’s the end of it, although we got fairly close with Buemi, when you consider there were five cars within one and a half tenths, which means it comes down to mistakes. The picture here is pretty similar to what happened to us in Melbourne: both places are braking circuits and braking does not appear to be one of our strong points. Thankfully, it seems conditions should be cooler for tomorrow’s race.” |
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