When the tyres for Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren weren’t ready as he arrived for his second pit stop during Sunday’s European Grand Prix, it looked as if the error had cost the reigning world champion a win in Valencia. Team principal Martin Whitmarsh, however, believes that eventual victor Ruben Barrichello was too dominant and that, mistake or not, Hamilton’s best hope was second.
“Following our all-front-row qualifying result, naturally enough we had very high expectations for today’s race,” explained Whitmarsh. “In the event, though, our race pace wasn’t good enough to beat Rubens’s car. We’d adopted a different tyre strategy from many of the front-runners – maybe that was right, maybe that was wrong – but the reality is that we weren’t quick enough to win today.
Although he was due to pit on Lap 37 of the race, the team went on the radio to tell Hamilton to stay out an extra lap to try to gain a slight advantage over the chasing Barrichello. But the call was transmitted just a fraction too late and the British driver had already turned down the pit lane. Arriving at his pit box, he thus caught his mechanics on the hop.
“Coming in to the final pitstops, in our efforts to convert a safe second for Lewis into a possible first for him, we took a calculated risk in attempting to reverse the sequence of Lewis’s and Heikki’s pit stops at the last second. That last-second decision caused a bit of pit-lane confusion, which probably cost Lewis a couple of seconds overall – but Rubens’s race pace was such that that couple of seconds didn’t make a difference to the outcome of the race. In a nutshell, we decided to take the risk because we knew Rubens had the strategy to win and it was our only chance of attempting to prevent that.”
Although he couldn’t match his win at the Hungaroring last month, Hamilton was still pleased with his second-place finish and delighted to be back on the podium again.
“This is my second podium in a row, and I’m very happy to be here,” he said. “We did the best job we could today. Am I disappointed? Yes, I think we all are – but that’s simply an indication of just how hard everyone in this team is pushing to win. We’re never satisfied unless we’re winning, in fact. But, ultimately, we didn’t really lose anything today – it was always going to be tough to beat Rubens and what we tried wasn’t quite enough.”
Following his two successive podium finishes, Hamilton is now up to sixth in the drivers’ championship and will be looking to increase his tally at next weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
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It was not a glorious weekend for Red Bull. Two engines failures for Sebastian Vettel, leaving him with only two fresh V8s for the six remaining races, and Mark Webber missing a points-scoring position by one place. The only good news for team principal Christian Horner, was that Rubens Barrichello, not standings leader Jenson Button, won the race. But that is pretty cold comfort for a team aiming for both championships…
Q: Christian, was what happened this weekend the worst case scenario?
Christian Horner: Yes, it doesn’t get much worse than losing another engine and going back home with no points for either driver. It is really disappointing for Sebastian, who had two engine failures over the weekend – the fourth now in total – which makes it quite difficult with the engines for the rest of the year. And Mark basically struggled all weekend to find pace in the car. We simply were not quick enough this weekend.
Q: Regarding Sebastian’s engine failure, do you know what exactly happened?
CH: Right now we don’t know exactly what happened, but the fact is the failure is terminal.
Q: Four engines failures leaves a lot of questions. You are in the middle of talks about an engine contract for next season. Will you stay with Renault or change supplier? CH: I think it is still a long way to go in this championship and obviously our options are open. But you cannot make a decision based on one weekend, you have to look at the whole season and Renault so far has given us a great service and support. It was really unfortunate to have two engine failures in one weekend.
Q: Was this weekend the end of your championships dreams?
CH: I don’t think so, if you look at the amount of points that Jenson scored today – he only took another two points. It’s true it doesn’t make it any easier to catch him, but it is far from a disaster.
Q: What will the strategy for Sebastian be now that he has only two new engines left?
CH: It’s almost inevitable that we will have an engine penalty at some point because yes, we’re running out of engines. We need now to analyze the mileage that we’ve left on the engines that we have and look at which engine we will use at what circuits.
Q: Two engine failures in one weekend is a very unusual occurrence these days…
CH: It’s obviously an expensive failure.
Q: What happened to Mark? He fell back from seventh to ninth place…
CH: Unfortunately, we weren’t quick enough. Jenson was very quick on his out-lap and we had a slow final stop, again precautionary with the fuel rig that has been somewhat temperamental today. And that cost him ultimately.
Q: Mark and Sebastian scored zero points this weekend. Does that mean that there is still equal treatment of both drivers?
CH: Absolutely. Rubens is back in the drivers’ championship again so the only positive aspect of this weekend is that Jenson didn’t score too many points. If he had scored a further ten points, the damage would have been significantly greater. We will be back in one week in Spa and hopefully we can have a better weekend there and forget this one very quickly.
Q: So the only good thing that you take home from this weekend is that it was Rubens who won and not Jenson…
CH: Yes, Jenson is eight points away from a potential maximum score. Adding only two points to his total is less damaging, but yes, we’ve missed a chance to reduce the gap to him. But on the other hand this result today doesn’t help us in the constructors’ championship. If I think it over, there hasn’t been any good news this weekend.
Q: Obviously your hopes for a better result in Spa are based on the fact that the track should suit the RB5 and that the temperatures are not as high there as they have been here…
CH: Yes, it could be. The weather is always a factor there. It can be a lottery sometimes. The Brawns were very quick today – by the way congratulations to Rubens, he did a fantastic job – but there are hopefully some circuits coming up that will play back to our strengths.
Q: There have been rumours that you might run KERS in Spa. Is that under consideration?
CH: Ha, we might use KERS but have no engines left, because that’s the only thing we have! Sure, we are looking at KERS on a race-by-race basis but I would say that it is unlikely.
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Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock on their first lap collisions; Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima on his dramatic puncture; McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton on the flawed pit stop that could have cost him victory; and Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello on making it back on to the top step of the podium for the first time since China 2004.The drivers and senior team personnel report back on Sunday’s race action…
Brawn GP
Rubens Barrichello (1st):
“What a fantastic day. I am so delighted with the win after what was a really tough race out there. It’s just amazing and a weekend that I will never forget. Even after five years, you don’t forget how to win and the feeling is so good! Although we were fuelled heavier than the McLarens, I knew that I would have to push really hard throughout the race. My engineer Jock was great today, he really encouraged me and helped me to maintain the pace, and the team did a fantastic job with two excellent pit stops. I want to thank everyone who has supported me and this victory is dedicated to the whole of Brazil but particularly to my great friend Felipe Massa. I hope he is back racing against me soon.”
Jenson Button (7th):
“Rubens did a great job this weekend and he deserves the victory. It’s been a long time so I’m happy for him although of course I would rather be on top of the podium. The small mistake in qualifying and a difficult start caught behind Vettel really cost me today as I got caught in traffic and it’s really tough to overtake around this circuit. Still we did what we came for this weekend and beat the Red Bulls, our main title rivals, so I’m not too disappointed with seventh position. We’ll go to the next race in Spa positive and ready to have a good race.”
Ross Brawn, Brawn GP team principal:
“That was a fantastic performance from Rubens today to take his first and Brawn GP’s seventh win of the season. We knew that having a heavier fuel load would give us an advantage over the cars in front but Rubens had to drive at his absolute best to have a chance of victory. He pushed exactly where he needed to. When we got on the radio and told him that he had to put in some quick laps, he delivered. It was a great performance and an extremely well-deserved victory. We’re all delighted for him. Unfortunately it wasn’t such a good afternoon for Jenson who had a quick car but was caught in traffic which prevented him from achieving the result that he could have done. In hindsight perhaps we should have been more aggressive in qualifying but his two points today are valuable and we have increased our lead in both championships. Thanks and credit is due to everyone at the track today and at the factory in Brackley for all their hard work over the past couple of weeks and to our colleagues at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth for their dedication and the performance of our engine.”
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton (2nd):
“This is my second podium in a row, and I’m very happy to be here. We did the best job we could today. Am I disappointed? Yes, I think we all are – but that’s simply an indication of just how hard everyone in this team is pushing to win. We’re never satisfied unless we’re winning, in fact. But, ultimately, we didn’t really lose anything today – it was always going to be tough to beat Rubens and what we tried wasn’t quite enough. Before my second pitstop, I’d been saving fuel and was a bit unsure if I had enough for that extra lap or not. The pitwall had initially asked me to pit – but, just when I was coming in, they told me to stay out and do an extra lap – however, I was already inside the white line and committed, so it was too late. In those circumstances, it’s always better to be safe and to pit, because the last thing you want to do is run dry out on the circuit. But the call was a marginal one – the team was pushing the envelope, as I say – and it came just a little too late for me and the mechanics, who weren’t perfectly prepared. Make no mistake, I think those guys are the best in the business; what happened was simply a result of the team trying everything in their power to turn a safe second place into a possible win. In any case, our overall performance this weekend confirmed the huge improvement we’ve made recently, but we still lack a bit of race pace compared with the very fastest cars. You can be well sure we’re working on fixing that, though. Congratulations to Rubens – he drove a fantastic race today and really deserved this victory.”
Heikki Kovalainen (4th):
“To start second and finish fourth isn’t ideal. But I’m more pleased with my overall performance in this race than in Hungary. We showed good performance throughout the whole weekend, and I really want to thank the whole team for helping us to achieve that – it’s good to see things improving like this. We don’t yet have the pace of the frontrunners, but everyone has done an incredible job to get us to where we are. We’ve scored more points in the last three races than any other team – but I still want to score more. I’m already focusing on Spa; it’s a circuit I love and I really want to be on the podium there.”
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal:
“Following our all-front-row qualifying result, naturally enough we had very high expectations for today’s race. In the event, though, our race pace wasn’t good enough to beat Rubens’s car. We’d adopted a different tyre strategy from many of the front-runners – maybe that was right, maybe that was wrong – but the reality is that we weren’t quick enough to win today. So, coming in to the final pitstops, in our efforts to convert a safe second for Lewis into a possible first for him, we took a calculated risk in attempting to reverse the sequence of Lewis’s and Heikki’s pit stops at the last second. That last-second decision caused a bit of pitlane confusion, which probably cost Lewis a couple of seconds overall – but Rubens’s race pace was such that that couple of seconds didn’t make a difference to the outcome of the race. In a nutshell, we decided to take the risk because we knew Rubens had the strategy to win and it was our only chance of attempting to prevent that. We don’t like not winning, but second and fourth isn’t such a terrible result. Now, though, we’ll focus on the challenge of Spa – a very different type of racetrack from Valencia.”
Norbert Haug, vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“A shame for Lewis who drove a faultless race, but it would have been very tight with a perfect pitstop against Rubens anyway and he certainly deserves this victory. Our team scored more points than any other today, the same it did before the summer break in Hungary. This makes a total of 27 out of 36 possible points and Lewis scored 18 out of possible 20. That of course is very positive and will certainly please all our team members in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart who have worked so hard to recover from our not quite typical Vodafone McLaren Mercedes form in the first half of the season. Heikki drove a solid race today and brought home his best result so far this season. So, all in all, quite a lot of positives and we all will push hard in order to build on these results. Spa will not be a circuit exactly tailormade for our car and I do not expect us to be quite as competitive as we were in Hungary and here where we have been the class of the field or on a level with the best. Congratulations to Rubens – he deserves this victory after four tough years since his last one and my feeling is the whole paddock thinks like that.”
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen (3rd):
“I am happy about this result. Already on Friday we saw that the car was pretty competitive over a distance and we therefore thought we could fight for a podium finish. We were also aware that, in qualifying, we might have struggled, especially on light fuel. Both these predictions proved correct and today we were once again able to get on the podium. I managed to make up a few places at the start and my first aim was to pull out a bit of a gap over Rosberg, who was going to stop after me. In the second part of the race, I realized that I could close on Kovalainen and try and make the most of the run of pit stops to get ahead of him and I managed it. Now we go to Spa, a track that I like a lot: we must wait for Friday to see how competitive we can be. At this point in the season, if we manage to get everything right, then we can aim for the podium and if anything was to happen to those ahead of us, we can try and do even better. We must do all we can to hang on to third place in the constructors’ championship.”
Luca Badoer (17th):
“I said when I arrived in Valencia that this Grand Prix would be a time for me to dust the rust off my back and get confident in the role of race driver again. It was important for me to complete so many kilometres without making any serious mistakes and I managed that. From the physical point of view, I feel fine and that is another cause for satisfaction. I got a good start, making up a few places but then I was hit by Grosjean and that dropped me back down again. I tried to run my own race, but it was not easy to maintain a consistent pace, especially when I had to let the leaders by. At the first pit stop, I made a mistake which cost me one place and then I was just a whisker over the white line and so I picked up a drive-through penalty. Now I am looking forward to Spa with confidence: it’s a track I know and I will also be able to count on the experience gained this weekend. Thanks to the whole team, who did everything they could to make me feel comfortable, without putting me under any pressure and to Michael, who was a great support throughout the weekend.”
Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal:
“Today we did the maximum with Kimi, who drove an amazing race to make it to the podium once again. He was very competitive throughout the race, pushing at the decisive moments, at the start and then when the opportunity arose to get ahead of Kovalainen. Luca managed to finish the race, thus completing this learning weekend, which served as an introduction course prior to tackling the Belgian weekend in the best way possible, next weekend. Clearly, considering our choices and those of other teams in terms of developing this year’s car, our aim of maintaining third place in the Constructors’ classification is becoming harder. For our part, we will give it our best shot, knowing that in some races we can expect to be more competitive than in others and we will have to be ready to exploit every opportunity that arises.”
Chris Dyer, Ferrari chief engineer:
“We are pleased with Kimi’s third place, which represents the most we could aspire to today. Driver, team, car: all these elements came together in the best possible way and the result confirms it. As for Luca, it was another difficult day in an equally difficult weekend. However, it should be stressed how much he improved, continuously day by day, lap after lap. We are confident that he will find himself in much better shape next weekend in Belgium.”
Williams
Nico Rosberg, Williams (5th):
“I did enjoy the race, but the heat really took most of the fun out of it. It wasn’t nice, but it was still a good result for the team. Fifth again, after starting seventh, is not bad, and gives us more points. I was hoping to beat Raikkonen today but he was too fast. Our car seems to suit every track we go to, and the team is doing well to keep development going from race to race. It’s nice that we are always up there and I hope we continue like this, and possibly make a step forward onto the podium soon.”
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams (18th):
“It was another disappointing afternoon for me. It was all over in qualifying really. I was in 13th when I had the puncture and that really finished my race. Just a few laps before the end, I then had some kind of problem so I had to stop early.”
Rod Nelson, chief operations engineer
“Kazuki was compromised by his problems in qualifying so we decided to go for a long first stint which was looking reasonable until his puncture. We then had to retire his car early as it had some damage from the puncture which could have harmed the gearbox. Nico drove a strong race. We were hoping to get close to Raikkonen but the second stint wasn’t strong enough which, in turn, brought Alonso into play. We managed the gap to Alonso to keep fifth place which we are happy with.”
Renault
Fernando Alonso (6th):
“Sixth place is the best I could do today for my home Grand Prix and the three points are a good result considering that we started eighth. It was a very tough race: first of all because of the heat but also because it was a very competitive race and I had to push all the way, constantly fighting to keep my position. But we have been quick all weekend and therefore I’m quite confident we can keep this pace and deliver an even better result in Spa.”
Romain Grosjean (15th):
“Unfortunately the first lap didn’t go well for me, but during the race there were a lot of positives and I gained some valuable experience. At the start of the race I had to really concentrate and pay attention to everything that was happening around me and after that I just tried to be consistent and set some good lap times. It’s clear that I must do better next weekend in Spa and I will aim to put the experience I have gained in Valencia to good use.”
Flavio Briatore, Renault managing director:
“Fernando’s race was compromised by yesterday’s qualifying, but he did the best he could and brought home three points. Romain did a very good job throughout his first Grand Prix and I’m sure he will improve rapidly during the rest of the season. The car is competitive and we can hopefully do better next week in Belgium on a more ‘traditional’ track than here in Valencia.”
Pat Symonds, executive director of engineering:
“After the problem in qualifying, Fernando showed good pace during the race, but on this circuit it was difficult to do more than the result we’ve come away with and we certainly welcome the points. Romain was unfortunate to have an incident on the first lap but from that point he just had to settle down to a steady race and see how the car behaved over a race distance. He did this very well and we are really pleased that he finished his first race.”
Remi Taffin, Renault head of engine operations:
“I think we have come away with as many points as we could today and considering the disappointment of yesterday’s qualifying session to finish sixth is a good result. Unfortunately Romain had an incident on the opening lap, but overall he had a strong race and showed good pace. We have now finished an engine cycle which means that the engines have completed their third Grand Prix and they have worked very well for us. We will be able to use them again during certain sessions later in the year but we will have new engines for Spa which should help us be competitive next weekend.”
BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica (8th):
“I had to start the race from a very bad position as I was in the middle of the pack and we were all very close together in the first corners. Unfortunately I was not able to make up positions at the start, and I even lost a place to Nick. But then during the race my pace was good. Although my stints were shorter, I was even able to overtake Mark Webber during his final pit stop, which was very good.”
Nick Heidfeld (11th):
“For me the result is rather disappointing because it doesn’t reflect what I was able to achieve today. After a good start I was able to match the pace of the guys in front of me, but I let Robert by because he was on a lower fuel load. Then I had to defend my position against Adrian Sutil and lost contact with the front group. This turned out to be crucial, because after his pit stop Heikki Kovalainen came out in front of me and I could not take any advantage from my car being lighter at this stage.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director:
“Despite being in a very difficult situation with BMW pulling out of the sport, the team really did a very good job all weekend. Starting tenth and 11th on the grid was already a big improvement compared to the previous races. In the race Robert was able to move up to eighth and score a point. Actually Nick had the better chances to make his way up to the front from 11th on the grid because of the strategy he was able to choose. But he got stuck in traffic and therefore couldn´t demonstrate what he was capable of. The result gives us a boost for the next races and the development packages planned up to the end of the season.”
Willy Rampf, head of engineering:
“Our goal was to get at least one point in Valencia. We achieved that. Compliments to the whole team for the effort. The new aero package is clearly progress. We did not have any problems during the race. Unfortunately Nick and, also during some periods, Robert got stuck in traffic and therefore lost valuable time. Our race pace without traffic was as expected.”
Red Bull
Mark Webber (9th):
“No gains for us today, which is the first time in a long time. The long and short of it was that I wasn’t quick enough today – it was a tough race. I’ve been struggling all weekend and I think I got the result I deserved, which was no points, unfortunately. We were a little bit unlucky around the pit stops with Lewis (Hamilton) coming back out in front, but that’s the way it goes. The pit stops weren’t great, as I might have been a bit long on positioning – so not the best day for us. But, we will dust ourselves down and move on to Spa.”
Sebastian Vettel (DNF):
“The biggest problem today was the first stop – we weren’t able to get fuel in the car, so we had to come in again. We were lucky to make it back for a second stop. The race was lost already at that point but then, a couple of laps on, I had a problem with the engine and I had to retire. It’s not good. In terms of the Championship, I will fight until the last breath, but it’s not good to have retired when you’re hunting and want to get more points than your opponent. You’re in a position to do it, but then you don’t finish the race.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal:
“A bitterly disappointing day. A fuel rig failure on Sebastian’s car, followed by an engine failure, which is the second of the weekend, was costly. Unfortunately with Mark, we just weren’t quick enough today. He held Jenson behind him for a long time, but Jenson was too quick and jumped us with a very quick out-lap, unfortunately Mark was not quick enough to hold him behind.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, principal engineer track support:
“This race ended a nightmare weekend for us. We had two engine failures on Sebastian’s car, so it’s a black weekend. I can only apologise to Red Bull Racing and Sebastian in particular for this reliability issue and assure them that we will work as hard as possible to ensure it doesn’t happen again. But, the end of the season will now be tough on the engine side for Sebastian.”
Force India
Adrian Sutil (10th):
“Today was a good performance with no mistakes, good lap times and we showed a clear step forward. I think tenth was the maximum we could do from 12th position on the grid. It was a very tough race, very hot, but everything worked perfectly. I was behind the two BMWs for my first stint and couldn’t get past on the track but the team did a really good stop and I could pass Heidfeld in the pit lane. I’m really looking forward to Spa now – I love the track and with the pace we’ve shown this weekend it’s looking promising for a good result there.”
Giancarlo Fisichella (12th):
“It was a difficult race as the grid position was not as good as we had hoped so we used a one-stop strategy, which gave us an opportunity to gain some positions. I made a very good start, keeping clear of the collision and was running in 13th at the end of the first lap, right behind Adrian. The first stint on the hard tyres was very consistent with a good pace. Then we changed to the soft tyres and it was a bit tricky as there was some graining. I could keep a good pace though I had to watch the tyres to keep them until the end. Twelfth is a good result for us. We made a few positions and now seem to be ahead of Toyota and some other cars. We need another step like we made this weekend and we can easily score points.”
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal:
“Overall it’s been a strong performance for us all weekend and probably our most competitive race in two seasons. The upgrades we introduced this race have clearly given us a big step forward and we’re now really mixing it in the midfield positions. I’d like to say thanks to all the team back at Silverstone who have worked very hard to get the development through, and to the drivers for doing it justice. I can’t wait to get to Belgium now.”
Toyota
Jarno Trulli (13th):
“The start wasn’t great and the car didn’t improve from qualifying, when I was struggling a lot with a lack of grip. So I had the same problems again today and the grip was nowhere close to where it had been earlier in the weekend during practice. I did my best but there was nothing I could do to improve my position. I hope for a better weekend in Belgium.”
Timo Glock (14th):
“It was a pity the race started like that because over a race distance we were pretty quick, just like we were in Budapest. At the first corner I had to dive down the inside because the cars in front were braking heavily so I had to avoid them. Then I was hit from behind and basically any hope I had of getting a decent position was finished there and then. But I pushed as hard as possible for the rest of the race to at least get some more data and we showed what might have been by setting the fastest lap right at the end.”
John Howett, Toyota president:
“That was clearly not the result we wanted or expected from this Grand Prix. It has been a very difficult weekend but we must put this behind us and we have another race next week in which to show our true potential. We have to understand why our relative qualifying pace is worse than our relative race pace because our car is reasonably competitive, as Timo showed by setting the fastest lap. We have to get on top of this and take advantage of what the car can offer.”
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari (16th):
“This was much tougher for me than Hungary, because of the heat and humidity. With ten laps remaining, I had a problem with my drinks system which meant I couldn’t get anything to drink. It was really tough and I just did my best to finish and bring home the car. On the plus side I have now done a lot more kilometres and I therefore hope this will help me do better in Spa, where at least it won’t be as hot.”
Sebastien Buemi (DNF):
“My race was more or less over immediately after the start. I will have to watch the race to see exactly what happened. I moved to the inside to try and avoid the bottleneck and as Glock accelerated, he drove over my wing which obviously broke and the time I lost coming back to the pits to replace it meant my race was done. I carried on pushing to see what lap times I could do and what the car was capable of, but I soon had braking problems and eventually the disc broke and I had to park the car. The last few race weekends have not gone well, but you have to stay positive. The car seems to have improved, so we have the potential to do better. Let’s see at Spa.”
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal:
“Unfortunately for Buemi, his race was effectively over at the first corner, when he collided with Glock, losing the front wing. He had to pit for a new nose and we assume that the accident had also damaged the left front brake duct, so the brake didn’t cool properly, which led to the failure that put him out of the race. Alguersuari did a good job to finish in these tough conditions, in what we must not forget, is only his second F1 race.”
Bridgestone
Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport:
“Congratulations to Rubens on taking the 150th win on Bridgestone Potenza F1 tyres. We are very proud to have supported so many drivers in their Formula One World Championship victories over the past 13 seasons but it is apt that Rubens, who has been on Bridgestone tyres for all but a season since we entered in 1997, should take this special victory. When Bridgestone started as a tyre supplier to Formula One it was on slick tyres. Since then, there have been several evolutions in tyre technologies and specifications but throughout we have received the fantastic support of the teams, FIA and FOM. We have also seen tremendous growth in the brand awareness of our company around the globe and much of this can be attributed to our F1 related activities. We would like to thank all involved in F1 for their support. We are now in the second of a three year Official Tyre Supplier tenure and look forward to seeing many more exciting battles on our tyres.”
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development:
“I am very happy to see Rubens win. He first used our F1 tyres in 1997 so it is fantastic that he still has the competitive spirit to win in this highly competitive sport. We are pleased with the performance of both the soft and the super soft Bridgestone Potenzas today. The circuit improved very rapidly, as expected, and as a result drivers could be competitive using the super soft over a stint at the start. The soft was the more consistent tyre however, and we even saw one-stop strategies. Regarding Kazuki Nakajima’s tyre, we believe it was a puncture and we are investigating this with the team.”
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Rubens Barrichello had said all year that he will win for Brawn GP, and he finally came good in Valencia with a controlled performance that brought him home just over two seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.
The world champion led at the start as expected, from McLaren team mate Heikki Kovalainen, both using their KERS to keep Barrichello in third place. Behind them, Kimi Raikkonen thrust up to fourth, also using the Ferrari’s KERS button. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel went with them after seeing off Brawn GP’s Jenson Button, whose race soon collapsed with tyre graining issues which sent him backwards early on.
Hamilton led until his first pit stop on Lap 16, leaving Kovalainen to take over on the 17th, when he too stopped. Thereafter Barrichello ran another three laps before refuelling. That put his Brawn ahead of Kovalainen for the middle stint. Behind them, Raikkonen had no trouble keeping fourth ahead of Williams’ Nico Rosberg and Renault’s Fernando Alonso, leaving Mark Webber to fight with Button.
Hamilton had a lead of 3.6s over Barrichello by Lap 36, but when he pitted again a lap later McLaren did not have his front tyres ready after a late request to him to do one more lap came just as he was about to enter the pits. That delay proved costly – though the team insisted it didn’t cost them the win – and when Barrichello pitted from the lead on Lap 40 he was able to resume ahead of Hamilton.
The Briton kept the pressure on Barrichello all the way, but could not close the gap by more than a couple of tenths each lap until the Brazilian backed off right at the end, and it came down from 3.9s to 2.3s. Raikkonen jumped Kovalainen on the second stop, and the ‘other’ Finn had his hands full holding off an aggressive Rosberg in the final laps.
Webber also lost out on the second stop, crucially dropping behind both Button and BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica. Thus seventh place behind Alonso was enough for Button to increase his championship lead by two points to 72. He was the fastest man on the track for a long time in the closing laps on Bridgestone’s super-soft tyres, until they went off and he had to abandon his pursuit of the Renault. Kubica hung on ahead of Webber to score the final point.
It was a tough day for Red Bull, with Vettel retiring with his second engine failure of the weekend on Lap 24, having already made one refuelling stop and one unscheduled stop after a problem with the fuel rig.
Further back, Adrian Sutil claimed 10th for Force India ahead of Nick Heidfeld in the second BMW Sauber and Giancarlo Fisichella in the second Force India. The Toyotas were 13th and 14th, with Timo Glock bettering Button’s fastest lap right at the end. Romain Grosjean’s debut for Renault yielded only 15th place, not helped by damaging his nose on the opening lap and needing an unscheduled stop as a result, and later a half spin.
Jaime Alguersuari looked less convincing than he had in Hungary on his way to 16th for Toro Rosso, while team mate Sebastien Buemi ran into trouble after he damaged his front wing in a brush with Glock on the opening lap and had to stop for a replacement. Later he spun in Turn 12 on Lap 43 and could not continue.
Luca Badoer’s return to Formula One racing was unimpressive. He ran down the back all day, let Grosjean overtake him as they left the pits, and then got a drive-through penalty for crossing the white line on the exit. He might have achieved his ambition of a finish, but he did so in 17th place. The only other classified car behind him was Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams, who was delayed by a left rear tyre failure and then pitted for good just before the flag.
So Brawn increased their constructors’ championship lead over Red Bull, 126 points to 98.5, and Barrichello vaulted back to second place in the drivers’ with 54 points to Webber’s 51.5.
Barrichello’s win marked the 100th by a Brazilian driver, and fittingly he dedicated it to Felipe Massa, who had advised him on racing lines only last week. It was also the 250th race for the McLaren Mercedes partnership, and Bridgestone’s 150th victory. And it left the title fight wide open as the paddock heads to Belgium next week.
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]]>For the 2009 season, the FIA are making public the weights of all cars ahead of the race start to help give an idea of relative fuel loads. The cars that made Q3 are weighed after qualifying, while the weights of the remaining cars must be declared by their teams shortly after the session.
Below is the provisional grid for the European Grand Prix with each car’s weight.
1. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 653kg
2. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 655
3. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 662.5
4. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 654
5. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 661.5
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 661.5
7. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 665
8. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 656.5
9. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 664.5
10. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 657.5
11. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 677
12. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 672.5
13. Timo Glock, Toyota, 694.7
14. Romain Grosjean, Renault, 677.7
15. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 688.5
16. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 692.5
17. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 702
18. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 707.3
19. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 678.5
20. Luca Badoer, Ferrari, 690.5
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]]>As ever, the fuel figures told an interesting tale after qualifying in Valencia, with Brawn looking stronger for the race than either McLaren or Red Bull, and Williams and Ferrari also looking a threat. McLarens Lewis Hamilton had an all-up weight of 653 kg, Heikki Kovalainen 655; Brawns Rubens Barrichello 662.5 and Jenson Button 661.5; Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel 654 and Mark Webber 664.5; Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen 661.5; Williams Nico Rosberg 665; Renaults Fernando Alonso 656.5 and BMW Saubers Robert Kubica 657.5. We take a team-by-team look at Saturday in Spain
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 39.498s, P1
Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 39.532s, P2
Hamilton said his new short wheelbase MP4-24s rear end was still a little loose but was delighted with its pace overall as he took his 14th career pole and his first of the 2009 season. Kovalainen, in the standard longer wheelbase car, was set to challenge for pole, but made a small but costly mistake in the final sector of his second run and lost the lap. Second, nevertheless, gave the Finn great encouragement as McLaren annexed the front row.
Brawn GP
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 39.563s, P3
Jenson Button, 1m 39.821s, P5
Barrichello was happy with the progress he felt Brawn had made, though the jury is still out as to whether they have really got to the bottom of their tyre warming issues or whether the hot weather simply masked them again. The Brazilian was disappointed not to be on pole but has comfortably more fuel than the two drivers ahead of him on the grid. Button was a fraction lighter and said his car handled better with a fuel load, but a mistake in Turn Four compromised him in Turn Five, erasing his chances of taking fourth place.
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 39.789s, P4
Mark Webber, 1m 40.239s, P9
Red Bull didnt seem to have the edge they have enjoyed in the last three races, and Vettel was resigned to fourth even though he might have expected more from his relatively light fuel load. Webber struggled yesterday and expected a tough qualifying session. He got it. But he was one of the fuel-heaviest runners, which might help him on Sunday.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 40.144s, P6
Luca Badoer, 1m 41.413s, P20
Raikkonen said this was one of the best qualifying sessions of his season, and that Sundays result would be all down to the start. He also felt that the F60 was better with fuel on board. Badoer had a hard time and reiterated that this was more of a test session for him after his 10-year layoff from Formula One racing.
Williams
Nico Rosberg, 1m 40.185s, P7
Kazuki Nakajima, 1m 39.795s, P17
Rosberg said that his qualifying session was generally okay, and that his strategy could put him in a strong race position. He also expressed the view that rather than try to out-qualify the KERS cars (McLaren and one of the Ferraris), it was better to qualify behind them with a higher fuel load and outrun them. Nakajima was only 17th after a failure on his FW31 caused its Toyota engine to shutdown in the middle of Q1.
Renault
Fernando Alonso, 1m 40.236s, P8
Romain Grosjean, 1m 39.040s, P14
To begin with, Alonso entertained thoughts of third or fourth place but soon realised in Q1 that would not be the case. He was eighth in Q2 and Q3, indicating that was the cars limit on Saturday. Grosjean did a reasonable job in his first Grand Prix qualifying and showed well in the first part of Q2 in particular.
BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica, 1m 40.512s, P10
Nick Heidfeld, 1m 38.826s, P11
Kubica was happy with BMW Saubers stronger showing, thanks to its new aero package, and said hed had a good day overall apart from traffic in Q3 when he also made a small mistake that cost a few tenths. Heidfeld was disappointed to miss out by a tenth on making Q3.
Force India
Adrian Sutil, 1m 38.846s, P12
Giancarlo Fisichella, 1m 39.531s, P16
After the apparent promise of practice Force India had to be satisfied with 12th and 16th places. Sutil said he was really happy with updates that had let the team make big steps forward, and like Heidfeld was a little frustrated to get so close to Q3. Fisichella was very disappointed to catch traffic on his last run in Q1 and believed without that he would easily have made Q2.
Toyota
Timo Glock, 1m 38.991s, P13
Jarno Trulli, 1m 39.807s, P18
Toyota did not have a happy day. Glock struggled in the morning and in Q1, but things were better in Q2 until the rear Bridgestones surrendered grip in the final sector. Trulli was expecting trouble, but not anything like 18th place. The Italian complained of lack of grip in the morning, and it worsened in qualifying.
Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi, 1m 39.514s, P15
Jaime Alguersuari, 1m 39.925s, P19
Buemi was sixth in Q1 but said Toro Rosso didnt manage their tyre situation well in Q2 when he went quite a bit slower. Alguersuari said he needed to be patient, especially as this was only his second qualifying session. He said his confidence is growing in the STR4.
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]]>During Friday mornings session, Brawn GPs Rubens Barrichello set the pace, while local hero Fernando Alonso took his Renault to the top of the timesheets after lunch. Here they and their rivals review the first day of action in Valencia
Renault
Fernando Alonso, P1 – 1:43.345, 9th; P2 – 1:39.404, 1st
It was a positive day for us with some good laps and the car performed well right from the start of the first session. We worked on the set-up throughout the day and now were pretty much happy with what we have so I think we are in good shape for the rest of the weekend. The incident with Nick Heidfeld this afternoon was a normal incident that can happen during racing or free practice. For tomorrow, we will try our best to get on the front row of the grid with the objective of scoring points on Sunday.
Romain Grosjean, P1 – 1:44.356, 17th; P2 – 1:40.787, 13th
The day has gone pretty well. Your first time in a new car is always tricky, but I did my best and having Fernando next to me meant I could see how he approached the sessions and that helped me a lot. So I think today I have made good progress and tomorrow I will aim to continue in the same way.
Pat Symonds, Renault executive director of engineering:
Firstly its very nice to be here in Valencia racing this weekend. Secondly, we would like to welcome Romain to the team and I have to say I was very impressed with his progress today. He was pushing hard yet driving within himself and making steady progress. Fernando has had a strong day too; the car looks good and were quite happy with the way the tyres are behaving. All in all it has been a satisfactory Friday.
Brawn GP
Jenson Button, P1 – 1:43.074, 4th; P2 – 1:40.178, 2nd
“We’ve had a reasonably good first day of practice and it’s encouraging to see that the car seems to be on the pace again. The focus of our programme was on set-up checks and back-to-back evaluations to confirm that the work done back at the factory after our shutdown was in the right direction. There is still some work needed on the set-up before qualifying as I’m not completely happy with the balance but all in all the pace of the car seems reasonably good.”
Rubens Barrichello, P1 – 1:42.460, 1st; P2 – 1:40.209, 3rd
“It feels great to be back to what seems to be a competitive level of pace. The two practice sessions today went well with a lot of work achieved on both sides of the garage. I’m pretty happy with the data that we collected and with the way that the car developed over the course of the day. If we can continue in this direction then it should be a good weekend.”
Ross Brawn, Brawn GP team principal:
“We’ve had a good start to the weekend today with two strong practice sessions.
The track temperatures are very high here, reaching 50C this afternoon, so we have been able to manage our tyre temperatures well and not encounter the issues which have hampered our pace at the past few races. Both drivers followed very similar programmes as we revisited some set-ups from previous races as test items to increase our understanding of the car’s performance. The initial feedback is that Jenson and Rubens are broadly in agreement on the direction that we should follow from here. And we’ve pleased to have collected so much data to apply here and take onto the next race in Spa. Overall it’s been a positive beginning to the weekend.”
Williams
Nico Rosberg, P1 – 1:43.746, 14th; P2 – 1:40.385, 4th
I had a difficult start in the morning because the tyres grained straightaway. I was then left with a grained set for the remainder of the session which meant I didnt learn much at all. The afternoon was much better as we managed a good tyre test so we now have much more information for Sunday. We also made some positive set-up changes and have a good handle on which way to go with the car. In general, it was ok today. Performance-wise, we are not quite where we want to be so we have some further analysis to do ahead of tomorrow, but that should help us improve. We will wait and see.
Kazuki Nakajima, P1 – 1:43.225, 7th; P2 – 1:40.503, 5th
I think it was a good day for us. We seem to have good long run pace and, even on the new tyres, our times were decent on the short runs as well. The track was fairly green at the start of the day, but improved throughout the two sessions and will continue to do so for tomorrows qualifying, which Im really looking forward to.
Rod Nelson, Williams chief operations engineer:
As Valencia is a street circuit we found that the grip level increased throughout the sessions, particularly in the second session when people started running the new tyres. As usual on a Friday, we concentrated on a combination of car set-up work and also some homework for the race with some long runs on both types of tyre. The circuit was in fairly good condition at the end of the session and the weather looks like it will remain pretty hot and humid all weekend.
Force India
Adrian Sutil, P1 – 1:43.209, 6th; P2 – 1:40.596, 6th
It was a good day for us today. Sixth place is looking okay and I hope we’re now comfortably running at a Q2 pace. It’s very encouraging and I’m looking forward to getting out again tomorrow. We had a few small niggles on the car so we couldn’t run as much as we would have liked in the two sessions, but ultimately the balance was good. We did the tyre work as usual and although it was difficult at the start we understood the behaviour much more by the end of the second session. I don’t think it will be a problem in the race as we used a similar tyre in Bahrain and didn’t have any major issues on race day.
Giancarlo Fisichella, P1 – 1:44.126, 16th; P2 – 1:40.681, 8th
I could set a reasonable lap time at the end of FP2 this afternoon. I was struggling this morning with the rear tyre graining but it looks better on the soft tyres for a single lap. We made a few changes for the afternoon and I’m confident we are going in the right direction. I can feel the package is a step forward but it’s quite tight for positions at the moment so we’ll see for tomorrow. I’m feeling quite good about it.
Dominic Harlow, Force India chief race engineer:
A lot of track improvement through the day and generally quite a successful programme for our cars. This circuit is particularly hard on the rear tyres, and on the slippery and green track meant we had to work at the balance. Aside from a couple of minor mechanical issues the team had no problems getting back into the swing of a Grand Prix Friday. It’s so very tight in the field now we can’t make any predictions for qualifying, but we appear to be in the mix and clearly a good grid spot will be our aim for tomorrow.
BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica, P1 – 1:43.419, 12th; P2 – 1:40.643, 7th
“We brought some new components to Valencia and tested these in both sessions. In the afternoon we concentrated on evaluating the tyre compounds on long runs. For me it was a Friday without problems. The grip on the track is quite good and we were able to go at quite a good pace. However, we still face the same problems with the car we have had since the beginning of the season.”
Nick Heidfeld, P1 – 1:44.040, 15th; P2 – 1:41.350, 17th
“In the beginning of the second session it went quite well. Then with the softer tyres the timing wasn’t ideal as I got stuck in traffic. When Fernando Alonso crashed into me I had an early end to the session. Such a crash is really unnecessary during free practice. I saw him in the rear view mirror locking up his wheels and tried to open the door for him, but he went straight into me and I almost rolled.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering:
“Our goal today was to find a good set-up for our new aero-package. So far we are satisfied with what we achieved in the first two practice sessions. In the second session we concentrated on long-runs to get information about the performance of the tyres over that distance. Robert was able to complete his programme as planned without any problems, whereas Nick lost the chance to do the last scheduled tyre comparison because of a collision with Fernando Alonso.”
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, P1 – 1:43.088, 5th; P2 – 1:40.7723, 9th
Today seemed to be okay, there were no problems so we had a smooth Friday. I think we are more or less in the pack, but Fernando was very quick towards the end of the second session, which was a surprise. We need to improve for tomorrow, so we will look at our day carefully and see where we were lacking, compared to the others.
Mark Webber, P1 – 1:43.243, 8th; P2 – 1:40.956, 14th
We did a lot of laps today. Weve got some good stuff to go through tonight and we did the tyre comparison, which was pretty straightforward. Weve got some work to do this evening – this track is a little like Bahrain with walls!
McLaren
Heikki Kovalainen, P1 – 1:42.636, 2nd; P2 – 1:40.738, 10th
I am quite satisfied with my days running. We ran exactly the programme that wed planned and the car feels pretty good. For me, this has been a much better start to my weekend than in Hungary and I feel like were in good shape. The pace at the front is very close, but I think were in the hunt. We now go into tomorrow fully focused on getting a good result.
Lewis Hamilton, P1 – 1:42.654, 3rd; P2 – 1:43.214, 20th
I touched the wall, but didnt even really feel the impact. I only grazed the front wing – but, unfortunately, it couldnt be repaired as we didnt have a spare one. Hopefully, we can get a new one for tomorrow, or else well have to make some changes – we dont have lots of these wings available. I didnt feel too happy with the car this morning, but the changes we made between the sessions were very positive. On my last lap, I was six tenths up and it was already looking quite good, so I feel positive for Saturday. Its a shame we missed out on so much track-time, but I still think well be okay tomorrow – that time can always be regained.
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal:
As a team, we enjoy this circuit – its a unique, demanding challenge for the drivers, engineers and mechanics. Unfortunately, Lewis witnessed the unforgiving nature of this place when he grazed the wall at the start of P2 – it was only a light touch but it was enough to break part of the nosecone wed brought for this race. For the team, that breakage also tells another story: as with all the teams, the factory shutdown presented us with a number of challenges – one of which was preparing sufficient spares for this weekend. Sadly, we didnt have enough parts to enable Lewis to complete this afternoons session – but thats also a legacy of our intense and aggressive development strategy, which has seen us relentlessly bring new parts to the track as soon as they are manufactured. In this instance, more spares will arrive tonight and will be fitted ready for tomorrow. Despite this incident, were still encouraged by the pace demonstrated by both drivers today – and once again go into tomorrows sessions gearing up for another battle at the front.
Norbert Haug, vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
Not an ideal start to the weekend with Lewis unfortunately damaging his car on his second timed lap in P2. The spin slightly damaged his front wing, and, since there are no spares yet for this brand new part, it meant the end of his session. Heikki had to run without his KERS hybrid working due to a technical problem which cost him both track time and lap time. Well be in much better shape tomorrow and on Sunday.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, P1 – 1:43.384, 10th; P2 – 1:40.739, 11th
It was a positive day. I am happy with the handling of the car and the performance of both types of tyre we have here from Bridgestone. Theres no point in looking at the time sheet, because as usual on a Friday, it doesnt tell us much. The first session was rather difficult as the track was very dirty and slippery, but in the second one the situation was much better. I think a podium finish is still a realistic target for us, even if a lot will depend on where we qualify.
Luca Badoer, P1 – 1:45.840, 20th; P2 – 1:42.017, 18th
I am happy with the way things went today. I expected a difficult day and so it was. It was vital that I did not make any serious mistakes so that I could get through the programme we had established. Now we can begin to work on the car set-up to try and adapt it to my driving style. The team has not set me any specific goal for this weekend and I am pleased about that consideration because it is important I return to having full confidence in the car and with the world of the Grand Prix weekend. I am also grateful to Michael (Schumacher) who wanted to be here this weekend. It is important for me to be able to count on his support, especially from the human point of view and of course, also in terms of technical matters.
Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal:
My first thoughts today are with Felipe and once again, on behalf of the entire team I want to wish him a speedy recovery. From today, his seat in car number three is occupied by Luca Badoer, who faces a difficult task, but he can count on the support of everyone in the knowledge that Ferrari has every confidence in him. Given his situation – a long time away from racing, an unknown circuit – the first day can be considered a positive experience for Luca. Clearly this weekend is something of a test session for him and that is how it must be judged. At this Grand Prix, it falls to Kimi more than usual to bring home a useful result to defend our third place in the constructors classification which, at this point of the season remains our realistic target.
Chris Dyer, Ferrari chief engineer:
A reasonable day, with our two drivers running different programmes. For Luca it was a case of regaining confidence in the car and learning a new track. For him, obviously the more kilometres he completed the more the situation improved and we are confident about the rest of the weekend. Therefore, Kimi worked on his own in terms of race preparation and on evaluating tyre performance. Our performance level seems reasonably good and we feel we can put on a good show in this Grand Prix.
Toyota
Jarno Trulli, P1 – 1:44.638, 18th; P2 – 1:40.770, 12th
“First of all it is very nice to be back in the car after a long summer break. I am also pleased to be here in the good weather and at a nice track. Basically today was a normal Friday for us without any exceptional situations. Everything went smoothly and we had no troubles so we were able to evaluate the tyres and the set-ups to make sure we are prepared for the rest of the weekend. We still have some work to do to make the most of our car but it is difficult to see a true picture of where stand after practice as you never know exactly what programmes other teams are working on. The car feels okay but we will work to get more performance from it.”
Timo Glock, P1 – 1:44.732, 19th; P2 – 1:40.985, 15th
“That was a pretty good day for me overall. The car feels quite positive and balanced which is a promising start to the weekend and we successfully ran through our whole programme. We planned a lot of work today but there were no technical issues and the guys all did a good job so now we have a lot of data to look at overnight. The task now is to fine-tune the car for tomorrow and the race; hopefully we can be strong. It’s hard to predict what the order is at the moment because the lap times are close but we will do our best.”
Dieter Gass, Toyota chief engineer race and test:
“We had some new parts to test throughout the day and we collected plenty of data so we are in a position to make the right choice for tomorrow. This track is not used regularly and as a result we saw a really big circuit evolution, especially in the morning session. Due to our busy programme we had to go out early in that session to complete all our work and on the green track we damaged our tyres. That made first practice a little harder than expected but everything came back to normal in the afternoon. Even though the circuit continued to evolve, the tyres behaved a lot better than in first practice because there was more rubber on the track. We seem to be in a situation where both compounds will be workable for the race without major problems.”
Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi, P1 – 1:43.389, 11th; P2 – 1:41.156, 16th
It was really hot today in the cockpit, especially as we were doing long runs in preparation for the race. The track was very dirty and green at first but it improved continuously, especially in the final ten minutes of the last session, so you had to be out on track at that moment, if you wanted a good lap time. Weve got a new front wing here and it seems to bring the benefits we expected, which is positive. Now, as always we need to analyse the days data to see how we can improve for tomorrow. I am quite confident we can have a good weekend.
Jaime Alguersuari, P1 – 1:43.637, 13th; P2 – 1:42.089, 19th
The heat was an important factor for me today, as I have not had that much time in a Formula 1 car yet and the high temperatures made things worse from that point of view. The days work went quite well and we made good progress, even if we went a bit far on set-up changes in the morning, which meant that as track conditions changed in the afternoon, our performance didnt really get better. We need to improve the car and I need to drive better on the Option tyre. Not a bad first day overall.
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development:
“Today was all about track improvement. The surface started very dirty, as we would expect so we heard the usual comments about lack of grip. We saw quite a bit of rear lateral graining which comes from the traction and braking demands on this circuit. We also saw some front lateral graining on some cars too. This is unusual, but comes from the heavy braking on the initially dirty surface.
“We would expect the super soft to be the superior tyre for lap time, but the soft to be the superior tyre for consistency and therefore the favoured race tyre. The amount of circuit improvement over the weekend will be the key to the race. As the circuit improves, so car balance will change. The team that predicts the track improvement correctly for the race will be best placed to refine their car setup to suit. Even though it was very hot here, the track layout does not put as much force through the tyres as at other circuits so we do not predict problems with tyres overheating.”
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]]>Renaults Fernando Alonso was in a feisty mood in Valencia on Friday afternoon. After inadvertently punting off an innocent Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber in the final corner towards the end of the hour and a half session, the Spaniard pushed his own detached front wing into the pit lane.
After repairs he then spun in Turn 17, before banging in the fastest lap of 1m 39.404s to become the only driver to breach the 1m 40s barrier.
Behind him Jenson Button underlined the Brawn GP renaissance with 1m 40.178s, ahead of team mate Rubens Barrichello on 1m 40.209s. They had set the pace in the latter part.
Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima were fourth and fifth for Williams with respective laps of 1m 40.385s and 1m 40.503s, while Adrian Sutils good form for Force India continued with sixth fastest time of 1m 40.596s. Team mate Giancarlo Fisichella vaulted up the order to eighth late on, with 1m 40.681s.
They thus sandwiched Robert Kubica who was BMW Saubers lead runner with 1m 40.643s. Team mate Heidfeld was left to stew in 17th place on 1m 41.350s as his F1.09 was damaged in its involuntary aviation.
Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel improved to ninth at the end with 1m 40.723s, with Heikki Kovalainen leading McLarens challenge with 1m 40.738s as Lewis Hamilton was stranded on 1m 43.214s in 20th after his McLaren developed problems after only three laps.
Kimi Raikkonen set the 11th fastest time for Ferrari in 1m 40.739s, chased by Toyotas Jarno Trulli (1m 40.770s), Renaults Romain Grosjean (1m 40.787s), Red Bulls Mark Webber (1m 40.956s) and Toyotas Timo Glock (1m 40.985s).
Sebastien Buemi was 16th for Toro Rosso with 1m 41.156s, then Heidfeld was followed by Luca Badoer on 1m 42.017s in the second Ferrari and Jaime Alguersuari in the second Toro Rosso on 1m 42.089s.
Besides Alonso, Raikkonen and Webber also had off-track moments.
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]]>Ferraris Felipe Massa substitute, Luca Badoer, on struggling to 20th on the grid; Renaults Romain Grosjean on his debut Formula One qualifying performance; and McLarens Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen on taking dominant one-two grid slots in the bright sunshine of Valencia. All 20 drivers and senior team personnel report back on Saturdays action
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton (1st, Q3 – 1m 39.498s):
“Im really happy with the balance – the car feels great, particularly in the slower corners. After winning in Hungary, we came here not knowing if the others would have closed the gap: clearly, were still competitive. We havent seen this level of performance for a long time: last year, I was able to do only one run in easy qualifying session but, this year, weve had to use every second of the sessions to get through. I managed a couple of very good laps today, so well start the race from a very competitive position – but a lot will depend on strategy and how the start goes. Congratulations to Heikki, he did a fantastic job – its been very close between us all weekend, so this is great to see. Weve got the front row to ourselves – and thats something weve all wanted for a very long time.
Heikki Kovalainen (2nd, Q3 – 1m 39.532s):
Obviously, Im pleased that Ill be starting from the front row tomorrow, but I made a mistake at the end of my quickest lap and could have gone a little faster still. I knew qualifying would be very close, and I was sure our car would be competitive, so I decided to really go for it today. As a result, I pushed just a little too hard – but it was a calculated risk and I lost only one place – and, even better, I lost it to Lewis. So we nailed the front row anyway. The guys back in Woking have done a lot of great work this week, since the end of the summer shutdown, and I want to say thank you to all of them.
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal:
A truly brilliant result for the entire team – well done, everyone! As for Lewis and Heikki, well, they were both brilliant, too. They made things look relatively easy, but in fact the conditions out there today were very difficult for all the drivers: it was hot and humid, and the circuit is an extremely demanding one. Heikki was totally on it today – he really went for it and very nearly pinched pole position at the very end. Lewis did a fantastic job, too, and Im sure both our drivers will perform very well in tomorrows race.
Norbert Haug, vice-president Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
A great result – nobody had fewer laps over the weekend so far, and nobody was faster than Lewis today. The lap time from his first outing in Q3 was strong enough that he could afford to abort his second attempt after two quicker sector times in order to save fuel for the race – a truly great job from Lewis. Heikki was only a friction – 0.034 seconds – slower and could have made the top spot as well: he was really strong from lap one on this track. Thanks to everybody in the team who worked so hard after the FOTA summer break. I have the feeling that in the week since even more work was done in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart than in three weeks of flat-out business before the summer break. Every one of us got the best reward today with this double pole and only tomorrow the reward could be even better.
Brawn GP
Rubens Barrichello (3rd, Q3 – 1m 39.563s):
“A great qualifying today but it was tough out there and of course I’m a little bit disappointed not to be on pole. We started the weekend well with a thorough job on Friday to get the best out of the set-ups that the guys worked on back at the factory. They did a great job and the car is in good shape with the tyres working quite well here in the heat. I went for a slightly different strategy to Jenson with just one new tyre run over two laps in Q3. The second lap was perhaps a bit too much for the tyres which started overheating and unfortunately I lost the car on turn eight. I’m really pleased with third place though and it’s great to have the car back to a competitive pace.”
Jenson Button (5th, Q3 – 1m 39.821s):
“It was a pretty good qualifying session for the team today and the car felt strong throughout. Unfortunately I made a mistake at turn four on my quick lap which compromised my position as I had just the one flying lap on my final run in Q3. It’s a shame as the potential was there for more but fifth on the grid is not bad at all. The car is feeling pretty good with fuel so we will see what the race will bring tomorrow. It’s not a great circuit for overtaking but I’ll be giving it everything for a good result.”
Ross Brawn, Brawn team principal:
“It was a tricky session today with track temperatures escalating fast which meant we had to think on our feet and adapt our plan for Q3 during the break. This might have compromised our performance a little as Rubens’ tyres went off on his second lap whilst Jenson had only the one flying lap on his final run. However third and fifth places on the grid is a strong position to be starting from tomorrow and we are generally happy with the performance of the car this weekend so we can look forward to a good race. It was another good day for our engine partner Mercedes-Benz with three cars in the top three grid positions.”
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel (4th, Q3 – 1m 39.789s):
I would like to be further forward on tomorrows grid, but I think thats the most we could have hoped for, so Im quite happy – especially after not doing many laps this morning. Im quite confident about tomorrow, as we made a step forward for this morning and then another for qualifying. McLaren look strong and its hard for the other cars to get close to them. We will see how quick they are in the race tomorrow, but starting in first and second position they have a good chance to win the race. We want to win too though, so we will see. I like this track, its a bit more difficult for us to be at the top here – but its a long and hot race tomorrow, so lets see.
Mark Webber (9th, Q3 – 1m 40.239s):
We expected to have a tough qualifying session today and it turned out to be the case. We thought we would be in the top six or top eight, so its not been the best day for us. Its one of our worst qualifying sessions for a long time, but lets see how we go from here. Well fight like hell as normal, Red Bull knows how to do that, I hope we can get some points.
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal:
After a difficult P3 for Sebastian, when he lost an engine, it was a great effort from his side of the garage to get the engine changed and produce a competitive qualifying. The McLarens are too quick, their power advantage with the KERS here is significant, but we can be happy with P4. One tenth of a second for Mark would have made a big difference to his grid position – it would have been the difference between sixth and ninth – but with a bit more fuel in hopefully he can have a good run from there tomorrow. The key for us is obviously to finish ahead of the Brawns.
Fabrice Lom, Renault, principal engineer track support:
It was a very tough Saturday, beginning with the engine failure on Sebastians car, which is very bad for us. We changed the engine for him ahead of qualifying. We are not as quick as usual on this track and its difficult for us. We did our best in qualifying and we know we have to focus on getting the best possible result in tomorrows race. It will be a tough Sunday.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen (6th, Q3 – 1m 40.144s):
Honestly, this was one of the best qualifying sessions of the season, even if we are not as quick as those on the front row. Our final result will depend basically on how the start goes. It will be very important to make up a few places, because if we end up behind a slower car, then the race is compromised. I think we are reasonably competitive in race trim, as could be seen in Q3, while we are struggling a bit on light tanks. So far, its been a good weekend and I am happy with the performance of the F60.
Luca Badoer (20th, Q1 – 1m 41.413s):
Obviously, Im a bit disappointed as its never nice to be last in any situation, but I always knew it would be tough. As Ive said before, this weekend is a sort of test for me and the team and that is how we are tackling it. However, I do feel the situation is better than yesterday as the more laps I do, the more confidence I gain and the better it gets. Tomorrow it will be important to finish the race and that will be my target. I feel good physically and I have no problems on that score. For sure, if Id had two days testing under my belt, it would have been a different story.
Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal:
Sixth place for Kimi Raikkonen can be judged as a positive result, because it probably reflects our current potential, while Lucas last place was widely predicted: returning to racing after so much time, furthermore on a track not known to him and one that is difficult to get to grips with, is a daunting task for him. Tomorrow, our race will be divided in two: on one side we will be aiming for a positive result to defend our third place in the constructors classification, which should be within our ability, while with Luca we will try and finish the race, to obtain sufficient experience to tackle the forthcoming rounds in a different fashion.
Chris Dyer, Ferrari chief engineer:
Qualifying had two sides to it for us. It was a very difficult day for Luca, who continued the process of learning about the car and the track. Lap after lap his confidence increased, but it was not enough to get him off the last place on the grid. The situation was definitely not helped by the red flag in FP3 which cost him valuable time. On the other hand, Kimi performed well, especially in Q3, where he did a great lap. Starting from sixth on the grid is a solid base from which to have a good race tomorrow.
Williams
Nico Rosberg (7th, Q3 – 1m 40.185s):
Qualifying was generally ok. Im in P7 with quite a lot of fuel, possibly more than anybody else around me, so I have a strong strategy for the race. There was no point in trying to out qualify the cars with KERS because they will overtake me off the line anyway. Id prefer to qualify behind them, have more fuel on board and then beat them in the race. This track suits our car so we could have a points-scoring race tomorrow.
Kazuki Nakajima (17th, Q1 – 1m 39.795s):
We had a failure on my car which caused the engine to cut out during Q1 so I didnt have a chance to show what we could do. Its a shame because I think we were strong enough to have been in the top ten today. We have a good race pace, so I just need to use that to my advantage and do my best tomorrow.
Rod Nelson, chief operations engineer:
Today was obviously disappointing for Kazuki. We are still looking into the problem which stopped him out on the circuit, but we do know it wasnt driver error. We are reasonably pleased with where we are with Nico. Hes on the clean side of the grid, which is a large advantage here. Hell have KERS cars on the dirty side next to him, but hopefully well stay ahead of them this time. Were happy with the strategy weve chosen.
Renault
Fernando Alonso (8th, Q3 – 1m 40.236s):
It was very hot today and a tough session. At the beginning it seemed that we could be 3rd or 4th and then after Q1 we realised that we were not going to be as competitive as we thought. Of course, Im not happy with 8th but since we had the same position in Q2 it seems that this was the limit of the car today. Im disappointed for all the fans here for whom I would have liked a better grid position, but Ill do my best tomorrow in the race.
Romain Grosjean (14th, Q2 – 1m 39.040s):
I am pleased to have made it into Q2 for my first qualifying session, especially as that was the objective I set myself yesterday. I want to thank the whole team who have been working with me and Fernando for all his helpful advice. To be fighting with the best drivers in the world is an incredible feeling and Im really looking forward to starting my first Grand Prix tomorrow. I will give my maximum to get the best result possible from the race.
Pat Symonds, Renault executive director of engineering:
We were expecting more in qualifying today even with the disrupted third practice this morning because the car seemed good and we thought we would be nearer the front of the grid with Fernando. Romain has continued to have a very sensible first race and he should be proud of his grid position on this difficult circuit. Im sure he will have a strong race tomorrow.
BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica (10th, Q3 – 1m 40.512s):
If lately you have been starting from the rear of the grid, you cannot be disappointed with tenth in qualifying. We have to be realistic. I think today overall was a good day. Unfortunately I had some traffic on my final run and I made a small mistake. This cost me a few tenths. Scoring points will be difficult tomorrow.
Nick Heidfeld (11th, Q2 – 1m 38.826s):
It is the sixth time this year I have just missed the top ten qualifying and come 11th by fractions of tenths of a second. Of course Im a little bit disappointed, but on the other side it means we have freedom regarding the fuel we carry and I hope for a good race. Everybody in the team is determined to put in a good performance and show what they can do for the future. Our car is generally somewhat better and I think from P11 points are possible.
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director:
We are satisfied with the qualifying result. Compared to recent races it was a step forward into the midfield, and this is what we had expected from our development package. With Robert we have got one car into the top ten and Nick in 11th is just behind. Q3 didnt go ideally for Robert, otherwise he could have finished even higher up. Congratulations to McLaren-Mercedes for having both cars on the front row. This proves how quickly things can change.
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering:
Our goal was to get at least one car into the top ten. With Robert we did so. However we expected to be in a better position. Nick missed Q3 only by the blink of an eye. Overall we took a step in the right direction with the aero update. Technically we had a qualifying without any problems.
Force India
Adrian Sutil (12th, Q2 – 1m 38.846s):
We’ve been quick here all the weekend and everything is working very well. I’m really happy about the upgrades we’ve put on the car, the team is doing a great job. We’ve made a big step forward in the last couple of months and I’m really enjoying every session now. This morning was the best way to prepare for qualifying, but we knew it was not going to be possible to replicate this position. Conditions for qualifying were actually pretty tough with quite low grip and high temperatures but the lap times are very close – it seems to be a characteristic of this circuit. We were just a few hundredths from Q3 so we just missed out in the end. We are in a good position now though so it’s a reasonable goal for us to say we want to score our first points here.
Giancarlo Fisichella (16th, Q1 – 1m 39.531s):
I am very disappointed with this result as I felt I could have easily got through to Q2 today. Unfortunately on the last run I got caught in traffic on my first lap and then lost about six or seven tenths in the last sector on my second lap, otherwise I really feel we could have got through after the weekend we’ve been having so far. It’s going to be a tough race.
Dominic Harlow, Force India chief race engineer:
Realistically Adrian was about where we expected to be in qualifying today and we are pleased that it’s demonstrated again our continued improvement of pace. It’s frustrating for Adrian to have just missed out on Q3 by the smallest of margins especially after getting P1 in FP3 on a reasonable fuel load, and equally for Giancarlo at the Q1 cut-off. There’s no doubt though that the car has enough performance here to race with the top ten and there’s a chance of points tomorrow.
Toyota
Timo Glock (13th, Q2 – 1m 38.991s):
“That wasn’t a good result. We struggled a bit for pace this morning in the short third practice and in the end we were just a couple of tenths away from being in the top 10, which is a pity. I was having trouble in first qualifying but in the second session the car wasn’t too bad until the final corners when the rear tyres dropped off quite a lot. I was pushing to the maximum but the tyres didn’t really survive. So we have to start again from 13th as we did in Hungary and try to repeat what we did there by finding a way to get into the points. It will be a difficult task but I will do everything I can.”
Jarno Trulli (18th, Q1 – 1m 39.807s):
“I was expecting qualifying to be a bit difficult but not as bad as that. This morning the car felt reasonable even if we were a little short of grip. But it was much worse in qualifying; I really had no grip and there was nothing I could do. I just kept pushing and took a few more risks than normal but itdidn’t work out. I don’t know why we struggled so much; it is a mystery to me. For the race tomorrow I can just do my best and see what happens.”
Pascal Vasselon, Toyota senior general manager chassis:
“We can only be unhappy about that result as it is another extremely disappointing qualifying for us. In the last races we have shown that our race pace is better and gives us a chance to move up the field, although obviously that will be tough. Now we have to take a close look at all our options to see how we can fight back as we did in Hungary. Track conditions are changing continuously so we will look at the effect of that on the tyres for the race and try to make the best of it.”
Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi (15th, Q2 – 1m 39.514s):
Even though I got into Q2, Im a bit disappointed, because in Q1 I was sixth with a good lap time and then in Q2, we did not manage the tyre situation well, especially on my out lap and I ended up doing worse than in Q1. Now we must look at what happened, because I think I might even have had the possibility to get into Q3. We are making progress.
Jaime Alguersuari (19th, Q1 – 1m 39.925s):
I know what I am capable of and with this being only my second Formula One qualifying session, I have to be patient. I am happy that even though this track is longer than at my first race in Hungary, the gap to the drivers ahead of me is getting smaller. I am feeling more confident in the car every time I drive it. Its going to be tough tomorrow as it seems to be getting hotter and hotter. I think I can do a good job in the race, bring the car home and hopefully end up at least in the top fifteen.
Giorgio Ascanelli, Toro Rosso technical director:
Not much to say: we got one car through to Q2 and both cars have run reliably over the past two days.
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]]>Drivers: 1st Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1m 39.498s; 2nd Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren), 1m 39.532s; 3rd Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP), 1m 39.563s
Q: Lewis, a tight fight with your team-mate. But following on from your win in Budapest I bet you are wishing the season started in July rather than in March?
Lewis Hamilton: That would have been fantastic, but it didnt. Here we are a fantastic achievement from the team at the last race and then to come here not really knowing whether we would have the same pace or whether other people would have made a step forward. But clearly we have very good pace this weekend, myself and Heikki. And Heikki especially did a fantastic job through qualifying. It was very close between me and him. It was great to see us both there because I think for both of us we have been wanting a one-two qualifying experience for a long time. It is great to be here.
Q: Heikki, you were on target for pole until that penultimate corner. Tell us about your pain.
Heikki Kovalainen: Well, I clearly went over the limit. In hindsight you can always argue and think you could have done it a bit better. But in qualifying you have to go for it. It was incredibly close. Had I not pushed to the absolute limit I could have dropped three or four places easily, so I went for it. It didnt work out this time but luckily I did not lose more than one place, so it is fine. It is absolutely a great place to start tomorrow. I think we have done a good improvement from Hungary on my side of the garage, so I think everybody can be very pleased in the garage and also back in Woking. We have been working very hard this week since the shut-down and fingers crossed it is paying off now.
Q: Rubens, after the struggles of the last few grands prix what does this result today say about Brawn GP?
Rubens Barrichello: The same for us. Like the McLaren guys after the shut-down it has been a lot of work. The team had a fantastic approach to it. In order to go forwards we had to go backwards a little bit and calculate some of the stuff. Between myself and Jenson we have had a fantastic job on Friday to do back-to-backs on set-up and things and I think we learned something. It is hot as you can see. The track is good for us. It is good to be back competitive. I wish next years rules were already in place as I was fastest in Q2, so you never know how much fuel these guys have. But I hope I have more than them.
Q: Lewis, there was a lot of confidence about the way you attacked qualifying and saving a run in Q2. Is it the same confidence you take into tomorrows grand prix?
LH: We havent seen this for a long time. Last year and in 2007 there were times where we only had to do one run in qualifying. This year we have had to go in all guns blazing and use up every minute and every second of the qualifying session. But very fortunately I managed to do a couple of good laps, so I did not have to do too many. But it can always be improved, so for sure going into tomorrow we stand in the best position for myself and Heikki for a podium. But it all depends on strategy and how the start goes and how the rest of the race goes.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, only the fifth time this year that youve been in the top ten, so is this a reflection of how McLaren have bounced back?
LH: Absolutely, absolutely. I think that coming into the weekend we thought wed be competitive but I dont think any of us really knew whether wed be competing for the front row. Its a great result for us. The team has well deserved it. Its just great to know that we can continue with the momentum from the last race.
Q: And you lost the whole session yesterday afternoon; how important was that?
LH: The time that you lose every little bit of time that you get on the track makes a huge difference for everyone. You find out more about the car, you fine-tune the car even more. I missed the whole session, a good hour and fifteen/twenty minutes, so in terms of dialling in the car, I had a lot of pressure on me this morning, but fortunately we did quite a good job. It wasnt perfect but there are always still improvements that you can make. But I was quite comfortable with the car this morning, I think wed had quite a productive P3 practice session and going into qualifying, it was nice to be able to do single laps and get those laps in.
Q: Even this morning was cut short as well, but yesterday you were talking about having a loose rear end. Presumably youve sorted that out?
LH: Not fully, no. We still have a little bit of a loose rear end. Inevitably on my pole position lap it was OK, it was quite a good lap. The second lap was better but in a lot of places I lost chunks of time, so hopefully there should be a little bit more time in it and hopefully we will be able to extract that tomorrow.
Q: Heikki, you must be really pleased with this; only the fourth time in the top ten this year.
HK: Yeah, of course, its a long time since Ive been in this kind of position. I dont even remember the last time I was talking to you after qualifying. Its been a tough beginning to the season but I think we have just been focusing on working very hard, understanding all the problems, moving forwards and I think the team has done a fantastic job to improve our car to a point where we can now compete for pole position. Before coming here I knew that we could again be fighting for pole position, its always very close but when you have that thing in your mind that if you just get everything right there is a chance to be on pole, it just gives you more drive. For me, of course, I would like to have been on pole but I pushed a bit too much in the last turn and I think I lost a little bit of time there but if you dont push, and if you lose pole because of that, I would be more disappointed, so I would rather go for it and eventually it will be right and I will be on pole, so no problems.
Q: Weve heard quite a bit about spare parts from McLaren over the last couple of days, in fact the last couple of races. Have you got everything that Lewis has got now?
HK: In fact I would have everything if I wanted to take them, but because the parts arrived a bit late, the factory was just not able to push any more. Everybody has been stretched over the maximum in fact, to get all the pieces, so it was always a plan that Lewis would run them on Friday and I would get them perhaps for the Friday afternoon. But because everything was delayed and we had a very good balance yesterday, we decided not to run the new parts because you never know, you might lose confidence on Saturday morning which you really dont want to do. So in fact it was our decision not to run them but I think I would have had them and the team would have given equal opportunity for both of us, so no problems on that side.
Q: And your KERS wasnt working yesterday, presumably it was today. How important is it here?
HK: Its very important, I think its one of the good circuits for KERS, or a very good circuit. Its always helping us but its very good here. We can harvest quite a lot of energy and we can use it for the race, maximum power every lap which is very good. The reason it didnt work yesterday was because we had some experimental parts in the KERS and they didnt work, but it was no big deal. Today we went back to a normal race spec and we have such a level of confidence with the KERS at the moment that even if we have a day when it fails, we can go back to a normal race solution and its working a hundred percent, and today its been working, no problem.
Q: Rubens, once again you said yesterday that if we continue working in the right direction the car will be good, so how confident are you in the car?
RB: Like I said before to the guys on TV, it was an excellent job by the team when the doors were open to the factory, we were able to evaluate a lot of stuff. Sometimes in life, you know, you really need to go back in order to go forward, so a good job from Jenson (Button) and me on Friday to evaluate things and again, to comment and just to take the best out of the set-up. We did a good job, and the tyres are working again in Hungary they were not so here they are working quite well and the car is in good shape. As I said before, I wish next years rules were already applied because I would have been on pole without the fuel
Q: But youre always quick in Q2.
RB: Well, but thats why I want to race next year because then I will get pole. Its the fact that you never know. My Q3 time was really good, was really, really good. The fact is that I chose differently to Jenson. Jenson went for two (sets of) new tyres and I went for just one. I went for a couple of laps and he went for two (runs) of just one lap. I thought that was better, but in fact, with the heat outside, it might have overheated my tyres because the second lap was just on the border line and I couldnt back off, I just had to keep on trying, but unfortunately I just lost the car in turn eight. So it might have been better to go for two new sets but we will never know. Im still very happy being able to be competitive, Im driving well and going for the wins. It was a nice break for a good comeback and a good second half to the season.
Q: Well, its an interesting second half, particularly from where youre sitting on the grid, because youve obviously got a championship rival in Sebastian Vettel beside you, but ahead are the two McLarens. Is there a target? Is there a strategy, or just try and win?
RB: Yeah, try to win, thats all that matters to me. Lets see what we have in a couple of hours when the fuel loads are put out and see. In one way, Im not on the very good side of the grid because I think that this year theyve turned (the grid around) and its not very clean, so we need to see what that brings but I hope I have a really good start and I can be with the guys and if I have more fuel, to be able to win. But we never know, its going to be a couple of hours before we can say anything.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Rodrigo Franca – VIP Magazine) Lewis, how is your relationship with the Spanish fans? You had some problems with them before because of your relationship with Fernando Alonso and so on. Do you think thats over now?
LH: Yeah, I think I hope its water under the bridge. I seem to have quite a lot of support here in Spain. The fans have been fantastic for me. For sure there are some that dont like me, but thats their choice, but there is quite a lot actually surprisingly, even surprised me when I went to Barcelona, when I go to the tests, when I come here theres quite a lot of support.
Q: (Sudhir Chandran – Chequered Flag, India) Lewis, Im curious to know if this long three-week break between races and more importantly your trip to India and playing cricket with the fans out there really helped you stay focused and continue your good form?
LH: I had a fantastic trip to India. I was looked after very well. The Indian people are so enthusiastic about motor racing. Im sure a lot of people here in Europe have absolutely no idea that the people over there love Formula One just as much as them. So Im very much looking forward to having the Grand Prix there in the future, because I think it will be quite a good show. Playing cricket, I hit the ball quite well, so for sure there was a bit of confidence. But I think spending time with my family and friends was probably the best way of relaxing and preparing myself.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Heikki, last time McLaren were on the front row of the grid, you won the race. Do you think you can do it tomorrow?
HK: Absolutely. That has to be the target but its a very good day for us in the whole McLaren team at the moment because we are finally both back on the front row but of course my target tomorrow is to do everything to beat everybody else, like always. But sure, everybody around me will try to do the same. We will try to manage the situation accordingly but I dont see any reason why I dont have a chance, either.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Lewis, how odd is it to have a car with which you can win a race, but not being able to fight for the championship?
LH: Thats not a problem. Some you win, some you lose. For sure it would have been fantastic for us to have been competing for the World Championship and theres no doubt that us as a team, for me and Heikki, we are good enough to be able to do that, but its just unfortunate circumstances that we missed the chance and all we have to do now is just continue to push our car and hope that next years rules are similar to this years, so that we can develop through this year and hopefully go into next year with a better car.
Q: (Naoise Holohan – Manipe F1) Rubens, are you still in the fight for the championship?
RB: Yes, I hope so. Its very important in life that you dont just dream but you believe in yourself and you believe in your work. I think Ive done a lot of this but there has not been a time in my life which I have loved more than racing and driving now and I think Im doing a really good job. At 37 I think I have reached the peak of my driving, so Im really with the driving. There have been ups and downs this year, sometimes very happy, sometimes a little bit unhappy, but I think so, yeah, it would be very, very, very nice to win the championship at 37.
Q: (Rodrigo Franca – VIP Magazine) Do you think the messages for Felipe Massa bring you luck, so you can maybe win tomorrow?
RB: Well, there are two separate things, to be honest. Its the fact that Im his friend and Ive been with him last week. He truly deserves a sort of dedication like this and I hope the whole of Brazil is hoping for his best recovery and the fact that he won here so well last year. I watched the race two days ago, just to be up to speed and everything, you end up learning with him, so Im giving him back something which he really taught us quite a lot. I just hope hes back soon, more than anything and I hope that these last seven races are good enough for me to get back all the points to get in front.
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