Spanish GP || June 23 || 15h00 (Local time)

Q&A with Jérôme D’Ambrosio - I have mixed feelings to be honest

"It’s frustrating not to have done a bit better"

By

8 September 2012 - 20:37

A good effort from Jérôme in qualifying this afternoon saw the team’s third driver set lap times within a second of his vastly more experienced team-mate, but the ambitious Belgian feels there is more to come in tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix…

Jérôme, your first qualifying session in almost a year and you made it through to Q2; are you pleased with that?

I have mixed feelings really to be honest. I progressed through to Q2 but it’s frustrating not to have done a bit better. There are a few areas where I’m losing time so there are still some details to put together. I guess it’s normal given the lack of time I’ve had in the car but I’m always looking for a bit more. Overall not too bad, but I’m definitely targeting an improvement in the race tomorrow.

You were under a second away from Kimi today; where do you think that last bit of time can be found?

I’m really close in the 2nd and 3rd sectors but I’ve struggled a bit in the first one since yesterday. About 60-70% of my time difference to Kimi is lost there, so there’s a lot of time to be found in just two corners and we need to work on that for tomorrow. A couple of tenths is down to my KERS usage; I’m not quite getting the release right there but I understand it much better now. Generally finding a good setup is the main thing; these guys have had all season to find a good base line, so I’ve got a lot to catch up on.

What are the priorities for you in the race tomorrow?

It’s going to be my first race for quite a while and there’s a lot to learn very quickly. It’ll be my first full stint on the tyres for example so we’ll have to look closely at the degradation. The start will be very important, as the first corner is always one to watch here in Monza. I’m just looking to take everything step by step. The most important thing will be to finish the race, but I obviously want to do my best for the team so if we can walk away with maybe a point or two tomorrow I’d be happy with that.

Source: www.lotusf1team.com