Team reaction after qualifying in Shanghai (part 2)

Williams Cosworth

Both Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg were unable to achieve the necessary pace in this afternoon’s qualifying session for the Chinese Grand Prix to progress any further than Q2. Rubens only just missed out on a place in the top ten and will start tomorrow’s race in 11th, while Nico will line up on the eighth row of the grid in P16.

Rubens Barrichello: Qualifying went ok for us; it was just a shame that we were pipped in the last minute of Q2. Everything is so close at the moment though and, if you think about it, that was our best qualifying for getting closer to the top. It was a great lap and I’m happy with what I did out there this afternoon.

Nico Hulkenberg: We had a hard time in the practice sessions and P16 is obviously not what I was hoping for. My last lap wasn’t perfect because I made a mistake in the last corner which cost me time. I think it will probably be wet for the race tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it.

Sam Michael: Technical Director: Rubens did well in qualifying and unfortunately just missed out on a slot in the top ten. We had to fit a new engine on his car after this morning’s practice so it was a good effort by the mechanics to get him out in time for qualifying. Nico’s qualifying wasn’t as good as he would have hoped for and he’ll be
analysing that tonight with his engineers. We tested a stalling rear wing on Rubens’ car during the morning practice session, from which we collected some useful data, but it’s early R&D at this stage so we have taken the decision not to race it this weekend.

Toro Rosso Ferrari

Giorgio Ascanelli: “I don’t like having all our eggs in one basket, so we split them, with one car anticipating rain tomorrow and one with a downforce level more suited for the dry. Guess which one was fastest today. Tomorrow we will see what happens! The team worked efficiently, making no mistakes. Both drivers did a good job and in Buemi’s case, we could not have expected more from him, after he got no running yesterday. I’m glad we sorted out the problem on his car quickly, so I’d say that, overall, things are looking up!”

Jaime Alguersuari: “We are getting closer to Q3 and I think we did a good job so far this weekend, especially as it’s my first time at this track. I expect we can have a good race tomorrow, as the car works well over a distance, running consistently and we seem to have got it to work better than in Malaysia. We will have to wait and see what the weather brings, but I think I have a realistic chance of scoring points tomorrow, whether it is wet or dry, so I would prefer it if it does not rain.”

Sebastien Buemi: “I had no problem with getting back in the car after what happened yesterday, although of course the lack of track time affected me. In any case the team did a good job to rebuild the car so that I could run trouble free today. To be honest, I was expecting to get a better grid position, but it’s understandable when you don’t drive on Friday. As for the race, we have gone for a compromise setting that should also work if the predicted rain arrives tomorrow. P13 is not too far away from the points, so let’s wait and see what we can do.”

Sauber Ferrari

Kamui Kobayashi: “Personally I’m happy with the lap I put in. I had no traffic, did the best I could and think I achieved what was possible. We do have areas where we need to improve and we will improve. Overall we don’t have enough grip yet, braking stability is not perfect and my car tends to understeer. I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow’s race and I’m really hungry for a grand prix finish again. The weather prediction says there is a good chance of rain. This would make for an exciting race. I generally like driving in the wet although visibility is always a problem.”

Pedro de la Rosa: “My first attempt on the soft tyres in Q2 wasn’t good from my side, but the last lap was very good until I made a mistake before turn 14. I locked the rear and it cost me almost half a second. Finishing two places higher up would have been realistic, but not a lot
more. The car felt well balanced, so there is nothing to complain about. We did not use our new rear wing system in qualifying because we want to continue testing it.”

James Key, Technical Director: “It was a tough and very close qualifying. Both drivers pushed as hard as they could.
We knew we had to get a good lap out of the new tyres. It was also essential to get it all together in the traffic, which we managed to do. At the end there were probably a few more tenths possible. Unfortunately Pedro was putting in a very good lap and just missed out in the hairpin with a little bit of wheel locking, and Kamui maybe had a couple of tenths more to exploit as well. There was potential there to move up a few
places, but we are still not in a position to get to Q3. It’s very close, and let’s see what the weather brings tomorrow. We are mid-grid and anything can happen.”

Virgin Racing Cosworth

Virgin Racing once again qualified as the best of the new teams in Shanghai today in this afternoon’s decisive shoot-out to determine the Grid for tomorrow’s 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix.

Timo Glock posted the 19th fastest time - a 1:39.278 - which was just two seconds away from the more established teams. He remarked that the team had made big advances with the car during the course of a weekend that has proved to be a big set-up challenge for many of the teams and is generally pleased with the car’s performance today.

Lucas di Grassi was on his way to an equally impressive lap, looking strong in sectors 1 and 2. He made a couple of mistakes in the third sector which cost him time and he missed out to end the day in 22nd position.

Timo Glock: “It was a good Qualifying session and I am happy, despite only really having one clean shot. On the first set of tyres I had traffic with Rubens doing a slow in-lap, so that frustrated my first quick run. With a proper first run I think we could have improved even more for the second, but overall I’m pleased with the lap and it’s important to be in front of Lotus again. I have to say that on Friday things were looking difficult for us here, but it has been a good demonstration of what the team is capable of. With the engineers we have been able to improve the car quite a lot overnight to make the car work better at this track and the mechanics did a nice job. So far our weekend has been trouble-free, so we will wait and see what possibilities tomorrow brings.”

Lucas di Grassi: “This was not a great qualifying session for me. The car behaved as expected and it was performing quite well. Reliability-wise we have also been very good. I was very quick on the first two sectors but made a mistake that cost me 3 or 4 tenths. As a result, I lost two or three positions on the grid. The important thing is to finish tomorrow’s race as the best of the new teams again, so we will perform as well as possible and see what opportunities are there to take advantage of.”

Nick Wirth, Technical Director: “Our improving reliability allowed both drivers to conduct some interesting and fruitful set-up work today in P3 and Qualifying. We elected to only do two runs in Q1 and Timo got blocked on his first run, so he did a good job to deliver a solid performance in his single lap. Lucas performed strongly today, so it was a shame that he lost time in his final sector as that would have been an impressive lap for a Shanghai rookie. Our performance today has been all the more satisfying as we haven’t been able to introduce a planned aero upgrade as it is currently on the wrong side of the Icelandic volcano plume! All in all, we’re looking forward to the race, rain or shine.”

Lotus Cosworth

Lotus Racing Team Principal Tony Fernandes was one of the last people to make it out of Europe before most of the airspace was shut down, leaving Paris after being given the prestigious Officier of the Legion d’Honneur award in a ceremony on Wednesday, and arrived in China to see Jarno Trulli qualify 20th on 1.39.399 and Heikki Kovalainen 21st on 1.39.520 after a busy session at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Both Lotus Racing drivers were out early in the session and despite an early spin for Heikki, settled down well, staying best of the new teams until the dying seconds of the session. After a strong showing in all three practice sessions the team looks in good shape for tomorrow’s race and will be looking to put on a good show for the growing numbers of their local Chinese fans, and the fast expanding Lotus Racing army across Asia and around the world.

Jarno Trulli: “It was a shame because I think I could have gone quicker, but the strong wind played a part and it wasn’t easy out there. It was a very gusty and I struggled a bit with that but having had three good practice sessions I’m expecting a better race tomorrow.”

Heikki Kovalainen: “It was ok today but I couldn’t quite get the perfect lap. The first two sectors were ok but just before the back straight I couldn’t quite get the exit right and I think I lost about three tenths there. The wind has played its part today – in some braking zones at the back of the track there’s a tailwind which unbalances the car, but the second to last corner is into a headwind and it felt really good under braking into there but it’s no big deal – it’s just one of those things! The race tomorrow will be better for sure. The car has felt good all weekend on heavy fuel so let’s see what happens then.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “It was the classic mixed bag today. We’ve been strong in practice and if it wasn’t for Heikki’s final sector we would have finished best of the new teams, but sometimes it doesn’t go according to plan. We were satisfied with the setups on both cars and while it’s been a bit disappointing I’m confident the work we put in throughout practice, on long runs with heavy fuel, will pay off for us tomorrow.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “First of all I’m just really pleased to be here in China! It was a very close shave - I think I was about an hour ahead of the airspace shut down and this is one of the races I’ve been really looking forward to coming to with the team. The spectacular growth of China over recent years is an inspiration to me and the whole Lotus Racing team - it shows how high we should be setting our sights and how we can reach the top by working hard to achieve your dreams. Seeing the fans’ banners for us in the stands makes me very proud, and shows that Lotus Racing has a real significance for Chinese motorsport fans, who know a good thing when they see it!”

HRT F1 Cosworth

HRT F1 Team, Hispania Racing today competed in the fourth qualifying session of its short F1 history. The team’s two drivers will start from the back of the grid.

In the third free practice this morning, Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna were 2º-4th in the speed trap, and posted laps in 1.41.141 for Karun Chandhok respectively and 1.40.316 for Bruno Senna, who made a good step forward.

Karun Chandhok will have a five place grid penalty for tomorrow’s race resulting of changed parts on the gearbox of his car.

Dr Colin Kolles: "The reliability of the HRT car will be a deciding factor in tomorrow’s battle and race. Let’s see what the weather brings during the race tomorrow. All other teams had a winter with a lot of wet sessions. We do not know how competitive we can be in a wet race."

Bruno Senna: "In the morning we found a good performance today and the car felt good. It was much more consistent and I felt more confidence. We have a good improvement from yesterday and we could make a good step forward. I could do some long runs in preparation for the race tomorrow. I went a bit wide on my quick lap in qualifying and lost some time. It is okay, maybe a bit frustrating because I know I could have done much better than this. I went slower than in my fastest lap in free practice 3 because there were some changes to the throttle response which made it difficult to drive. We have to test as we go along. With more knowledge gained, I am confident of a strong run in the race tomorrow.“

Karun Chandhok: "We had some issues this morning which was a bit unfortunate. I left early in qualifying which was not bad for us as we could get closer to the other teams which is very encouraging for us. It will be a difficult race on a tricky circuit. The weather may be wet too and that will be our first race in rain. Whatever the conditions, we will make the best out of it."