GP2 Hockenheim - Qualifying press conference

Q: Starting with you Charles, congratulations. You surprised the entire field at the last minutes to claim pole. Take us through that final lap…

Charles Pic: The last minute was great. It was more difficult for us this morning because this is the first time that I’m driving here in Hockenheim. I had many things to learn and understand. We worked really hard with the team to improve my driving and the car a little bit. They made a great job. We both improved. The first part of the qualifying was very wet. It was very hard to have a clear lap. There was always a yellow flag or someone who made a mistake… Towards the end, it was getting dryer. So after the second red flag, I tried to have a good gap with the guy in front. I had only one lap to make a good laptime and I did. That’s great for the team and me It’s my first pole in main Series.

Q: Talking about the track conditions, did you feel the lack of grip?

Charles: Especially at the beginning. It was very wet so some portions were very wet so it was very difficult… But at the end it was getting easier. The track was getting dryer. I found a clear lap and I had to make a perfect lap in just one lap. The car was also perfect just at the right time. It’s a question of good combination of all these different ingredients…

Q: What about tomorrow?

Charles: It will be a tough day. I don’t know if it is going to be dry or wet. If it’s wet, I think we have a good set up and I know the track so I think we can make good things. If it’s dry, we will work very hard tonight on my driving because I only know the track for the wet. So I will learn it for dry conditions tomorrow. Just in case. My target is to fight for the win and we will see how it will be in the end.

Q: Good luck for tomorrow.

Charles: Thank you.

Q: Pastor, this morning, you did not end up where people were expecting you to. And in qualifying, you struggled again in the first half of the session…

Pastor Maldonado: This morning, I was a bit unlucky. There were a lot of yellow flags, it was really wet… It was not as good as usual. So we worked a lot before qualifying. Of course, I was aiming at pole position this afternoon. But in the beginning, we were in dry set up and slick tyres for the first lap. But the track was too wet. After one lap I stopped to change the tyres. I put on the wet tyres, but still ran with the dry set up. It was difficult, but I found speed. It was a difficult session between traffic and red flags. Before the second restart, we decided to change the set up and the car improved a bit more, but I didn’t have a clear lap. Perez was in front of me, very close. It was not my best session all in all, but the car is constant. I will start from P2. I am confident for tomorrow. We need the points for the championship.

Q: You seemed to struggle a bit more in the second sector…

Pastor: Yeah. It was very difficult to interpret the situation on the track. At times it rained more and then a bit less. So, that second sector was a bit tricky. But I think we can really improve in all sectors.

Q: For tomorrow, do you think you will have an advantage on Charles as you are more used to start in front?

Pastor: No. It’s going to be a very close race. For sure, I’d love to win. I will do my best to win. It will be very interesting with the weather. Anyway, we have a good car in dry or in wet.

Q: Thank you Pastor. Oliver, it’s good to have you join us today. You were already on pace this morning and here you are, qualified in P3. You seemed to like this track.

Oliver Turvey: Yes. It is my first time in Hockenheim. I had never been here until yesterday. The practice session was quite difficult with very changeable track conditions. There were dry lines and we were on wet. So it’s quite hard to get a feeling with the car really. I had a lot to learn. Going to the qualifying it looked like it was going to be dry. We went with a dry set up. And it rained just before the session and we had to change to the wet. At the start of the session we struggled a little bit with the car. We made some changes at the stops during the session. I want to thank the team for the changes they made. I felt much more confident with the car in the second half. We were quite competitive in the end and on the last lap we were able to get a good timing to P3.

Q: Like Charles, you mentioned that it was your first time here. You’ve only driven here in wet conditions then,. Are you worried that the track will be much different if the race happens in the dry?

Oliver: I don’t think so. Obviously, if it’s wet, we know we have a good speed in the rain. We can make improvements. We are pretty confident if it’s raining. If it’s dry, we are in the best position at the front of the grid to fight for the win. I think it should be possible to pick the track up pretty quickly in the dry. I don’t think there should be a problem.

Q: Since last round in Silverstone, you seem to be getting more comfortable with the car…

Oliver: Yeah. You know I think I’ve felt pretty comfortable with the car since the beginning of the season. In Istanbul we had really good pace. We qualified well. Unfortunately, I had some problems after that. I’ve felt quite confident since the beginning of the season and we’ve made some improvements. I’m working well with the team. I feel since Silverstone that we have made some substantial progress. I want to make even more this weekend and get a race win.