Sauber hopes to improve in dry race
After FP3 took place in difficult conditions, with an unpredictable track that was drying slowly, the weather conditions remained changeable with rain on and off. The intermediates were the tyre choice for qualifying. Both drivers missed out on Q2 and will start from 12th and 16th place.
In Q1 Kamui Kobayashi and Nick Heidfeld were fifth and 15th respectively. In Q2 Kobayashi finished 12th, missing Q3 by less than two tenths of a second. Heidfeld was unhappy with his timing and qualified 16th.
Kamui Kobayashi, C29.04 / Ferrari 056:
3rd Practice: 13th / 1:20.452 min (22 laps)
Qualifying: 12th / 1:19.385 min (in Q2) )
“I was very close to making it into Q3, but I could feel on my last lap the tyres were gone. The timing for the tyre change on my car was alright for me. Perhaps one lap later would have been ideal in terms of track conditions, but on the other hand it is good to go for safety in case of a yellow flag or anything else like this. In Q1, when it was wetter, I found the conditions were very good for the car and the tyres. I remained on the same set and in the end I was fifth, but obviously the result of Q2 is what counts. For tomorrow we expect dry conditions and I believe this is good for us.“
Nick Heidfeld, C29.03 / Ferrari 056:
3rd Practice: 18th / 1:20.985 min (25 laps)
Qualifying: 16th / 1:19.899 min (in Q2)
“I must admit I am a bit annoyed. Dry conditions would have suited our car better, but that’s not under our control. What we could have done better was the timing in Q2. My tyre change was two laps too early, which meant I wasn’t on the track when the conditions were at their best with a set of tyres in good shape. However, as I said, in dry conditions we can be strong here and the forecast for the race tomorrow says it will be dry.”
Peter Sauber, Team Principal:
“It was a typical Interlagos weekend with an unexpected grid. Congratulations to the Williams team and, in particular, to Nico Hülkenberg, who did a fantastic job to grab pole position.”
James Key, Technical Director:
“As predicted the rain came today. This morning we went through a programme trying to understand the different conditions and, in particular, the cross over between extra wet and intermediate tyres. We seemed to lose some competitiveness in wet conditions compared to yesterday. The main issue seemed to be warming up the tyres. We made some changes for qualifying, where it was crucial to hit the track and tyre conditions at the right time. Kamui did a reasonable job to get close to Q3, after he had some difficulties in the morning. Nick was a little less happy, and he also suffered from some traffic. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get through to Q3, but equally it’s going to be a dry day tomorrow, so we should be more competitive and we will fight hard. Finally congratulations to Williams and Nico Hülkenberg on the pole position.”
Weather: changeable conditions with some rain, 19-20°C Air, 21-24°C Track
