Glock puts Virgin ahead of Lotus cars
The track was damp at the start of the qualifying session following heavy rain last night, which continued into this morning. The early part of Q1 was key as further rain was heading for Interlagos and Timo got a solid first run in the bag which the Lotus cars were unable to match. He ended the session in 19th position after 13 laps.
Taking part in his first F1 qualifying on home asphalt, Lucas di Grassi had a less satisfying session and ended the day 21st after 13 laps.
Timo Glock, Race Driver #24:
“It was a pretty good qualifying session for us today. I had a very good first run which was already enough to stay in front of the Lotus cars. I had a little bit of a problem with the second set of tyres and I had to switch to the third set, which cost us a lot of time and I was only able to do one timed lap. There was more to come but the tyres were not up to temperature. It’s good for us to be the best of the new teams and we are looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”
Lucas di Grassi, Race Driver #25:
“A very wet Saturday at Interlagos. Overall the day went okay, apart from the changeable conditions in qualifying, and we were not on the track when it was at its best. Because of that I am not very happy with the qualifying result as for sure there was more to come. Tomorrow is another day though and I am optimistic about our performance in the dry conditions expected and in what will certainly be a very exciting first Brazilian Grand Prix for me at Interlagos.”
John Booth, Team Principal:
“Both drivers were pretty happy with the behaviour of their cars in the wet conditions this morning. In qualifying Timo struggled with the balance on his second set of intermediate tyres but did a good lap on his first set which enabled him to be the fastest driver of the new teams. Lucas gambled on the rain arriving earlier than it actually did, which meant he wasn’t able to get the most out of his package today. However, he is confident in the performance of the car in the dry conditions expected tomorrow. Congratulations to our engine partner Cosworth on an excellent pole position.”
