Robert Kubica, you continued your run of points finishes in Turkey. Were you happy with the performance of the car?
It was a good race and I enjoyed driving the car. We had some balance issues in practice, but I had a much better feeling with the car during the race. The only disappointment was that we didn’t get ahead of Mercedes because we are still missing a couple of tenths in order to beat them in qualifying. Right now we have to get everything perfect to jump ahead of them, but I think our race pace is quite similar, maybe even quicker, so it’s important we close the gap. We have some more updates coming along in the next few races, which I hope will give us a chance to do that.
Are you looking forward to going back to Canada?
I’m glad that after a year’s break we are returning to Montreal. I enjoy driving there and I like the characteristics of the track. It’s kind of a mix between a high and low-speed track because there are big braking zones and some long straights where top speed is important. We haven’t been to a track with these characteristics yet, so we will have to wait and see how all the teams perform there. Also, because it’s not a permanent track, the grip level changes quite quickly during the weekend and you can push more with each lap, which always feels nice.
What are realistic expectations for the weekend?
I think the car should work well in Montreal so I’m quite confident we can go there and get a strong result. I’ll be aiming to score good points, as we have done all season, which is very important for our position in the championship. It would be great if we could repeat the performance we showed in Monaco and fight for the podium, but if it’s not possible I will simply concentrate on getting the maximum from the car and bringing home as many points as I can.
Vitaly Petrov, looking back to Turkey, you came very close to scoring points. Sum up your feelings after such a promising performance…
I have mixed feelings about Turkey because even though it was a good race for me, I was disappointed to end up without any points. All the way through the weekend I was consistent and felt comfortable with the car. In qualifying I made it into Q3 for the first time, which was my target and this was an important step for me. Then, in the race, everything was going perfectly until the incident with Alonso, which caused the puncture.
Did it feel satisfying to race on terms with the Ferraris?
Of course, but it would have been even more satisfying to finish in the points. The car felt very good in the race and I was able to keep pace with the cars around me, especially Massa who I was pushing hard for most of the race. All the cars in the train were very close and it was good experience for me to race with the top teams.
Are you looking forward to the next race in Montreal?
It will be a totally new experience for me because I have never been to Canada before. So it’s a new country and a new track for me to discover. I’ve been told that there is always a good atmosphere in the city and that the public really support the race so I’m looking forward to experiencing that.
What are your expectations for the race?
First of all I just want to get there and see how things go in practice before I start setting myself targets. I need to get a feel for the car and learn the track so that is the priority. It’s a track with lots of big braking zones and chicanes, so I think it will suit the R30 because our car is easy to drive and is good at jumping over the kerbs. I will be targeting the top ten in qualifying and we’ll see what happens in the race.
Robert Kubica’s guide to Montreal
Montreal is one of my favourite tracks and I’m really happy that after a year’s break it’s back on the calendar. There’s always a big atmosphere and it’s a great event for the fans.
The circuit is very stop-start with lots of heavy braking and bumps, and because it’s not a permanent track, the grip builds up throughout the weekend and you can push more and more with every lap. The walls are also very close to the track so there’s little room for error, but I always enjoy these circuit characteristics. For the set-up you have to concentrate on braking stability and traction, plus the car has to be easy to drive because there are so many bumps.
Although I had a big accident there in 2007, I never think about it and I’m not concerned about going back to Montreal. In fact I won the last race there in 2008 so I’m going back as a winner. I have a good feeling about the track and I’m hoping that the R30 will be competitive. Realistically it might be difficult to get the win, but you never know…
Turn one is a corner where you brake as you are already turning into turn two. You can attack the inside quite hard, depending on your car balance, but it’s important to get a proper line into turn two, which is an annoying hairpin that is quite long and opens up on the exit. You get round the apex early and are soon on the power for the approach to the first chicane, which is one of the nicest corners of the lap.
Turns three and four feel great in an F1 car. You take the corner at about 155km/h and you can gain a lot of lap time by jumping over the kerbs, but when you do that, the kerbs unbalance your car, so you have to make sure that you land in the proper direction. The wall comes very close on the exit and if you can scrape it by millimetres then you will be 0.2secs quicker than if you miss it by two feet. You get a sense of how close it is, but you can’t get too close because F1 cars are quite fragile if you make contact.
Turns eight and nine make up another chicane, but even though it looks like a chicane, it’s actually just a one apex corner. You need to get a good exit out of there because it leads into the hairpin, which is the only real overtaking opportunity on the track. The hairpin is the slowest part of the lap and we’ve had problems with the track surface breaking up there in the past. If you take a ‘V’ line, by sacrificing your entry, you can get a good exit and that’s important to ensure you get good traction leading onto the long straight afterwards.
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