Kamui Kobayashi: “I am Japanese and therefore the Suzuka round is my home race, although I have not spent too much time in Japan over the last seven years. I was 17-years-old the last time I raced in Japan. Of course I know the circuit quite well after having driven there last year for Toyota in free practice before the Grand Prix. I find the circuit very nice, and I really like every inch of it. It is a challenging track over the entire lap. I think our car will be good in Suzuka. It is very exciting for me to be going there, and I know there will be a lot of supporters. There is a special area for my fans, and the 2000 tickets were sold out quickly. I left for Japan straight after the race in Singapore. Beside the race preparation, the food and the Japanese Spa treatments are something to look forward to.”
Nick Heidfeld: “I am really looking forward to the race in Suzuka. It is my favourite of all Formula One circuits and, on what will be my second race weekend with the team, of course I will know a lot more about the car, which should help. On top of that I just love going to Japan. This time I will not be visiting Tokyo, but even Suzuka, where actually there is not much going on, is still the Japan I enjoy. I like the food, the culture and the excitement of the fans. They enjoy the Japanese Grand Prix so much, and this is very nice to see. The Suzuka lap has a very nice flow and a great variety of characteristics. The “Esses” in the first sector are especially beautiful. If you get these S corners right it is incredible fun.”
Technical Director James Key: “It’s great to go to Suzuka, which is Kamui’s home race. It’s a personal favourite of mine as well. I have some fond memories from past events, and the atmosphere there is excellent. I’m sure Kamui will have a lot of support from his fans. As far as the track is concerned, it’s a favourite with the drivers and teams. It’s one of those high speed circuits with a lot of high speed corners and sharp changes of direction. It’s quite technical, and it’s a good challenge for the drivers and the engineers to set up the car. I’m hoping it’s a circuit which suits our car better than recent ones, but you never know until you get there. Hopefully it will be a little easier to find a good balance on Friday. As far as the car is concerned, we are taking the updates we’ve had in Singapore. We will do further work on them to try and get more out of them in Suzuka, which is a slightly more normal circuit than Singapore. Also we will have a few additional new items which we will test on Friday.”
