Sam Michael, Technical Director: Although we improved our pace from Friday, unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get into the top ten today. However, all of our set-up is biased towards the race after we realised that we may struggle in qualifying to get the most out of the car. Rubens had an uneventful session, unlike Pastor. After a late start due to a KERS fault during morning practice, Pastor went off the track at the exit of Parabolica. This caused a lot of bodywork damage to his car that we could not fix until after the session, so his laptimes were decent considering that. They should both have good race pace tomorrow. Well done also to all the mechanics in the garage who worked flat out to get Pastor’s car out on time after the KERS problem.
Rubens Barrichello, 13th: All in all it has been a difficult weekend in terms of performance for us, and although we would be happier further up the order, we’ve done better today than we thought. Starting 13th and 14th gives us hope that we can score points, so we will keep thinking positive and do our best tomorrow.
Pastor Maldonado, 14th: It was difficult for everyone in the team today. The mechanics did a great job to fix my car in time for me to get out in Q1. I then had a big moment on the first lap. The tyres weren’t ready so maybe I was a little too optimistic with the rear wing and I lost the car and touched the barrier. There wasn’t too much damage, mainly the front wing which we were able to change. I think we are more competitive today and the team did a great job overall with Rubens in 13th as well, so now we are looking forward to the race.
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