Sam Michael, Technical Director: Although there were some significant changes to the circuit layout recently, Silverstone remains a great track for drivers. There is also a new pit complex in a different location which will be somewhat strange having been in the same pit area for so many years! Silverstone is a high speed, fast corner track where aero is dominant. We have a new front wing and some diffuser modifications to test for this race. Significantly, blowing the diffuser during braking is no longer allowed, so we’ll be working with the new software through Friday’s practice sessions to re-tune our set-up. That doesn’t mean that we won’t run a blown diffuser, as the gains are still there when exiting the corner on throttle, but we’ll evaluate two different types of diffusers before we decide which direction to take for qualifying and the race.
Rubens Barrichello: Silverstone remains one of my favourite races. I love going there and it is also important for the team as it is their home event. The circuit organisers have made some changes this year which could prove interesting at the start of practice. We all know what every corner is called, but drivers tend to use numbers rather than names over the radio. They’ve moved the start/finish straight, so we’ll have to remember that Abbey, which we used to refer to as Turn 11, is now Turn 1! I’m sure it won’t be a problem though as I think Silverstone has done a phenomenal job and I’m looking forward to getting there to see the new pit complex.
As a team, we have a tough job ahead of us this weekend. At the last race we didn’t run the revised exhaust, but post race I think it would have been stronger, so we’ll be testing that at Silverstone. It’s going to be important for us to get the new bits on the car and get to work with them straightaway to see an improvement in performance.
Pastor Maldonado: I think that Silverstone is an amazing track. It has a great history, it’s fast and the new part of the circuit is a good addition. I have always enjoyed racing at Silverstone since my first visit back in 2007. I also have good memories of it as I have had some great races there, including winning in both 2009 and 2010 in GP2. My favourite corner is Becketts as it is really quick through there. We’ll be working hard to improve the car for this race and once again aim to fight for points.
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