Saturday: Williams and Barrichello want to score points
Rather happy with their qualification, Pastor Maldonado and Rubens Barrichello believe they are in a good position to score points on a demanding track that poses tire temperature problems.
Rubens Barrichello – 15th and 12th
« There are two ways to look at this result. You can never be happy with a 12th place, but we achieved a good lap and we have to be satisfied with that. We can improve on it. It’s a great circuit, one of those I like the most, but it’s quite challenging. The curbs are a problem, as we saw with Kobayashi’s accident, so you have to be careful. There was also a lot of traffic, so I tried to get out quite early to have some clean air. You have to exceed your abilities and those of your car here, so I am happy with what we did ».
Pastor Maldonado – 14th and 13th
« It was difficult to get the tires up to the right temperature today, especially the super softs, which cost me time. At the end of Q2, we could have done better if the front tires were warmer, but it was okay. I had a good lap to get 13th place and I am looking forward to tomorrow to have a good race and get into the points ».
Sam Michael, Technical Director
« Rubens and Pastor secured good starting positions, from which we can aim for points tomorrow. Doing everything right in terms of setup makes a big difference on a street circuit, and maintaining tire pressure throughout the session was also key. We didn’t encounter any technical issues in qualifying, so we can fully focus on the race ».
