Saturday: Petrov saves Lotus Renault’s qualifying
After his problem during free practice this morning, Nick Heidfeld was unable to take part in the qualifications for this Spanish Grand Prix. Even more unfortunate since the R31 seems competitive on this circuit, judging by Vitaly Petrov's sixth position, who is satisfied with his lap in Q3.
Vitaly Petrov – 6th:
« We must be happy with our result. The team has taken a big step forward today, and the result of my car reflects that. Things look good, the car’s balance was good, and I was able to do a good lap in Q3 to ensure we have the car in a good position on the grid. »
I knew what we had to do today and I did it so I am happy and looking forward to tomorrow’s race. It should be another action-packed race and strategy will be very important.
Nick Heidfeld – 24th:
It was a difficult day, and there wasn’t much to do after the exhaust problem this morning. There was a small hole in the right exhaust, and it caused overheating. Then, when I heard a strange noise, the power cut off, and there were flames, so I had to stop.
From there, the team worked hard to try to enable me to participate in the qualifications, but it wasn’t possible. At least I was able to do a few laps with the hard tires today, and during the race tomorrow, I’ll need to push very hard.
