Friday: Despite the rain, Caterham senses potential
If the rain is the main star of this English Friday, making it difficult to evaluate new parts, Caterham still finds reasons for satisfaction from these first two free practice sessions, with both drivers feeling a balanced car in their hands.
Heikki Kovalainen – 14th and 7th:
I think it’s the wettest day we’ve had in F1 for a while, and it curtailed the amount of running we were able to do today. The conditions have been quite treacherous out there in both sessions, even more so in the afternoon where I was sliding at the end of the straight, and in this situation, it’s not worth taking risks with the car, especially when we have quite a few new parts installed that we need to study as much as possible this weekend.
Since it was wet, I can’t really say how much we improved, but this morning, the car seemed pretty well balanced as soon as I started pushing it, so if it rains like this on Sunday, at least we know we have decent settings to run with.
Vitaly Petrov – 12th and 18th:
« This morning, Heikki and I were comparing the new exhausts and the rear bodywork, so my first contact with the new parts was in FP2, when the track was more slippery. Even in conditions like those, we still managed to do a few laps and the car was good – quite stable, with good traction, and a good baseline for us tomorrow. It would be nice for everyone if tomorrow is a drier day, but even if it’s not, we’ll just have to deal with it. I like the rain, so for me, it’s not a problem. »
