Friday: Caterham feels back to its usual level
After long weeks of disappointment, the Caterham team found a level of performance this Friday more in line with their ambitions and comparable to the pace shown in Valencia. Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov consequently praise these improvements, betting that they will endure for the rest of the season.
Heikki Kovalainen – 19th and 18th:
A much better Friday than the last times. From the installation lap, the balance of the car was better, and we are clearly more competitive here than we have been since Valencia. It is difficult to understand where the improvement comes from – the cars are in a very different setup than those at Spa, the Hungaroring, Hockenheim, and Silverstone, but that doesn’t explain all the difference in feel and performance. We need to better understand why we are better here and ensure that we can transfer this to other circuits.
It’s a positive feeling for everyone. Spa was not acceptable, that’s clear, and when we don’t really understand why we weren’t competitive, it’s harder to rectify. But arriving here, we are back to the basic level of performance we should have, and now we need to build on these foundations.
Vitaly Petrov – 20th and 20th:
I think we are heading in the right direction, and it’s a much better day for us than last week, or during the last races. Both cars were running in different aerodynamic configurations to generate as much data as possible, and the lap times seem quite good. This gives us plenty to work on tonight, to prepare for the qualifying and the race, and it’s good to see us getting back to where we want to be.
After the ups and downs we’ve seen so far this year, I don’t want to make a prediction about our position on Sunday, or in Singapore, or at any upcoming race, but I think if we continue like today, we will be much better. It’s a good feeling, for me and the team, and hopefully, the similar weather conditions we’ll have on the track tomorrow will suit us so that we have another positive day.
