Saturday: Marussia and Bianchi want to stay close to the Saubers
The results are mixed for Marussia: while Jules Bianchi managed to outpace the Caterhams to finish a tenth behind a Sauber, Max Chilton was beaten by Kamui Kobayashi.
Jules Bianchi (No. 17) – 18th and 19th
Jules Bianchi has reason to be satisfied with his Saturday afternoon: Esteban Gutierrez’s Sauber was truly in the crosshairs, with only a tiny gap separating the two cars in terms of lap times. « I am quite happy to see where we end up today. There are always a few tenths between us and the Sauber cars, but we didn’t do a perfect lap either, so there’s still room for improvement. During my first run, we lost radio communication, so I was driving a bit blind. My second run was better, and I think it shows that there’s still a bit of work to do to compete with the Sauber cars. »
The French driver hopes to battle with the Swiss cars on Sunday: « If we can get the most out of the car tomorrow, we can definitely have a good fight with the Saubers and I think we can then achieve a good result for the team ».
Max Chilton (#4) – 21st and 21st [22nd on the grid]
Max Chilton won’t have a Sauber in front of him, but a Caterham. Outpaced by Kobayashi, the English driver said he was hindered in traffic: « I went into qualifying with less track time at the end of Free Practice 3, having been unable to test my last set of soft and super-soft tires, so we didn’t have the best preparation. On my second run, I encountered traffic, notably with Ericsson, and I wasn’t able to improve. »
Penalized during the last Grand Prix for hitting his teammate, Max Chilton will start last on the grid tomorrow: « I have confidence in the car’s pace so, with the penalty I’ll have tomorrow, my first task will be to get well ahead of the Caterhams, and then aim for the cars in front of me. »
