Saturday: Caterham continues to make progress
Objective achieved for Pic and Caterham with a place on the grid ahead of the two Marussia. Giedo van der Garde is a bit further back as he focused on the race considering his 5-place penalty on the grid received in Canada. Both Caterham drivers believe they can have a good race.
Charles Pic – 19th and 19th:
« The last lap in qualifying was one of my best of the year so far, so I’m thrilled with how the day went. We made good progress during free practice 3 with the balance, and that continued in qualifying. Breaking the 1:33 barrier and finishing ahead of the Marussias was what we were hoping for today, so mission accomplished.
It changes from race to race, but it seems we have a slight advantage over our closest rivals this weekend. Having had a good race pace all year, I think we can compete with several cars that are ahead in the race tomorrow as well. We have been close to the Williams several times this year, so with a good start, good wear levels, and no reliability issues, tomorrow should be a good day.
Giedo van der Garde – 22nd and 21st [22nd on the grid]:
« It was an interesting day because we followed a different program than usual during free practice and had only one stint in qualifying afterward. It’s finally dry, so we were able to do some aero tests during free practice 3 and then prepare for the race, keeping in mind the penalty I received during the last race, which means we knew we would be starting last. We focused a lot on tire degradation, not really on qualifying, but we still managed to beat one of the Marussias, which was a bonus. However, today was mainly about getting ready for Sunday. I think we are now in a good position, and after the work done yesterday, tire wear seems controlled, even with today’s warmer conditions, which should be the same tomorrow. We have good setups for the race, so we’ll see what happens. »
