Saturday: Grosjean leads Räikkönen and dreams of a podium
While Kimi Räikkönen had to settle for the twelfth time after encountering a differential problem in Q2, Romain Grosjean qualified in Q3 but could not hope for better than seventh place, as his Lotus E20 struggled to heat up the new tires.
Romain Grosjean – 8th and 7th:
Of course, we aimed a little higher, but it’s a complicated circuit and the significant weather variation between yesterday and today didn’t make it easy for us. The warmer weather definitely suits us better, but not as much as we hoped. The car was quite good, but my last attempt could have been better, which is a shame. That said, reaching Q3 is never a bad thing, and the race will be long. Our car has always been gentle on its tires since the start of the season, and that could make the difference. The last time I started in 7th position, I finished on the podium. Let’s hope it happens again tomorrow!
Kimi Räikkönen – 9th and 12th:
« Obviously, it’s disappointing to be out in Q2. But my differential was causing problems which led to the car not behaving as it should. On such a tight grid, not having a car that is exactly as you want it makes a real difference. Now, we didn’t experience any trouble during the long runs yesterday. We can choose our tire strategy and the warmer weather definitely suits us better. So I hope we can get everything back in order before tomorrow and make some progress. Only the race matters, let’s see what we can do. »
