Saturday: Interlagos gives wings to Barrichello and Williams
In front of his audience and his loved ones, the Brazilian – who was perhaps competing in his last qualifying session – snatched a brilliant 12th place after trouble-free qualifications, while his teammate, struggling more with his soft tires, was eliminated in Q1.
Rubens Barrichello – 12th and 12th:
« I feel great! I’m so happy to have managed a good lap because I have a lot of family here this weekend. For the team and the fans too, it was like they were pushing behind me, which was an incredible feeling. I have 71 laps to do like that tomorrow, but we have better chances now, so let’s hope for a good race! »
Pastor Maldonado – 15th and 18th:
« We are a bit behind with the 18th position. We haven’t found the right balance with the soft tires and therefore we couldn’t have proper laps. I’ll have to make up a lot of ground in the race, but having done it in Abu Dhabi, I’m optimistic I can do it again here. »
Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer:
The final free practice session this morning went well, and with some additional adjustments, the overall balance and pace of the car significantly improved throughout the session.
As the qualifying approached, the rain became more threatening, prompting us to drive earlier than we usually do. Rubens made it to Q2, but unfortunately, Pastor didn’t have a clean lap and finished in 18th position. Rubens had a good, clean lap with his soft tires in Q2 to finish in an incredible 12th place.
