Saturday – McLaren Confirms Its Concerns

In trouble since the beginning of the weekend, the McLaren team remained in the mid-pack throughout this Saturday. In qualifying, the drivers progressed to Q2 without difficulty but couldn’t climb higher in the hierarchy.

Kovalainen was the slowest in Q2 while Hamilton didn’t complete a single lap in the second phase of qualifying, due to a faulty gearbox. Worse, since McLaren needs to replace it, the driver will start from last position tomorrow!

Heikki Kovalainen – 11th and 12th (qualified 14th):

« The overall balance of the car was good, but we simply don’t have enough grip at the moment to make good use of it. The team has worked so hard, and we’ve made a lot of progress over the past few weeks, so we are hopeful of getting back towards the front of the grid soon. »

Lewis Hamilton – 12th and 18th qualified 15th but penalized 5 places on the grid for a gearbox change:

« Something broke at the back of my car on my second lap in Q1. I lost the use of my gearbox and I couldn’t continue. The team will look into the problem tonight and I’m determined to have an aggressive race. »

« My congratulations to Jenson and the whole Brawn GP team, they did a fantastic job all weekend and are already eager for tomorrow. »

Martin Whitmarsh – Director of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes:

« A gearbox problem for Lewis in Q1, probably a broken gear but we will investigate to be sure. This prevented him from doing a fast lap as he had the possibility. But at least he managed to get into Q2, even though he couldn’t take part in it. »

« Heikki’s first attempt in Q2 was solid, but he improved in the next attempt in sectors 1 and 2, though unfortunately not in the 3rd sector. He missed Q3 by less than half a second. »

« The two drivers did a good job under circumstances that are difficult for all of us. The reality is that we have made progress over the last two weeks but it is still not enough. There are more developments to come, but everyone in Woking, Brixworth, and Stuttgart is working as hard as they can to rectify the situation as quickly as possible. »