Saturday: Wasted efforts for McLaren drivers
Although he achieved the second-best time in the qualifying trials, Lewis Hamilton will only start in fifth position on the grid, due to the penalty imposed on him by the stewards on Friday morning. Jenson Button, on the other hand, was not satisfied with the balance of his car and was unable to improve his time, due to the yellow flag caused by Felipe Massa's accident in the last seconds of Q3: the 2009 world champion, qualified 5th, will finally start in fourth place, ahead of his teammate.
Lewis Hamilton – 4th and 2nd:
« Being able to slot in between the two Red Bulls in qualifying is something everyone in the team should be proud of. In fact, I’m really happy with my qualifying performances throughout the year; they’ve been increasingly consistent. On my last run, I was just a tenth off in the penultimate corner, but I chose to abort my attempt and preserve the tires for tomorrow because the race will be long.
It’s a bit unfortunate to have a penalty on the grid, but that’s life. I think we have good pace, but it will be a long race. That said, with the long and wide straights and the two DRS zones, overtaking should be easier here than on other tracks, so I’m optimistic about what we can do here tomorrow.
I also think it’s cool to kick up a bit of dust when you go off-track; there should always be grass or dust when you go off the track.
Finally, I want to say a big thank you to the organizers. The track is smooth, fast, and flowing. It’s magnificent, actually! The facilities are fantastic and the people have been very welcoming. It’s one of the best circuits in the world and it’s definitely a race that people should come and see.
Jenson Button – 2nd and 5th:
The car was great this morning, but we couldn’t find any grip this afternoon, especially with the prime tires, so we need to find out why we couldn’t find the balance because I want to try to improve things for tomorrow.
I had traffic problems all afternoon, it was difficult to get a clear lap, and when I finally did, I had already pushed my tires too much. On my last stint, I saw Felipe go off into the gravel as I was approaching him. I definitely could have been faster on that stint, but I was in the yellow flag zone, saw his car and the dust plume, and I slightly eased off. I obviously lost time in that sector, and actually the data shows I was 14 km/h below my usual speed.
I hope to find the car I had yesterday during the race instead of the one I had today. It seemed stronger on the long runs on Friday, so let’s hope we can get that back tomorrow. »
Martin Whitmarsh – Team Principal:
« Lewis drove very well in qualifying this afternoon, his best time could only be outpaced by Sebastian, yet he will not start from the front row, due to a three-place grid penalty that was imposed on him yesterday morning.
Jenson’s efforts were spoiled in the final moments of the qualifying session by the yellow flag that was deployed following Felipe’s accident, forcing him to slow down while he was on a rather fast lap.
But it’s a great track, our drivers are brilliant, and I’m sure both will do very well tomorrow. Therefore, I expect the first Indian Grand Prix to be a fabulous race.
