Saturday: Encouraging Debut for Marussia
Even though Timo Glock's qualifying time is almost two seconds behind Petrov's and his Caterham, the German driver was pleased with the progress made by the Marussia team. Charles Pic, who clocked a time half a second behind his teammate, is happy with his day and hopes to leave Australia with the feeling of having given it his all after tomorrow's race.
Timo Glock – 21st and 20th
The Free Practice 3 was my first chance to drive the car in stable conditions, and it was clear that we had a lot of work to do on the setup. We had a big program for these tests, and for the qualifiers too in reality, and we made a lot of changes, all correct, and it allowed us to progress a bit each time. I am delighted with what we have achieved so far. From a mechanical standpoint, I am happy with the car and everything is working well. We have all made a step forward, but there’s still a long way to go and a lot of work to do to make the car faster. The starting base is good, but we have some catching up to do. I must say that I look forward to the future with excitement, and it’s pleasant to drive a Formula 1 car again!
Charles Pic – 22nd and 21st
«It has been a non-stop day and we had a lot of work to do in a short period of time. Everyone worked very hard to put us in a good position for the qualifying session and the race and I’d like to thank the whole team for their support, which has been incredible. We hadn’t had the best possible preparation and there’s still more to come. I’m happy for today and for the team. Tomorrow will be another day, and I will have to push hard throughout the race. I am really very excited but I want to stay focused and leave this weekend knowing that I got the best out of myself for this first race.»
John Booth – Racing Team Director
« After Timo’s 12th place yesterday in free practice 2, we cannot be discouraged by our positions in these qualifications. We had a mountain to climb and we are still far from the summit, but we are aware that things could have gone worse for us this weekend. With almost no testing with the car, people could have forgotten us as well. But even though it is just the beginning, we are far ahead of what we planned. We have made great progress, and we have not yet begun the work of discovering the potential of the MR01. I must pay tribute to our two drivers. »
«Even if we have barely scratched the surface (of the MR01’s potential), Timo enjoys being back behind the wheel, and he’s right. He works hard to give us the right feedback and his positive attitude is a very good barometer for us. Charles has faced a huge challenge and he should be proud of what he’s achieved so far. He’s hungry and he will be exciting to watch, that’s for sure. As for tomorrow, we must keep our feet on the ground and our minds focused because the race could highlight some weaknesses in our package that we haven’t yet had the chance to explore.»
