Friday: Petrov Optimistic and Kovalainen Cautious at Caterham
Overall, the Caterham drivers are satisfied with their day during which they completed a large number of laps and completed all the planned tests. Heikki Kovalainen notably drove in Free Practice 2 with the Valencia aero configuration to make comparisons with Petrov who had the latest upgrades.
Vitaly Petrov – 19th and 19th:
« Overall, it was a rather positive day. We managed to complete a good number of laps in both sessions, despite the rain in the afternoon, and today’s times show that we are getting back to where we want to be compared to our rivals.
I was particularly satisfied with the time I achieved with the Soft tires in Free Practice 2, and I think it proves that we have made progress. The rain obviously hindered us like everyone else in Free Practice 2, but we decided to go out on Intermediates and managed to gather good information on these tires and on the settings we might consider for Sunday if the rain forecasts are confirmed.
All in all, it was a good day and I can’t wait to get back in the car tomorrow.
Heikki Kovalainen – 21st and 20th:
« Today’s two sessions went pretty well. Completing 58 laps on a Friday is good running even with the rain intervention. We managed to complete the entire test program we had planned for each session.
Regarding the times, it’s too early to say where we stand this weekend. Hopefully, we can still drive in the dry tomorrow during Free Practice 3, and who knows what might happen during the race.
The thing is not to make a single mistake in either of tomorrow’s sessions and to position ourselves as well as possible for Sunday’s race so that we can achieve a good result before the summer break.
