Friday: McLaren has not yet found the right settings

McLaren has not yet found the right compromise in terms of setup. The silver arrow is fast in the first two sectors but collapses in the third. Lewis Hamilton set the best time in the first sector, and Heikki Kovalainen is the fastest in the second. But both drivers are beyond tenth place in the final sector of the circuit.

Heikki Kovalainen was smiling and seems, at the moment, more comfortable on the Singapore track than Lewis Hamilton. However, this is often the case when the Englishman is not yet fully satisfied with his settings and his car. Only tomorrow’s practice sessions will give a real idea of the drivers’ potential.

Heikki Kovalainen – 6th and 3rd:

«I am very happy to be third in the second session. We encountered no problems today, and I think we made good progress between the two sessions. Both types of tires are working well, which is another reason to be optimistic. I am confident in our ability to further improve our situation tonight. However, the other teams also seem fast here, so it will not be easy. The main difference on this circuit compared to last year is chicane number 10, which is slower and tighter. The curbs are also higher, so you can’t push too hard if you don’t want to risk damaging the car.»

Lewis Hamilton – 7th and 9th:

I’m still lacking speed in some parts of the track and I need to work on that. There were ups and downs for me today, but I had no technical issues. The only problem is that I wasn’t fast enough. Tomorrow, when the track evolves, we will have a better idea of how the tires perform. The track is still bumpy and due to traffic, it’s difficult to complete a lap without being hindered. Turn 10 is worse than last year and a bit more dangerous. Fortunately, no one had a problem there and that’s a good thing.

Martin Whitmarsh – Team Principal:

«Like most city circuits, the track surface was not optimal on the first day and today was no exception. Heavy traffic and red flags in every session didn’t help our progress. We spent the majority of the second session comparing tire specifications and studying the effects of tire degradation due to heavy fuel loads. We also need to closely look at the results of our tests with the new FW6 wing. While we don’t seem to be the only team suffering from oversteer today, it appears the fastest cars are the Brawn GP and the Red Bull. It will be interesting to see where everyone stands tomorrow after a night of studying the data and making improvements.»