“The race may be very interesting tomorrow. This is a very difficult track and many drivers have been running off the circuit so far in the event. With heavy fuel loads and worn tyres I expect to see quite a few mistakes and incidents.
“Both Jenson and Rubens are happier with their cars in race trim, and neither has had an off-track excursion so far. If we can have a tidy race with a consistent pace then we may still make it into the points. That is certainly the outcome we will be striving for.”
Giorgio Ascanelli [Scuderia Toro Rosso – technical director]:
“I think engineers, drivers and mechanics have got the best out of our package so far this weekend. That’s ironic given that with the delay on our new car, we were not so well-prepared for this race back at the factory. All-in-all, I am very happy that we put together a good short-notice plan to run here. It has taught us a valuable lesson about planning for future races.
“Bourdais lost his first two runs because of the
Force India cars, and then it is very difficult to commit yourself fully on the third run. I guess he won’t be going to India for a holiday any time soon! Vettel might have found another tenth, but not another position and he was brave enough to go over the limit at turn eight, giving it more than the car could deal with.”
Mike Gascoyne [Force India F1 – chief technical officer]:
“I think in Giancarlo’s case he got the most out of the car today considering his penalty. Adrian had a small lock-up on his last run which cost him some time, but overall that is where the car is on this type of track. We’ve shown that our race pace can be more competitive than the one-lap pace, so we can certainly look to race the cars in front of us tomorrow.”
Hirohide Hamashima [Bridgestone – director of motorsport tyre development]:
“The difference between the two compounds was quite small today, but the medium compound was the faster. The circuit has improved from yesterday, despite the rain we have seen, but there is still not as much grip as we would expect.
