TV unilaterals
Q:
Lewis, pole position for the second time in a row. Another great weekend for you?
Lewis Hamilton:
Yeah, so far it has been a pretty decent weekend. The team have done a great job in improving the car again, even from the last race and so the pace of our car is great and I think it is a great day to have me and Heikki one two. I think it is about time we did that for the team. I think we have both done a great job. It is very satisfying, you know. We were quickest throughout testing yesterday and then also today. Q2 looked a bit close but I think it was just tyre dependent. We made the right choice at the end, so I am very, very happy.
Q:
It looked like quite a difficult tyre choice from your point of view?
LH:
In P3 we were quickest on the softer tyre, the super soft. We had planned to use the softer tyre for Q3 but I think the track temperature was up from 37 degrees to 41 or something, so it was having a big effect on the tyres, therefore it was the safer option to use the harder tyre. I think it is a stronger tyre to be able to use and it doesn’t seem to grain as much as the softer tyre, so it worked out really well for me. I think there was a little bit of time lost in the second sector of my lap but I was still very, very happy with it.
Q:
Talk us through that time lost in the second sector.
LH:
Felipe doesn’t believe it but that’s good for me. I have got a little bit of time to get still. The car was great. Sector one was really good, very strong, and I just got to turn four, the quick left, which was fine but when I got back to turn five I locked up the right front wheel and it pushed me on a little bit, so I lost a little bit of time on the way in. It might be half-a-tenth, it might be tenth, but fortunately I was able to save it and finish the rest of the lap and the rest of the lap was very, very good. I think Heikki was quicker than me in the last sector, so he is pushing me hard, but that’s good.
Q:
Heikki, celebrating your new contract and a great performance to be on the front row.
Heikki Kovalainen:
Yeah, absolutely. The car has been feeling strong the last few races and I think as Lewis said we have been improving since the last test and all the way through the weekend more and more the package, so it was just a matter of nailing it in qualifying. Like he mentioned it was difficult to choose the right tyre. Also myself I was planning to use the softer one with the heavier fuel load in the last part of qualifying but we changed our mind when everyone else went quick with the harder tyre and maybe with the conditions changing the harder tyre was the favourite. But apart from that it is a great effort from everybody and tomorrow should be an interesting race.
Q:
How do you see the track evolving? What are the weather conditions going to be like? What is the tyre choice going to be like?
HK:
I think the weather prediction is very difficult to say. All we can say is that it is going to be hot. There shouldn’t be any rain, maybe a little bit overnight, but tomorrow should be dry. I think we are going to see a circuit evolving towards the end of the race. It is going to get grippier and grippier and the off-line is going to get dirtier, so we just can’t put the wheel off the line. That is going to be crucial tomorrow.
