Source: lotusf1team.com
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An eventful weekend for Kimi continued in qualifying this afternoon at Suzuka ; the Finn showing strong pace but spinning out on his final flying lap to leave a bit of work to do, but plenty of potential for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Q: Kimi ; after a difficult start to the weekend are you satisfied with P8 on the grid ?
KR: Looking at how difficult this weekend has been with all the problems on Friday and this morning, I think today was okay in terms of car performance. For sure we could have been further up the grid if it wasn’t for my mistake on the last lap, but I’d rather be a bit lower down the grid knowing we have the speed to do better than be higher up and slow. The Red Bulls were much faster than us today, but right now we’re trying to gain points on Fernando [Alonso] so being close to him is the most important thing.
Q: What happened on that Q3 lap ?
KR: I pushed a bit too much and spun, simple as that. It’s a shame as the lap could have put us in a better position but it was my mistake. Hopefully tomorrow we can have a good race and go from there.
Q: You looked considerably more comfortable in qualifying than you have done so far ; how are you feeling for tomorrow’s race ?
KR: Suzuka is a nice circuit but it’s not the easiest if your car is not working as you want it. Luckily we managed to get the setup right in the end and the car was good in qualifying. I haven’t run with high fuel or done a long run on the soft tyres yet after the problems yesterday but I imagine that should be fine. We know we have the speed in the car and our race pace is usually better than in qualifying, so hopefully we’ll finish better than where we start.
October 6, 2012 | Categories: F1, Interviews, Kimi Räikkönen, Qualifying | Leave a comment
Source: autosport.com | lotusf1team.com | twitter
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A tightly contested qualifying session at Suzuka this afternoon saw Kimi and Romain comfortably progress to the final pole position battle ; eventually claiming P8 / P5 in the standings respectively.
Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05
Position : Q1 – P4 / Q2 – P3 / Q3 – P8
Best Time : Q1 – 1:32.221 / Q2 – 1:31.826 / Q3 – 1:32.208
Laps Completed : Q1 – 7 / Q2 – 6 / Q3 – 5
Key Moments :
Q1 : 00mins : Install lap ; new hard tyres
Q1 : 09mins : Out for 2 flying laps ; P8 in the early stages
Q1 : 14mins : Fresh soft rubber ; strong lap to take P1
Q1 : 20mins : Ends the session in P4
Q2 : 03mins : Solid first run on scrubbed softs puts the Finn into the top 10
Q2 : 07mins : Brand new softs on ; instant sector improvements throughout final lap
Q2 : 15mins : Chequered flag ; progresses to Q3 in P3
Q3 : 00mins : Sighter lap on used soft tyres
Q3 : 07mins : Fresh softs for one final attempt at the top slot
Q3 : 10mins : Spins out and into the gravel at Spoon curve ; recovers but potential best lap lost
Q3 : 10mins : Final result ; P8
Summary:
- Warm, dry conditions throughout ; slightly cooler than Friday due to slightly overcast skies
- Romain reported mild understeer in Q1 ; this was corrected for the remaining sessions
- Both drivers easily progressed to the final Q3 session
- Kimi spun off at T13 (Spoon curve) on his final lap in Q3 ; sector times suggest he could have been in the top 4 had the lap been completed
- Romain lost a small amount of time in sector 1 ; otherwise may have been a place higher in the final standings
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.839s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m31.090s + 0.251
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.294s + 0.451 *
4. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m31.700s + 0.861
5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m31.989s + 1.059
6. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.022s + 1.183
7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m32.114s + 1.275
8. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m32.208s + 1.369
9. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.327s + 1.488
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m32.272s Gap **
11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.293s + 0.792
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m32.327s + 0.826
13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.469s + 0.968
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m32.512s + 1.011
15. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.625s + 1.124
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m32.954s + 1.453
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.368s + 1.867
Q1 cut-off time: 1m33.370s Gap *
18. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m33.405s + 1.376
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m34.657s + 2.628
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m35.213s + 3.184
21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m35.385s + 3.356
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m35.429s + 3.400
23. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m35.432s + 3.403
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m36.734s + 4.705
* - Five place grid penalty
Lotus team quotes:
Kimi Raikkonen – 8th: “I spun. I was on a good lap and I was pushing – maybe a little too hard – and lost the rear. It’s a shame as the car feels the best it has all weekend. If the car’s good tomorrow we should be able to move forwards. Let’s see what happens.”
Romain Grosjean – 5th: “Yesterday we had two tricky sessions, so to have both cars in Q3 is a good recovery. We knew it would be very tight in qualifying and I think we could maybe have been one place higher with a cleaner run through the first sector, but the leaders were too quick today. We’re lacking a little bit of downforce at the moment, but with a few minor adjustments overnight and the right strategy I think we can take home a good haul of points tomorrow.”
Video:
October 6, 2012 | Categories: F1, Kimi Räikkönen, Qualifying, Video | 4 Comments
Source: autosport.com | lotusf1team.com | twitter
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A slightly cooler but equally as bright start to day two at Suzuka as Kimi and Romain worked through a raft of setup options to finish the morning in P12 / P7 respectively after the final practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.
Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05
Position : P12
Fastest Lap : 1:33.224
Laps Completed : 14
Key Moments :
00mins : Install run on a new set of hard tyres
12mins : Brief opening run ; reports excessive sliding from the rear
31mins : Second dose of track action with roll bar changes ; still not comfortable with the rear
41mins : Third crack of the whip ; tweaked setup does not do the trick, with heavy front and loose rear end now on the cards
54mins : Final attempt ; soft tyres and yet more mechanical adjustments see the Finn immediately climb into the top ten despite not getting a clean lap
Summary:
- Following a number of incidents during Friday practice, the entry to T13 [Spoon Curve] was modified to ensure the run-off astroturf sat level with the track
- Only one minor interruption to proceedings as Nico Hulkenberg planted his Force India in the wall on exiting Degner 2
- Both drivers used the silver marked hard compound Pirelli tyre for the majority of the session, with the yellow marked soft appearing briefly in the closing stages
- Kimi ran through a number of setup changes – predominantly to roll bar settings – in an attempt to create a more stable rear end to the car
- Romain reported understeer in the early stages, which was seemingly cured with a front wing change
- Both drivers completed practice starts at the end of running in preparation for Sunday’s race
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.136 16
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m32.371s + 0.235 19
3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.824s + 0.688 12
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.918s + 0.782 22
5. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.920s + 0.784 18
6. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.924s + 0.788 14
7. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m33.008s + 0.872 20
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.025s + 0.889 15
9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m33.094s + 0.958 16
10. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m33.160s + 1.024 15
11. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m33.184s + 1.048 13
12. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m33.224s + 1.088 14
13. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.56$s + 1.433 13
14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.722s + 1.586 17
15. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m33.899s + 1.763 22
16. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m33.984s + 1.848 18
17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m34.023s + 1.887 18
18. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m34.369s + 2.233 11
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m35.568s + 3.432 18
20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m36.355s + 4.219 17
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m36.389s + 4.253 11
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m36.517s + 4.381 17
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m36.649s + 4.513 11
24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m36.875s + 4.739 15
October 6, 2012 | Categories: F1, Kimi Räikkönen, Practice | Leave a comment
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