Monaco GP: Thursday Quotes
“We had a difficult start to the weekend and I really didn’t feel comfortable in the car because of a simple lack of grip to begin with. So we made plenty of set-up changes and we found a significant improvement. By the end of P2, I was much happier and I would say there is more in the car as I had traffic and never really had a clean lap. We also suffered no problems or damage to the car which is a constant issue in Monaco. And let me say, it is great to drive on this track."
2 . L. Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes MP4-24
“Driving around Monaco is a spectacular sensation – you can’t compare it to any other circuit. You get such a huge buzz here; I love this place – it reminds me how much I love this sport, why I love racing and why I love Formula One. From today’s performance, I think Q3 is definitely possible on Saturday. I’m optimistic about shooting for the top five – I hope we can get there."
3 . R. Barrichello – Brawn Mercedes BGP 001
"We have had a good first day to start our weekend here in Monaco. I love driving the street track although it is lacking grip at the moment but this should improve in time for qualifying on Saturday. We were able to evaluate a lot of different things today with positive outcomes. I had some oversteer in the car but it was controllable and overall I am very satisfied with the balance. So we can be optimistic heading into the weekend although we expect a tough fight from our close competitors. We will need to work hard ahead of qualifying as it is so important to achieve a good grid position here."
4 . J. Button – Brawn Mercedes BGP 001
"We are going in the right direction following this afternoon's practice session however this morning proved quite challenging for me. I had rear locking in the low speed corners and understeer in the high speed corners and didn't feel quite comfortable in the car. However we were able to make some good set-up changes this afternoon and my last runs on the softer tires were much better. Achieving a good balance is very important here so we are going in the right direction. If we can keep making improvements then it should be a good weekend to come."
5 . F. Massa – Ferrari F60
“It’s hard to say if there’s been an improvement since Barcelona, but we are in amongst the other front runners, which is already a good sign. Everything went well from the start of the day, when we worked towards the race. From what we’ve seen today, our car seems to be quick and consistent in performance terms. In the past, I wasn’t particularly keen on this track, but more recently that has changed. Last year, I took pole and today I immediately felt comfortable, working on settings for the car, which we had never tried before. The softer tires are definitely quicker, but after ten laps or so, you start to lose the back end a bit. However, we must bear in mind that the track conditions change a lot from today to Saturday, so today’s results are not that representative."
6 . S. Vettel – Red Bull Renault RB5
“We had an engine failure in the morning, which cost us some track time. Things like that are important for the driver, as well as the car, as you need to get into a good rhythm round here. Nonetheless the boys fixed the car, which I think was quite tricky as some of the parts arrived last minute, so it wasn’t easy. But, we still managed to complete quite a few laps and get a lot of data – including a view on the different tire compounds, so I think we’re in decent shape, but of course we always want to be on top!"
7 . H. Kovalainen – McLaren Mercedes MP4-24
“Lots of traffic today – but that’s normal for Monaco. Today’s running tells us we’ll be more competitive here. The team has worked very well and my car was in good shape straight away this morning. The most important thing is that we’ve made consistent improvements – we’ve made good progress on the set-up and I’ve been dialing myself further into the car and the track on each run. While our car seems to behave well around here, there’s still some work to do – we won’t be able to do miracles over the weekend."
8 . K. Raikkonen – Ferrari F60
“We worked our way through the usual program for the first day of practice, based on evaluating the two different types of tire that Bridgestone has brought here and on finding the best set up on the car. I would say the car is handling reasonably well: there are still a few areas where we can improve but I am pleased with what we achieved today. Driving here is always a challenge, even if Sunday’s race can then be rather boring, with overtaking practically impossible and if you end up behind slower cars there is nothing you can do but wait for the pit stop."
9 . K. Nakajima – Williams Toyota FW31
“This morning was good but for reasons we will look at tonight, the afternoon session was a bit difficult in the car. So I am hoping we can establish what was happening and use third practice to make sure I am well prepared for qualifying."
10 . N. Piquet – Renault R29
“It always takes a few laps to get used to racing on the tight streets of Monaco, but after the morning session I was back in the groove. The car worked well today and we didn’t have any problems, which allowed us to complete a lot of laps.
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The track was dirty this morning and improved during the day, just as it always does in Monaco, but that made it difficult to evaluate the tires and the set-up changes we made. Overall though I think we are in reasonable shape for the weekend."
11 . F. Alonso – Renault R29
“Monaco on a Thursday is always more important for the drivers than for the team because it gives us time to get used to the circuit and feel comfortable in the car. We did quite a lot of laps today so it was useful for me and I’m happy with the car. I think that we are quite competitive, but qualifying will be the key to the race and our preparation today should help ensure we get the most from the car on Saturday."
12 . M. Webber – Red Bull Renault RB5
“It was a bit of a mixed bag today. We didn’t have a great run, reliability-wise, which was a first this season. There was a vibration in the rear of the car during this morning’s session so we stopped early, but the boys did an amazing job to get the car back out for the afternoon. I think it was a good recovery for us to do as many laps as we did. We didn’t get the ultimate lap time in the second session, as we were running under yellow flags at the end, but the long runs were good and we’ve gathered plenty of data to go through for Saturday. It looks very tight and competitive here, so it should be an exciting race."
13 . A. Sutil – Force India Mercedes VJM02
"Today was quite a normal practice day. The track was very slippery in the morning and it took quite some time to be able to push for a lap time. The car felt OK, reasonably balanced under the high downforce configuration, but the biggest problem we have at the moment is the rear tire graining. Both the soft and the super-softs seem to be really bad and after even a medium-length run the graining is so bad it really affects the balance of the car. I am confident we can find a solution for qualifying though – the extra day we have will help."
14 . J. Trulli – Toyota TF109
"We did our normal work of setting up the car and trying to find a good balance. Of course the track surface was dirty this morning and that meant there wasn't much grip. In second practice I had some problems with the tires and with degradation so we must look into that and work out a solution. We have plenty of work to do but here in Monaco we have an extra day to study the data and improve the set-up. We certainly won't be having a day off tomorrow."
15 . S. Buemi – Toro Rosso Ferrari STR4
“It was a good session and we tested everything we wanted to, which is positive. We are still lacking a bit of pace, but the track was improving towards the end of the session, and those who fitted new tires at that point were clearly quicker, which means there is some potential there. There is also potential in the car, so if we can put all the elements together for Saturday, it should be good. It is also positive that we had no problems with the car and that we didn’t crash, which is always a key to a good weekend here in Monaco. As for the tires, both types worked well, so now we need to improve our car set-up, even if some of the new parts we have here are also an improvement."
16 . S. Bourdais – Toro Rosso Ferrari STR4
“The car felt quite good on the short runs, but less so on the longer ones, when the car’s behavior made it difficult to sustain the lap times. We got through our work program for the day. We are suffering from a slight lack of pace, but overall we did the best we could in these two sessions. Now we must look at the data for Saturday and the race, because it looks as though we are going to have two different sets of requirements for the short and long runs, although it is not tire related. This is of course a special place to drive, although today it was a bit of a struggle to keep away from the barriers."
17 . N. Heidfeld – BMW Sauber F1.09
"After brake problems on both cars in the morning, the second session was okay for me. On the long runs I was lucky in terms of traffic, but it was the opposite when I was on new tires towards the end of the session. I lost time when I was stuck behind other cars, but even without this it doesn’t look as if this circuit is good for our cars. We will keep working on it.""
18 . T. Glock – Toyota TF109
"That was not an easy day for me. We tried out several mechanical and aerodynamic set-ups in the morning and then in the afternoon we spent more time looking at the tires. It's hard to say where we are at the moment. Overall, in terms of lap times it was not great but it's always tough to judge after practice. We need to work on getting better traction and getting the best out of the tires, which was a bit of a challenge in the afternoon. It's tricky but we have a lot of information to look at and we'll make improvements before qualifying."
19 . G. Fisichella – Force India Mercedes VJM02
"Not a bad start to the weekend. We used the morning session to check the set-up and the balance and then completed some longer runs in the afternoon when the track had a bit more rubber laid down. Like Adrian I had some issues with tire graining, particularly in the last five laps of my longer runs, and the car even felt like it was moving around even when going in a straight line. I didn't feel I got the best lap time today and there is certainly more to come."
20 . R. Kubica – BMW Sauber F1.09
"Today was extremely disappointing. We clearly lack outright performance and, due to the engine failure in the second session, I had far too little track time. There is nothing to add."