Fahrerstimmen – Tag 2

“Qualifying is an intense experience and, as drivers, we all put a huge amount of pressure on ourselves, but it’s probably the part of the race weekend I most enjoy. On my quickest lap in Q3, I lost a little time in the final corner– maybe a tenth and a half - so it’s massively encouraging to still be in the position I’m in. It’s great for the team to have another one-two, too: that’s a huge achievement from everybody, but we just need to make sure we keep pushing because the guys behind us won’t give up. Tomorrow, there’s a long haul down to Turn One, but I’ll be making sure to get a good launch and stay ahead cleanly. Anyway, the key will be to look after your tyres in the race - they’ll have a tough time, especially on 150kg of fuel. But we’ve hopefully got a car that has better race pace than it does qualifying pace. It’s been a good weekend for the team so far, but we’ll keep pushing massively for another strong result tomorrow.”

“Qualifying has been pretty good to me in the last two races. We’ve worked well as a team, and it’s always nice when your engineer cues up on the radio at the end of Q3 and you can hear all the mechanics in the background cheering. I was pretty happy with my quick lap but it’ll be a long, hot afternoon tomorrow so I’ll be working hard to ensure I’m properly prepared and hydrated for the race. This place is so physically tough - not just on the cars and drivers, but it’s tough on the mechanics too - they’re wearing fireproof race suits during the pit stops, which people often forget, so hopefully they’re fit and ready for some strong pit stops tomorrow. For the strategists too, the heat and humidity are so high that you really don’t know how the tyres will work and what strategies will best play out in the race. We’ve really got to be on your toes. Anyway, the most important thing is that we’re on the front row. It’s a long race tomorrow = I think anybody in the top four has a chance of winning this race, but our long-run pace in practice was reasonably consistent and I think we’ve got a lot of confidence as a team in what we’re doing.”

Michael startet beim zweiten Saisonlauf in Malaysia als Dritter in den Grand Prix am Sonntag. Bereits in Q1 belegte der MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Pilot nach fünf gefahrenen Umläufen den zweiten Platz. Im zweiten Qualifying-Segment konnte der Rekordweltmeister mit Rang vier direkt hinter Nico in den finalen Abschnitt aufrücken. In diesem platzierte er sich mit anderthalb Zehntelsekunden Rückstand auf die Spitze bei einem schnellen Versuch auf den weichen Reifen schlussendlich in der zweiten Startreihe. Insgesamt legte der Kerpener im Zeittraining 14 Runden auf dem 5,543 km langen Kurs außerhalb von Kuala Lumpur zurück. "Ich bin mit meiner Rückkehr in die Top-3 heute mehr als glücklich. Möglich gemacht haben das unsere Jungs zuhause in den Fabriken in Brackley und Brixworth - sie haben hervorragende Arbeit geleistet", freute sich Michael nach dem Zeittraining. "Erstmals seit über fünf Jahren wieder hier zu sitzen, fühlt sich sehr gut an", lachte der 42-Jährige, der zuletzt beim Großen Preis von Japan 2006 als Zweiter unter das Führungstrio bei einem Formel 1-Qualifying gefahren war. "Noch wichtiger wäre es aber natürlich, auch morgen hier zu sitzen - ich werde mit Sicherheit mein Bestes geben, um auch das zu schaffen", versprach der MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Fahrer. "Gemessen an unserer letztjährigen Position ist das doch eine ganz schöne Leistung und besonders freue ich mich darüber hier in Malaysia, beim Heimrennen unseres Hauptsponsors PETRONAS", so der Rekordweltmeister, der anfügte: "Gerne würde ich mich auch bei Mercedes-Benz mit einem guten Resultat bedanken. Sie haben mich immer unterstützt."

“It wasn’t too bad, we had a reasonable run. In Melbourne we were a bit stronger in the race than in qualifying and looking at the gap to pole today, it seems we are two or three tenths off, which is a step in the right direction. We will re-group and have a look at how we go tomorrow. We’ve made progress with the car from Melbourne though. It’s tight between the first four rows, there’s some very good performances going on from quite a few teams – it’s good for the fans.”

“We didn’t feel so good on the medium compound tyre, so we decided to go onto the harder tyre for the final lap, which was a step forward. I didn’t feel that good in the car and was struggling to find the balance, so I didn’t get everything out of it for one flying lap. There’s not been much time to react since Australia – only one week. The McLarens were strong in Australia and they are strong here, so they are the ones to beat. I think in race trim we might look a bit better, but nonetheless I think you can see that we don’t have the easiest car to drive, we are aware of that and are pushing very hard.”

"It's great to have both cars in Q3, and I'm really pleased to have been part of the top ten in both of my first two races. The team has done a great job to get the most out of the car, and we can be really pleased that we're fighting for the top positions. It's going to be an interesting race tomorrow, and hopefully we can move up even further. You never know what will happen with the weather here, our pace is not too far off the leaders and it will be a long race, so anything is possible. In these conditions managing the tyres is crucial. Qualifying is one thing, but the race will be a whole other matter. I'm looking forward to the race, if we can finish in the top five that would be great, but the most important thing is to get my first points of the season."

Nico konnte sich im Qualifying zum Großen Preis von Malaysia den siebten Startplatz für das Rennen am Sonntag sichern. Der MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Fahrer zog nach nur vier gefahrenen Umläufen in Q1 mit Rang vier mühelos in den nächsten Abschnitt ein. Anschließend fuhr er im zweiten Qualifying-Segment mit einer Zeit von 1:36.996 Minuten die drittschnellste Sessionzeit und rückte in den finalen Teil des Zeittrainings vor. In Q3 platzierte sich Nico im F1 W03 mit einem einzigen Versuch auf den weichen Pneus auf dem achten Platz. Durch eine Strafversetzung für Kimi Räikkönen rückt er im Grid am Sonntag aber noch eine Position nach vorne. "Ich wäre natürlich gerne ein bisschen weiter vorne in der Startaufstellung gestanden. Leider habe ich auf meiner fliegenden Runde aufgrund einer schlechten ersten Kurve aber etwas Zeit verloren", erklärte der 25-Jährige nach dem Qualifying. Seinem kleinen Verbremser in der ersten Kurve seien in der Folge auch die Vibrationen geschuldet, die ihn auf dem Rest der Runde weitere Zehntel gekostet hätten. Für das Rennen war Nico aber dennoch frohen Mutes. "Ich bin ganz zuversichtlich, dass wir uns morgen gut schlagen können, da wir an diesem Wochenende hart an unserer Rennpace gearbeitet haben", so der MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Pilot. "Ich hoffe, ich kann ein paar Plätze gutmachen und vor unseren malayischen Fans und unserem Partner PETRONAS einige wertvolle Punkte einfahren."

“It was a good qualifying, because I think we got everything we could out of the car. I had a KERS problem on my only run in Q3, but I don’t think it cost me any places, but it would definitely have made the gap to pole look more realistic. If it was to rain, it will take a lot of luck to pinpoint the right moment to change tyres: it only takes a little to drop a dozen seconds or so and we will need total concentration to get everything right. A dry race will require just as much concentration to maximise the performance of the car and tyres which, at this track, degrade a lot. We must try and bring home points that could be significant for the championship. The start and the first corner will be complicated, because so much is at stake then. We know we have a lot of work to do, especially on the aerodynamics of the car. Here, the performance is slightly better than in Australia, which proves we are working in the right direction, but obviously we must move on in leaps and bounds if we want to fight for the front rows. A new car in Barcelona? No, there’s no truth in that. Clearly we are pushing a lot on car development, which is as it should be, but in a consistent fashion with no revolutionary changes. At the moment, this car has many problems, but as a result, it also has a big margin for improvement.”

„Ich bin sehr froh, dass wir es in Q3 geschafft haben. Angesichts der Schwierigkeiten, die wir gestern mit der Fahrzeugbalance hatten und die wir uns nicht komplett erklären können, haben wir als Team viel erreicht. Ich denke auch, dass unser Auto noch immer im Renntrimm stärker ist als im Qualifying, für den Grand Prix morgen haben wir also noch Potenzial. Aus irgendeinem Grund ist es schwierig, mit den Medium-Reifen ordentlich Grip zu finden, aber die Abstimmungsänderungen, die wir nach dem dritten freien Training gemacht haben, halfen etwas. Das Rennen wird hart – für das Auto, für die Reifen und für uns Fahrer. Ich werde kämpfen und so viele Punkte wie möglich heimbringen.“

"The car was working well today. Unfortunately, I made a couple of mistakes on my fastest lap which probably cost a couple of tenths. Without that, we were in with a shout for pole today. I got a little bit sideways at the exit of turn nine and we lost some time, but that's how it goes sometimes. We had some issues with KERS yesterday, but there was no repeat today; the car worked exactly as it should and it felt good. It's a shame we have a penalty on the grid but the car works well. Today was definitely a positive day. Tomorrow we start from tenth and will try to improve from there."

In Q2 I made a mistake at Turn 11 and ran wide, picking up a bit of damage. We knew it would be difficult to get into Q3 today, but we have good race pace. It will be tough tomorrow, but our car looks consistent on longer runs so I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“Clearly, I can’t be happy with twelfth place, but we know that, at the moment, we do not have a very competitive car: getting through to Q3 is very difficult and today I could only get close to this target. Yesterday and today in FP3, I was not satisfied with the balance of the car, but we managed to improve it for qualifying, which leaves me feeling confident for the race and for the future. I think we have begun to get a better understanding of how this F2012 works and that is positive. Tomorrow will be a very hard race, where tyre degradation will make itself felt and there will also be the threat of rain hanging over it. I hope I can get a better result than this twelfth place. Pressure? It comes from own will to always do the maximum and when I don’t manage it, I am the first to be unhappy.”

We were pushing hard today but there is definitely still more performance in the car. It was a tough session with such a close grid but we are getting closer. We have a good car, so we will now work out the best strategy to move forward in the race tomorrow.

“We definitely improved the car between final practice and qualifying, but it was a tough session and it got quite a bit warmer during the two hours between qualifying and practice. My laps in Q2 were good and I got sectors one and two right, but I maybe lost out in the final sector, which I never really maximised. I think P14 is a reasonable place to start and hopefully our race pace and tyre management will pay off tomorrow. The other variable is the weather because there is always a high risk of showers late in the afternoon.”

“Today’s performance was okay, but obviously not as good on paper as last Saturday when I was in Q3. Looking at the times, it’s very close so a tenth of a second might have made a difference of a few positions. Having said that, the people behind me are quite close as well. I think we are more or less where we thought we would be, as we expected Q3 to be a more difficult target here than in Melbourne. I am reasonably happy with the lap I did, which was pretty clean and I am not kicking myself thinking I could have done better. Hopefully, we have a good package for the race and I will be trying to nose into the points. We’ve got 56 laps to make up position and yesterday, our long run performance wasn’t bad. But if it rains, then it’s anyone’s game and there will be more opportunities, so that could help.”

“You only have to look at the times to see how close things were today. Half a tenth would have given me two or three places, while finding a tenth would have put me twelfth on the grid. To be honest, though, I don’t think there was any more to come because I pretty much got the maximum from the car. Now it’s all about racing well and using the strategy to try and come away with a result. Having already missed most of the race last weekend in Melbourne, it almost feels like the first race of my season, so hopefully I can go the distance and have a strong performance. Tyre degradation will be a key factor in the race and the chance of rain could also mix things up.”

„Ich hatte kein spezielles Problem auf meiner letzten Runde in Q2, keinen Verkehr oder Fahrfehler. Aber ich konnte mit den Medium-Reifen keinen Grip spüren. Wir hatten gestern mit der Fahrzeugbalance stark zu kämpfen, und heute im dritten freien Training war es besser. Aber die Änderungen, die wir dann für das Qualifying vorgenommen haben, gingen anscheinend in die falsche Richtung. Mit Blick auf das Rennen denke ich, dass der Kurs zwar grundsätzlich nicht so schlecht ist zum Überholen, aber ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob wir auf den Geraden schnell genug sein werden.“

“Of course I am a bit disappointed with this result. I made a mistake at the first corner, having a massive lock-up on a front wheel. That created so much vibration that I had to come back to the pits and that was my qualifying over. Looking for something positive, at least it means we have saved one set of new Option tyres for the race. There’s also a chance of rain for tomorrow so anything could happen, but whatever the conditions, I feel our car can be competitive in race trim. Compared to Melbourne, the car is pretty much the same so the difference in qualifying result between there and here is down to the fact the mid-field is so close and, as I was not able to do a time on the Option that explains my grid position.”

"We had quite an aggressive strategy here for qualifying but it didn't quite pay off. I haven't really had a good balance on the car in either FP3 or the quali runs and I think we need to spend a bit more time looking at how to get the most out of the tyres. Now I'm looking forward to tomorrow. The car felt great last Sunday and on the long runs we've done here it's been more settled, so we'll aim to have a good start, avoid any problems in the first couple of corners and get on with the fight ahead."

“It was quite a tough, difficult day for me today. The car was very good this morning on prime tyres and I had a good feeling for it, so I was quite confident for us on our option tyre run - the medium - in FP3 to see how much that would bring us forward. For some reason though I struggled massively with the tyre, just like yesterday, and I completely lost the balance of the car. I went slower on the Medium, compared to anyone else, so that was a bit of a shocker. I managed to do two good laps but didn’t really have the confidence with the tyre. I made two little mistakes and this cost me a tenth or two. The team has done a great job again and another weekend without any technical problems so far, so we will see for the race now.”

“For me it was a good qualifying and another good day generally. I am a little bit closer to Timo than Australia and that is the best target I have for now. I think there is still a couple of tenths to find but overall a positive step. I think it will be a tough race tomorrow; today was just a few laps, whereas tomorrow is 56. The weather is still uncertain also, so I think it will be interesting for everyone. A good job by the team in the conditions.”

"It was a good day. From the first lap in the morning I felt that the car had improved notably and we improved our times significantly. We’ve lowered our time by more than a second from yesterday to today and every time we modify something new we’re going quicker. We could have improved our times even more during the qualifying session. I was only able to do one lap but it was enough. The important thing was to qualify and we did. The team has proved that in a short amount of days it managed to have the DRS ready and improve the power steering and other aspects of the car. We’ve taken a huge stride and I’m very satisfied because of that. Now we have to see how tomorrow goes in long distance because it will be the first time we string so many laps together, which won’t be easy in this weather”.

"The conditions changed a lot from the morning and the track was much more slippery but we qualified for the race which was our first objective for this weekend and a positive step from Australia. We had to change our strategy a little bit today because of some heating issues, and it worked, but now we must focus on overcoming those issues and aim to finish the race. It would be good for us if it rained because that keeps the car a bit cooler but, no matter what, we’ll have to give it our best and try to put in a good performance”.

"That was an odd qualifying session for me. I know there's more time in the car because I definitely lost time on the second run on the options. I made a couple of small errors and felt the rear grip just wasn't quite there, so there was more to come, but just not today. Tomorrow I have to make sure I get past the cars in front as quickly as possible and get on with my race. The rain that's been predicted hasn't fallen during a session yet but who knows what could happen tomorrow. It's always interesting here and with the conditions we have it'll be all about making sure we get to the end of the race and see where we are."