Saturday: Caterham drivers victims of the red flag in Q1

Charles Pic – 20th and 20th [20th on the grid]:

The free practice 3 began with a car that was better balanced than on Friday, especially in the first sector. However, the traction wasn’t as good. To avoid compromising the aero balance found, we worked on the differential and brake balance for the second stint and it slightly improved things. We stuck to our usual plan and did a second stint on the hards and then switched to mediums, with a bit more front wing for the performance stint, but I couldn’t feel a real gain in grip with the mediums today, unlike on Friday. The car was understeering more, especially in the fast sections. Therefore, we made several changes before qualifying to address this.

During my first stint in qualifying, we went out on mediums for three timed laps, and the car immediately seemed better. We made a few adjustments during the lunch break, and the balance significantly improved. The first stint was good, but anticipating a better time, we opted for a final stint with a lap at the end of the session. Just after we exited the pits, the red flag was triggered. So we came back immediately, but we had enough time for an additional lap. Unfortunately, with the remaining time in the session when it resumed, we didn’t have enough space on the track even though I was four-tenths faster in my last fast lap. I ended up behind another car and couldn’t improve my time, which is unfortunate.

Giedo van der Garde – 19th and 21st [19th on the grid]:

« We started free practice 3 with a rather good balance. I was struggling at the entry of turns 11 and 16, and there was a bit of understeer with tire wear, but nothing to worry about. For the performance run, we made a final adjustment to the ride height and front wing to try to improve the car’s behavior at corner entry, and it seems to have worked slightly. The balance of the car improved, but we still needed to enhance its behavior at corner entry for slow corners. So that’s what we did during the lunch break to prepare for Q1.

We started qualifying with a stint of three timed laps on the mediums, and I was struggling to find a good rhythm. There was a lot of traffic on the track, and I didn’t have space in front of me, but the car was fast on the first lap, so we decided to go for a timed lap on the second stint. As soon as I went out, the red flag came out at the same time. So, I had to return to the pits, which meant we would struggle to get the best out of the tires when the session restarted. As soon as it restarted, we went out, but the tires were already worn, so I couldn’t get anything out of them. However, there are some penalties, which means I will start the race in a slightly better position, and with a start similar to those I’ve had recently, I’m confident we can get back to where we want to be on race day.