Saturday: At Caterham, Ericsson misses out on Q1, Kobayashi ahead of Chilton
A hydraulic leak problem for Marcus Ericsson prevented him from setting a time during Q1. Meanwhile, Kamui Kobayashi managed to get ahead of Marussia's Max Chilton. The team is optimistic about gaining positions in the race.
Kamui Kobayashi (No. 10) – 20th and 20th
The Japanese driver was complaining of understeer in FP3, a problem resolved ahead of qualifying. It was then other issues that prevented him from doing better than 21st on his final fast lap: « I think I got everything I could out of the car: the balance gave oversteer in the last sector and at the end of the lap, tire degradation came into play and I was struggling with the rear. So I couldn’t find any more time. »
He is counting on the weather to change things up: « The weather might be a bit different from the weekend so far and hopefully, it will be another crazy race! That would give us a chance, but no matter what happens, we will keep pushing with the aim of leaving Germany having had a good race. »
Marcus Ericsson (No. 9) – 21st and no time [22nd on the grid]
Due to a hydraulic issue that occurred fifteen minutes before the end of the last free practice session, the Swede was unable to defend his chances in Q1 as he explains: « Unfortunately, this issue, confirmed by Renault Sport F1 as a hydraulic throttle leak, meant that I couldn’t run in qualifying, which is obviously disappointing. The guys in the garage really did everything to fix it, which is even more difficult in the German heat, but they couldn’t. »
He states having felt an improvement in the car’s behavior: « Overall, the car gave me a better impression here and if we can have a problem-free race, I want to make it the first of a series of better races for the entire team. »
