Caterham feels the improvements but has more in store
As the European GP got underway today, the Caterham squad once again felt improvement through aero updates and KERS maps. Both Hekki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov felt the benefits even if it was windier than expected at the usually warm Valencia circuit, with both drivers doing short and long runs throughout the day as usual.
Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “A pretty good Friday for me, with both sessions going to plan. In FP2 we ran a new version of the front wing and the initial feel it gave was good - it's too early to tell how much it's worth but it's a good sign that what was predicted in the factory seems to have worked on track. There's more to come for the next race but this looks like it could be a good step.”
Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “That was a positive Friday for us. FP1 started out with the track as green as we knew it would be, but that affects everyone the same so we got on with the programme and concentrated on finding a balance that would work once the grip levels improved. We were also looking at some new KERS maps that worked well, but perhaps would be better suited to a circuit that is less stop/start than Valencia. We’ll look again at that overnight and I’m sure we’ll find the right solution for this track in time for FP3.
“In FP2 we got through most of the plan, running on low and heavy fuel and on both tyre compounds and until we had a mechanical issue towards the end of the session the car felt good. We have brought a couple of updates here and it definitely felt better but we will see the full upgrade package at Silverstone. Still, it’s good to see us continuing to develop the car and to keep getting closer to the target this year, so I think qualifying and the race could both be pretty interesting for us.”
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "Valencia is another of the temporary street circuits and presents a similar challenge to what we faced in Melbourne. The drivers talk about this track being very stop / start as there are a number of long straights that end in first or second gear corners and that means one of our main focus areas is managing fuel consumption. The cars are constantly braking and having to use on / off throttle application which leads to high fuel consumption, up to around 2.7kgs a lap which is considerably more than we saw in Canada, for example.
“Today we’ve seen the sort of hot, dry weather we expect in Valencia, and stronger winds than normal, and they also contribute to the high consumption levels we see here. The temperatures are not expected to drop this weekend so having completed 103 laps in total on both cars today I think we have achieved what we set out to in the Friday sessions. This gives us enough data to be able to maximise our fuel usage in qualifying and the race, so this has been another positive Friday for us and the whole team.”
Mark Smith, Technical Director: “I am pleased with our performance today. Both drivers completed most of their planned programmes - we had a mechanical issue relating to KERS late on in FP2 on Vitaly's car, but he had run through his low and heavy fuel laps and had completed good mileage on both tyre compounds so we have not lost anything from his slightly shortened FP2.
"It is also good to see that the first set of upgrades we have brought here appear to be matching the targets we set for them. We will have more new parts for Silverstone, but it looks like we have made more progress here today so the aim is to maintain this momentum and see if we can keep closing the gap in qualifying tomorrow, and particularly in the race on Sunday.”
