Staying focussed - Piquet Jr.
The ING Renault F1 Team prepares for the seventh round of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship: the Canadian Grand Prix. As the young driver didn't collect points in the first six races of the season, the pressure on Piquet starts to rise. The Brazilian however remains focussed on the job.
"Monaco is without doubt the most difficult track of the year. We had some problems in qualifying, but the start of the race went well and so I take some positives from that. Montreal will be an easier circuit and I am feeling confident, so I hope that I can go there and deliver a solid race."
Montreal is a low downforce circuit, and it will be the first time that we will see the R28 in this configuration. How do you think the car will behave?"It is difficult to say, to be honest. I hope that the car will handle well and that we can be competitive for the whole weekend. The team has made a lot of progress since the start of the year – we had new parts in Barcelona and we are trying to continue this progress and to always learn about the car to keep moving forward. We have to work hard in Friday practice with the set-up and hopefully get a positive start to the weekend."
You prepared for the Canadian Grand Prix during a test session at the Paul Ricard circuit two weeks ago. What areas will you concentrate on when we get to Montreal to improve the car?"It rained when we were working for Montreal and we were not able to do as much running as I would have liked. All we were able to do really were some practice starts. I still don’t know what my programme will be for Friday, but I will try my best to improve the car and will work closely with my engineers to approach this weekend in the best way possible, as well as maximising my time on track. My priority will be to learn the circuit quickly as possible."
Exactly, you have never driven in Canada. Have you done any special preparation for this race?"No. Nothing specific. I have tried to approach this race calmly and remain focussed, as I have done for each race. My goal will be to learn the track quickly and to get comfortable with the car. Then I must make the most of each session to optimise the set-up of the car and to be in good shape for a strong qualifying session."
