20/10/2007
NEWS STORY
It was yet another frustrating day for the Etihad Aldar Spyker Formula One Team in Sao Paulo, Brazil. After a challenging day in scorching temperatures Adrian Sutil and Sakon Yamamoto qualified for tomorrow's race in 21st and 22nd position respectively.
Adrian had set a promising time in the morning's practice session, just sixth tenths of a second from the top 12, however a fuel pressure problem cost him valuable track time. Unfortunately this problem then reoccurred in the first minutes of Qualifying after the German had recorded just one flying lap.
Sakon had a similarly productive morning, finishing just two tenths down from Adrian's time, but struggled in Qualifying with a car set-up he felt didn't quite work over one lap. He will start the final race of the season from 22nd position.
Adrian Sutil: Unfortunately we had a fuel pressure problem on my first run in Qualifying - the engine just cut out and I couldn't go on. It was the same issue we had in the morning, but then I stopped in the pit lane and my mechanics could push me back to the garage to get started again. In the afternoon I was on track and we couldn't do the same. Obviously it is a worry and something we need to sort out for the race, but I think we can get it right tomorrow.
Sakon Yamamoto: Obviously this Qualifying was disappointing. The grip level was lower than I expected and I changed the set-up for Qualifying and the race, but the set-up just didn't seem to work that well over one lap. On this point it's a shame, but I think this set-up will work better in the race so I want to push 100% and do my best race so far this season.
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: A disappointing Qualifying session. Adrian stopped on his first run with a fuel pressure problem, which was unfortunate as I think with the track improvement we could have picked up on a couple of places. Sakon struggled with less grip than this morning, but I am sure in the race we can be competitive with the group in front, so we have to look to pick up some places tomorrow.
To check out our Interlagos qualifying gallery, click here