15/06/2009
NEWS STORY
Fernando, you missed out on points in Turkey - sum up your feelings for us?
Fernando Alonso: It was a really frustrating race for the team. The track conditions were poor at the start of the weekend and so we had to work hard to find the right balance with the car. In qualifying we decided it was best to run with less fuel to get a good grid position, but that meant I was lighter than the cars around me. If you pit early you're always at risk of getting stuck in traffic when you rejoin, and that's exactly what happened to me. I pushed hard in the race, but we could only manage tenth, which is a bit frustrating.
Do you believe the team can get back to the front in the second half of the season?
FA: I have a lot of faith in this team and I know that everybody is working hard to improve our situation. We've been together a long time and have shown before that we never give up. But we need to be realistic because all the other teams are pushing just as hard to develop their cars and so it's not easy to take a big step forward. We just need to keep adding parts at each race to make sure we can fight for points and hopefully podiums on a regular basis.
What's your state of mind as you approach the British Grand Prix?
FA: I remain optimistic and determined to get a better result at Silverstone. The R29 has always worked well in high-speed corners and so we should be more competitive this weekend. We will also have some new developments, which should give us some extra performance. In terms of the track, it's a great place to drive a Formula One car and as this is probably the last time we will race at Silverstone, I will make sure I enjoy the experience.
Nelson, you were out of luck in Turkey - tell us about your race?
Nelson Piquet: It wasn't a great weekend and my fate was pretty much decided by the brake problem I had in qualifying. After that we did our best to try and choose a strategy that would work for the race, but we knew it would be difficult to score points starting so far down the grid. However, I still took some positives from the weekend as we found quite a good balance with the car and I had some fun battles in the race, especially with Lewis [Hamilton] when I overtook him at the end of the back straight.
After seven races this year, where do you feel you can improve as a driver?
NP: It's clear that I need to perform better in qualifying as starting so far down the grid is really hurting me in the races. The problem is that all the teams are so close this season and there are a lot of cars all fighting at the same level - a few tenths can be the difference between sixth and sixteenth on the grid, and so you really can't afford to make any mistakes in qualifying.
What are your expectations for Silverstone?
NP: It's a track that I love and hopefully we can go there and get a good result. It's the local race for Enstone and so we always have good support there and the British fans are really enthusiastic about Formula One. It almost feels like a home race for me as I've been living in the UK for five years now and it's a track where I raced a lot earlier in my career. As I've already said, qualifying will be crucial, especially due to the high-speed layout of the track which makes overtaking very difficult.