16/04/2011
NEWS STORY
Much cooler conditions than yesterday greeted the Marussia Virgin Racing team for the third Practice Session of the Chinese Grand Prix, with the air temperature at 15°C and track temperature at 25°C. After completing an early installation lap, both Timo Glock and Jerome D'Ambrosio waited for the track conditions to improve before returning to the track. With yesterday's issues resolved and with some set-up changes, Timo completed 17 laps and was more comfortable with the car before the Qualifying session, ending up 21st. Jerome was classified 22nd having completed 16 laps.
With the same cool weather conditions for Qualifying as in the morning, both drivers were soon out on track and were able to improve their morning times. They improved further on their second run and Jerome will start tomorrow's race from 21st position while Timo will be 22nd on the grid.
Timo Glock: "Overall a better day than yesterday because we were at least able to complete our programme, but we were not able to get the best result in Qualifying which is disappointing. I had some warm-up issues on the first run and the tyres were not working really at all on the second, so I have to think the changes we made between Free Practice 3 and Qualifying were not for the better. I think overall we went a little too conservative, but who knows? That might help us in the race. We'll have a good look at the data now and see what that tells us, then look to a good strategy for tomorrow and aim for the chequered flag."
Jerome D'Ambrosio: "I'm very happy. What I take away from today is that I continue to improve, and although I still have a lot to learn, I'm going in the right direction. That's the most important thing for me. It's still the beginning and I have a lot to do, but the way I'm working - and how everyone in the team is working - is good and the results are showing that the direction we are following is the right one. It was a good Saturday."
John Booth, Team Principal: "We have recovered well from a difficult start to the weekend and are a lot closer to where we expected as a result. Timo struggled with the tyres and had a lot more to come. We're hoping the setup will translate better to the race conditions tomorrow. Jerome did an exceptional job and everything went right for him. After a more difficult Free Practice 3 he brought it all back when it counted and he is really stepping up to the plate with each race. So generally a good few positives to give us some momentum for the race tomorrow when we'll be looking to make the most of our encouraging reliability by bringing both cars home."
To check out our Shanghai qualifying gallery, click here.