24/10/2012
NEWS STORY
This week the sport returns to New Delhi for the second occasion of the Indian Grand Prix, where the Marussia F1 Team will be looking to consolidate 10th place in the Constructors' Championship and continue to put mileage on its most recent car developments. Once again, Timo Glock has the upper hand in terms of experience of the circuit, while Charles Pic will no doubt relish the challenge of yet another new track in his debut season.
Timo Glock: "India, in my opinion, is a fantastic track. As soon as we did our first practice runs at the Buddh International Circuit last year, I enjoyed it straight away. There are so many special sections to the track, especially Turn 3, which is a very extreme corner. You have to completely turn into the steering wheel, followed by a very long straight. I'm excited to see what we will achieve there this year there, however with the long straight the KERS factor will again play an important role. Of course, we will try to get the best out of our package and achieve a two-car finish."
Charles Pic: "Of the circuits I would be racing for this first time this season, this is definitely one of a few that I have been particularly looking forward to. The track is very interesting with some striking features, and it seems to have been widely praised in 2011. I have done a lot of work in the simulator to prepare and I can appreciate the parallels with Spa; it looks very fast and free-flowing. I think the long straight will be a challenge for us because we don't have KERS, but we did a good job of achieving a good balance across the whole lap in Korea, so we will see how well the package works for us this weekend. This is my first trip to India - again, something I am looking forward to. 2012 has been a year of new and exciting experiences and I still have four new circuits to look forward to."
John Booth, Team Principal: "We were all pleasantly surprised by the Buddh International Circuit last season, when we raced there for the very first time. It's a fascinating blend of some of the very best features from circuits across the whole calendar, most notably Spa. The track is quite a technical challenge in terms of setting the car up and, from a driver's perspective Timo had nothing but praise for it last year. Charles of course faces another Friday of acclimatisation, but he is really enjoying the challenge and is pushing himself hard. So we head to New Delhi this week hoping to benefit from the experience gained in 2011 and optimistic that we can keep delivering strong two-car finishes in the remaining races, to reflect our development progress and help us to keep a firm grip on 10th position in the Constructors' Championship."