06/09/2014
NEWS STORY
At the Autodromo di Monza today, the Marussia F1 Team's Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton ended the day in 20th and 21st positions respectively, after a disappointing qualifying ahead of Sunday's 53 lap Italian Grand Prix.
Jules Bianchi: "I'm disappointed, I have to say. It was very close between ourselves and the cars around us - just a tenth here and there - but we dropped behind a Caterham when we should be ahead. I think we were on the limit in terms of what we could do in qualifying, but I know we will be much better off for the race and we're close enough to the cars in front to get ahead. Tonight we will see what we can do in terms of giving ourselves the best strategy and do everything possible to get the best result tomorrow."
Max Chilton: "Today was a bit of a challenge. I was really quite happy with the car yesterday, on heavier fuel. After FP3 this morning we made a few changes and I think we went in the right direction, but perhaps not enough, as we just struggled. With our team in the mix with the Lotuses and the Caterhams, it looks like it's going to be a pretty close race. I think we can improve tomorrow and have a good fight with the cars around us."
John Booth, Team Principal: "Overall a very disappointing day but one we will need to bounce back from quickly. Throughout the sessions this weekend, and also in FP3, we were more competitive than we demonstrated in qualifying, although ultimately this is the session that counts. We have to accept the positions we are in and move forward. After the first run in qualifying both drivers were happy with the performance and balance of the cars. Going into the second run, had we made a normal progression we would have been fighting for position with the Lotuses but by not improving we allowed Kobayashi through. Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight we should have done three runs on the option tyre, however while it doesn't look like we will benefit from an extra set for the race compared with our competitors, we will be working hard on our strategy to try and make the best of things in the race tomorrow."
Check out our Saturday gallery, here.