01/08/2008
NEWS STORY
iSport International - Karun Chandhok (5th) Bruno Senna (8th)
Obtaining a clear qualifying lap at the Hungaroring is equal parts luck and judgment - and iSport team-mates Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna were left to reflect on what might have been after today's closely fought 30-minute qualifying session at the tight, twisty 2.722-mile track.
Neither driver was able to fulfil his car's potential completely, but they will start tomorrow's 42-lap race from fifth and eighth positions.
Karun Chandhok: "I'm happy to be in the top five and I'm starting on the clean side of the grid, which is usually very important here. The car feels very good in terms of race pace and the only real problem was that I couldn't quite get a full feel for the grip level on my second set of tyres. There was the usual traffic, too, and I missed the last couple of minutes after spinning off. I was trying to avoid Jérôme d'Ambrosio, who was going slowly ahead of me, but I just clipped a kerb and that spun me around."
Bruno Senna: "Obviously eighth place isn't ideal, particularly at a place like this, but it isn't a complete disaster. My main championship rival Giorgio Pantano is only just ahead of me - and he's the man I most need to beat tomorrow. Come what may, I'm fairly sure I'll be able to make reasonable progress.
"I'm very happy with the car - it felt really good throughout the session and I know our pace is good on longer runs. It's inevitable that you are going to encounter traffic at this circuit and the biggest problem today was that I simply couldn't put together a good, clear lap when I put on my second set of fresh tyres. That's just the luck of the draw."
Trident Racing - Mike Conway (6th) Ho Pin Tung (17th)
Trident Racing ended up the qualifying session for the GP2 Series' Hungarian round with mixed feelings, as Mike Conway took the 6th spot on the grid, while Ho Pin Tung was forced to settle for 17th. The 30-minute session was highly eventful, and the definitive starting grid was set with a last-gasp shootout. Mike set an initial 6th place with his first set of fresh tires, and then confirmed his good potential by retaining the position. Ho Pin was quite unlucky in the closing stages, when he lost four spots after being caught up in traffic. The Chinese driver was also slowed down by the obstructive moves of Alvaro Parente, that cost him a clean attempt. The team's balance is still positive though. Both drivers will try to clinch a top spot tomorrow on Race 1, scheduled to start at 16:00 (GMT+2).
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Managing Director: We're really satisfied with how our qualifying session ended up: the team confirmed the good potential shown by our car and drivers during qualifying. Mike did an awesome job, profiting from a precise team strategy: we sent him on-track with old tires in the initial stages, mounting new tires while the majority of the rival cars were coming back to the pits. That allowed him to avoid traffic. We're sorry for Ho Pin. He clearly had the potential to take a top-10 position, as confirmed by his fastest split in the first track's sector, eventually bettered by the sole Grosjean. Traffic, and then a block by Parente forced him not to take advantage of his new tires, relegating him in the second half of the charts. We reported what happened to the stewards, who'll review what happened tomorrow morning. We hope for a strong race, and the starting position won't prevent us from scoring a top result. I wish to congratulate all the team's members. Their hard work confirmed Trident Racing as a top force on the medium-fast racetracks.
Mike Conway: The day had a positive start as we were able to complete the set-up work we scheduled. In qualifying the car was pretty balanced and had good traction. With the first set of tires I clocked the sixth best time, then confirmed it at the end with a slight improvement. It could have ended up even better, since a small mistake cost me 2 tenths of a second and a spot on row 2 was definitely in our frame. I'm expecting a long and tough race, especially from the physical point of view, as temperatures are quite hot out there.
Ho Pin Tung: I'm really disappointed about how qualifying ended up today. I'm persuaded that a top-10 position was a possible goal. The car was terrific, and I had all the necessary potential to clinch the first rows. Unfortunately, the high traffic literally wasted our possibilities. I didn't have a true chance to complete a clean lap, as I found slower cars in front all the time. I feel bad because I was fast; I clocked the fastest split in the first sector until Grosjean beat it in the closing stages. I hope to improve my position tomorrow and wash away today's disappointment.
Racing Engineering - Giorgio Pantano (7th) Javier Villa (18th)
Neither of the Racing Engineering drivers had the Qualifying results they were hoping for today at the Hungaroring following a very promising Free Practice session this morning.
Free Practice was held under clear skies and fortunately, for all concerned, the high temperatures expected at the Hungaroring did not materialise. Both of the Racing Engineering drivers were immediately on the pace continuing the good form they had shown at the last race in Germany as once again the Spanish team produced two very competitive cars. At the end of the session Championship leader, Giorgio Pantano, was once again right at the front with the second fastest lap of 1m 28.820s, just 0.023s away from the quickest time. Javier Villa was also amongst the fastest finishing the session in 7th place with a time of 1m 29.112s, just 0.292s behind his team-mate.
With such competitive times both men were looking to be amongst the very fastest with their Repsol and Telefónica supported Dallaras during the 30 minute Qualifying session. However, through no fault of their own, neither driver was able to set the sort of times they were looking for with Giorgio Pantano finishing 7th in 1m 28.203s, 0.421s away from pole position as traffic ruined both of his quick laps. Javier Villa found himself down in 18th place with a time of 1m 29.094s as a slipping clutch hampered any chances he had of setting a quick lap.
For tomorrow’s Feature Race Giorgio Pantano will be looking to avoid any incidents and gain as many places as possible to increase his point score in the Drivers Championship. Given the speed and experience of the Italian driver this season nobody would be surprised to see Giorgio on the podium at the end of the day. For Javier the aim is similar, with his car repaired he will need to keep out of trouble and try and move up as high as possible. In the past the young Spaniard has been known for his great drives through the field so it would be wrong to discount his chances of a point-scoring finish tomorrow. One advantage both drivers have is the proven reliability of the Racing Engineering cars as the Spanish team have not suffered a single mechanical failure in any of the races this season.
Alfonso de Orleans Borbón (team principal): "A pity about the qualifying. I am sure we could have done much better. In any case we have to look forward now and prepare things well for tomorrow's race. Although overtaking is very difficult here in Budapest, the race will be long and everything is possible. Thanks to the boys again for their work."
Javier Villa (driver car 11): "The engine change was good. In free practice I was 7th, only 3 tenths off first position. I thought we can improve even more for qualifying, but in my second lap the clutch, newly mounted for this weekend, started to slip and I couldn't do more."
Giorgio Pantano (driver car 12): "We were quite unlucky today as I found traffic on both my fast laps. I was not allowed to do any better as then the tyres went and I had no grip anymore. Therefore I couldn't improve the time. It’s a long race tomorrow and difficult for the drivers as well as the car. We have to just stay calm, do a good start and see what happens."
Super Nova Racing - Andy Soucek (13th) Alvaro Parente (15th)
The attention has turned to Budapest this weekend, as the GP2 Series moves into the seventh round of the season. Situated on the outskirts of the city, the Hungaroring is known as one of the most technical circuits on the calendar.
Qualifying 13th and 15th the Super Nova drivers were certainly physically tested around the demanding circuit, temperatures reaching 29° outside, but much higher in the car. Andy Soucek & Alvaro Parente completed 15 laps each, during the 30 minutes. Alvaro took a small detour off the track at turn 11, but managed to compose himself and continue on for the remaining of the session, setting some very quick times in sector one.
Twenty-four cars participated this afternoon, yet as always the fight for pole was fierce, with the top fourteen positions covered by just one second. It was Romain Grosjean, for ART that finally took pole position with a 1:27.782 lap.
There's heavy braking here, so at one of the lowest speed tracks of the season, tyre management will play an important role in the race tomorrow. And at a track known for rare overtaking opportunities, Super Nova must keep out of trouble & push forward in tomorrows Feature race to finish in the points, something the team are confident can be done.
Team Principal David Sears: "After an encouraging free practice things did not go according to plan in the official qualifying session. Andy Soucek slipped from 7th in free practice to qualify 13th, 0.9seconds off pole position. Alvaro Parente ended up two tenths slower than Andy in 15th place. Hopefully the engineers and drivers will come up with a better race set up to enable the team and drivers to get some points, in a long and hot race tomorrow."
Alvaro Parente: "It's hard to know what to say, it was a bad qualifying for me today. We need to find speed in the car in the second sector. This is really important. We need to find minimum speed in the corners and basically a quicker lap, but its so close here, anything can happen tomorrow!"
Andy Soucek: "Here in Hungary the times are always very close, the top 14 so tight, so a few tenths can really make all the difference, and push you up a few places. I was close to spinning a couple of times, and with the track being very narrow, and lots traffic, the combination just didn't work for us today. However the position is not so bad, and I am positive we can still finish in the top eight tomorrow, and score some points."
Durango - Davide Valsecchi (16th) Alberto Valerio (No Time)
At the end of qualifying, here at Hungaroring, Davide Valsecchi took P16 while Alberto Valerio, because of a technical problem occurred to his car, did not even clock a lap. But his new girlfriend Pamela is present here, so she gave him consolation. Davide’s sector times during his last flier were good enough to claim a top ten qualifying, but he had to abort his attempt because of the yellow flags.
Anyway Davide did not get angry too much and said: "It could got better this is sure, I mean my goal was the ninth or tenth position. And I was achieving it when I had to lift my right foot. But, I repeat, I was doing it so this confirms that I am again on the right road to competitiveness."