MOTOR SPORT CHINA GRAND PRIX:LEWIS HAMILTON is targeting a top-five qualifying place in this afternoon's Chinese Grand Prix qualifying sessions after poor performances in the grid shoot-out at the last two races robbed him any chance of podium finishes.
The British driver started from 11th and 20th place in Australia and Malaysia but the increasing pace of his McLaren meant he scrapped his way to two sixth-place finishes and after topping the practice times in Shanghai the 2008 champion admitted returning to the sharp end of tomorrow’s grid will crucial if he’s to stand a chance or taking major points away from China.
“You’ve seen our pace in the last two races,” he said. “It’s been pretty good. But we’ve come from the back. We’ve come from 11th up to the front and from 20th up to the front, so ideally we’d like to get into Q3 and have a top-five start tomorrow which would enable us to have a competitive run for the win.”
Delivering the quickest lap in yesterday’s afternoon session, after team-mate Jenson Button dominated the morning outing, was the ideal start and Hamilton added he is feeling happy with the performance of his car. “The day has been good. The car feels very nice to drive as it did in Malaysia,” he said. “We’ve made some subtle changes and the long runs feel pretty good. So I’ve come out of P1 and P2 with a positive feeling, but you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. We just need to focus on trying to get a much better qualifying position.”
Hamilton has had mixed fortunes in Shanghai. In his first outing, in 2007, he spun out in the rain on the pit-lane entry, an error that effectively ended his title challenge. The following year saw him take a comfortable win, finishing some 15 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. Last year, though, hampered by a poor car, he could do no better than sixth.
This time out he may have an added edge, the so-called F-Duct, a clever device fitted to his McLaren that allows the driver to channel the airflow to the rear wing by moving his body in the cockpit to open or close a vent on the nose of the car. The effect is to disrupt the airflow to the rear wing, reducing downforce and leading to an increase in top-line speed on straights. With China’s main straight one of the longest in F1, the advantage to Hamilton and Button could be considerable.
So much so both Mercedes and Ferrari are testing versions of the system this weekend, with Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher debuting solutions in yesterday’s practice sessions. Ferrari gained little insight, with Alonso experiencing an engine failure in the morning session, the second such problem after he retired from the race in Malaysia with a similar failure a fortnight ago. Mercedes, meanwhile, were guarded on whether they would race with the new system tomorrow, reserve driver Nick Heidfeld describing data gathered only as “promising”.
But even with the advantage on the straight, Hamilton will still have to contend with the supreme agility shown so far by Red Bull Racing’s car. Although hampered by technical problems in Bahrain and Australia, the RB6 has been in another league when it is reliable and in Malaysia a crushing one-two victory for Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber showed just how far ahead of the pack designer Adrian Newey’s machine is. Sepang winner Vettel, though, was still eyeing McLaren’s F-Duct avariciously.
“For sure with the system they have, it is an advantage on the straights – and we have seen it already this year.” said the German, who finished yesterday in fifth place. If they are behind you, and right behind you, it is probably not easy to defend. You could go down the inside, but it is a long straight here and they would have time to go around the outside. It’s something you have to have.”
Button though was adamant despite the speed advantage McLaren enjoyed yesterday, it is still likely to be Vettel and Webber setting the pace this afternoon and in tomorrow’s race. “They haven’t shown their hand, as they don’t on Friday, but they’re quick and you can tell from their long runs that they’re competitive. They’re still the team to beat.”
Michael Schumacher, fourth yesterday behind Button and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg echoed that saying he expected the pecking order to mirror that in Malaysia. “Obviously the weather will have a big impact, like in Malaysia. I think the ranking stays as it was before. We have made slight improvements with the car, but nothing major.”
One team attempting a major improvement yesterday was Scuderia Toro Rosso but with almost disastrous results. The team had brought a new front suspension solution to China but while testing in the morning, the front upright on Sébastien Buemi’s collapsed under braking. Both front wheels detached and Buemi was pitched into the gravel traps.
