Caterham F1 Team Brazil qualifying review 23.11.2013: 2013 BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX FP3 & QUALIFYING Sao Paulo, Brazil - 23rd November 2013

2013 BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX FP3 & QUALIFYING

Sao Paulo, Brazil - 23rd November 2013 




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Weather

FP3: rain; min / max track temp 21° (start) - 20° (end), air temp 19°
Q1: light rain; min / max track temp 19° - 20°, air temp 19°



Fastest laps / positions:

FP3: PIC 1.30.837, 14th / VDG 1.31.154, 16th  
Q1: PIC 1.27.843, 19th / VDG 1.28.320, 20th  


Total laps:

FP3: PIC 14 / VDG 14
Q1: PIC 6 / VDG 6



Runplan
 

Charles Pic, car #20, chassis CT03-06
 
FP3

1103 – 1106: Run 1, 1 lap (wet tyres)
Changes: front wing flap angle, front / rear brake duct blanking
1136 – 1148: Run 2, 7 laps (wet tyres)
Changes: front wing flap angle
1153 – 1203: Run 3, 6 laps (intermediate tyres)
 
Q1

1359 – 1409: Run 1, 6 laps (intermediate tyres)
 


Giedo van der Garde, car #21, chassis CT03-05
 
FP3

1102 – 1105: Run 1, 1 lap (wet tyres)
Changes: n/a
1135 – 1147: Run 2, 7 laps (wet tyres)
Changes: front wing flap angle
1153 – 1202: Run 3, 6 laps (intermediate tyres)
 
Q1
1359 – 1409: Run 1, 6 laps (intermediate tyres)
 


 
Driver quotes
 

Charles Pic: “We made a lot of changes to the car overnight and started FP3 with an installation lap on wets as the track had a lot more water on it than yesterday. About halfway through the session the conditions had improved enough to go out again and we did a seven lap run, again on wets, which gives us more information for tomorrow.


With about ten minutes left there was a dry line appearing so we went for the performance run on inters – it was ok but we knew there was more to come for quali.
 

“The rain was still falling at the start of qualifying, but not enough for wets so we went out early with the whole pack to maximise our running time on the inters. It was very tricky out there but I’m happy with how it finished. We’ve had a balance issue for the last three races that we’ve worked a lot on and this weekend it’s come good, so I’m pleased with my final time in Q1.


The main aim was to be in front of our nearest rivals and we’ve done that, keeping in reserve an extra set of intermediates, so we start what could be a fascinating race tomorrow where we’d aimed for and if it keeps raining like this we could have a chance of reclaiming tenth place in the Championship.”
 

Giedo van der Garde: “FP3 was obviously very wet so we were pretty cautious with the runplan, wanting to make sure we hung on to tyres for Sunday, but overall the car felt pretty good on both full wets and inters.


We were trying a few diff settings as well and when we switched to inters for the last run it was definitely getting quicker, but I didn’t get a completely clean lap so, even with the time we ended up with in the session, I was still positive about what we could do in qualifying.
 

“In Q1 we went out immediately on inters but on my fastest lap I made a mistake in sector two which cost me quite a lot of time. The car balance didn’t feel great but I think there was still more to come, not enough for Q2 today but now it’s all about tomorrow. We’ve saved a set of inters for tomorrow so we’re in good shape with the tyres we have available.


Our car’s good in the wet, I really like this sort of weather and we all know what we have to do. We’ve been here before, on this track and in these circumstances, so we know what we have to do on Sunday. Honestly, I’m excited about it – it’s going to be super tense but that’s what this is all about.”




- Tom Webb, photo Caterham