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Sam Michael gives a debrief of the Korean Grand Prix weekend which saw another
double points scoring finish from the Williams team.
Sam Michael, Technical Director Q&A
- What were your
impressions of the Korea International Circuit?
The circuit layout was great, it certainly made for interesting racing! For
the first GP, it was a good effort and it's sure to be a race that will grow
with the calendar.
- Was it an interesting technical challenge; how did grip levels evolve
during practice and qualifying? The rate of circuit evolution was high, with
a massive change in surface grip throughout the practice and qualifying
sessions. This is normal and to be expected for the first race on a new
track.
- The cars were slowest through the speed trap in qualifying. Why was this
and what was your weather forecast for the race at this stage of the
weekend?
We did target a high level of downforce expecting rain for the race. Even
so, we were slower in the speed traps than we expected to be.
- Did seventh and 10th places in the race reflect the competitiveness of the
FW32?
No, not entirely. If you compared the cars that we finished behind and if
you consider Nico’s pace in the opening stint when he overtook Kubica and
was attacking Button, then, near the end of the race, we had both cars well
into the points. Unfortunately we had a tyre puncture on Nico's car and
Rubens went off the road and lost a couple of positions. So of course we
were not happy that we'd scored the points that the FW32 was capable of
today.
- Rubens lost a couple of positions towards the end of the race. Given the
state of his tyres, how much of an achievement was it to get the car home?
Well, those conditions are always difficult for drivers and the team, but of
course in F1 it is the same for everyone. It's merely an opportunity to
shine!
- A slow puncture forced Nico to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 51. How
quickly was the tyre deflating & did you consider keeping him out, given
that there were only four laps to go?
That's exactly what the engineers were doing on the pit wall. They were
monitoring a tyre pressure leak, but suddenly it accelerated, so they had to
pit. Nico did well to recover from the Safety Car and his puncture to score
a point for the team.
- The Brazilian Grand Prix comes next. How do you expect the FW32 to perform
at Interlagos?
Very well, hopefully! We can see for a variety of factors that we weren’t
able to show our full potential in Korea and naturally we are expecting more
in Brazil. |
Drivers
1 F Alonso 231
2 M Webber 220
3 L Hamilton 210
4 S Vettel 206
5 J Button 189
6 F Massa 143
7 R Kubica 124
8 N Rosberg 122
10 R Barrichello 47
15 N Hulkenberg 18 |
Constructors
1 Red Bull Racing 426
2 McLaren 399
3 Ferrari 374
4 Mercedes GP 188
5 Renault 143
6 Force India 68
7 AT&T Williams 65
8 BMW Sauber 43
9 Toro Rosso 11
10 Lotus Racing 0 |
