Lotus, Kovalainen: “Tiring to drive in the wet but we have made a lot of progress”

La Lotus had a two-faced free practice Friday, in fact if Heikki Kovalainen he managed to place in the top ten in both the first and second sessions, Romain Grosjean struggled with the car set-up and only managed to be competitive in the second session. However, there is a lot of optimism at Lotus, in fact the team thinks it can improve further in view of tomorrow but has declared that attention must be paid to the unpredictable weather conditions.

Heikki Kovalainen – ninth/fourth: “As was evident today it was a challenge to drive in these conditions, but it was a good thing for me as I gained some experience in the wet. There were no big surprises and the car performed quite well. Driving in the wet was a bit tiring and unusual compared to the dry but we expected it. That said, I think the team has made a lot of progress in this area and it wasn't difficult to ride. There are still some areas where we can improve but we need good information about tomorrow's weather that we don't have yet."

Romain Grosjean – thirteenth/tenth: “It wasn't perfect weather and we still have some progress to make on the wet setup. It was very tiring to ride this morning as there was little grip, but we have made progress in this area for the afternoon and we also have a couple of ideas on what we can improve for tomorrow. Without a doubt it is a challenge to drive in the rain considering the poor visibility caused by the other cars, but despite this it is always nice to drive on the Interlagos track.”

Alan Stays, Trackside Operations Director: “We got a lot of data using both sets of wet Pirellis. Romain wasn't happy with his set-up this morning but he seemed happy with the one this afternoon. Heikki continues to gain confidence with the car and the team, he showed good pace in the wet in the afternoon considering the fourth fastest time. We are happy with the work done today."

Stefano Rifici