Formula One news

McLaren drivers surprised not to have done better

At the McLaren Formula One team both drivers were not too happy with their performance. Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will start Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix from fifth and sixth at the grid, not a position the championship candidates would like to see themselves.

Commenting on his qualifying performance Hamilton said: "I am actually quite surprised that we are not higher up the grid as the car felt very good, and I put in some strong laps. Throughout qualifying one and two the car felt extremely well balanced, but it's so close which means that it will be an exciting race tomorrow. Being on the third row is not the end of the world as we are surrounded by good drivers who all want to finish the race. The key is now to make a strong start and hopefully gain a couple of positions, and I am confident as I believe our race pace is competitive, and we have a good strategy."

Kovalainen was also not pleased with his result. He said: "I didn't expect to be on the third row as I thought the last part of qualifying wasn't too bad. However the times are very close and with just a tiny bit more I would have been able to gain a few positions, but that is life. We will now dig deep, and tomorrow is another long day where anything can happen. I don't know if the lack of running yesterday had any influence as the more laps you have the more confident you are - but I don't think it would have made too much of a difference, and the team has done a great job in getting the car ready and competitive. I believe we should be able to go for it in the race tomorrow."

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• 26 Aug.
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• 24 Aug.
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