Formula One news

McLaren happy to get through stressful qualifying

McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday's inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, the first ever night race in Formula 1 history, from the front row of the grid. Kovalainen will start fifth on the grid. 

"After I ran wide in the second part of qualifying I decided to play it safe on the one remaining run and fortunately I moved up to Q3 and managed a place on the front row," said Hamilton. "At the last sector I was really fast, but I still have to improve in the first two sectors; particularly at turn five I lost a bit of time. We had a good set-up; however, the tyre decision was not easy today as I felt no big difference between the prime and the option tyre."

Heikki Kovalainen commented, "The balance of my car was excellent especially in Q1 and Q2. Obviously the option tyre didn't work as well as the prime today. In Q3 on my last run I touched the wall slightly three corners from the finish which cost me some time. It's so close and competitive nowadays that even a minor mistake can cost me a few places on the grid, despite having a well balanced and quick car. The aim now is to score as many points as possible for the team. With our speed and fine handling we should be in a good position in the race." 

Team boss Ron Dennis commented, "Well, that was a pretty stressful qualifying hour! Lewis was hampered by a yellow flag on one of his runs and by traffic on another, which made things a little too close for comfort in the second session, but then did a very good job in the final session. Heikki did a very good job too, but he also had a problem; in his case it came in his first run in the final session. From now on, though, it's all about race strategy. Fuel weight is a very significant factor in terms of lap time on this circuit, so let's just say that we're looking forward to a close and competitive race tomorrow." 

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