2008 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
Lewis Hamilton MP4-23 02
Heikki Kovalainen MP4-23 03
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Heikki Kovalainen finished
the Bahrain Grand Prix in fifth position. After 57 laps (308.238
kms), Heikki came home 26.7 seconds behind winner Felipe Massa
and set the fastest lap of the race with 1m33.193. Lewis had
to make an early and unscheduled pit stop (11.5 seconds) after
an incident on lap two with Fernando Alonso and finished 13th.
Heikki was on a two-stop strategy and came in on laps 21 (9.4
seconds) and 47 (7 seconds). Lewis made only one routine halt
on lap 31 (9.9 seconds). After the third of 18 Grands Prix,
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is third in the Constructors’
Championship with 28 points. Lewis is third in the drivers’
rankings with 14 points.
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
“Quite a tough race today. I made a great start and
overtook Kimi coming into Turn Two but then outbraked myself
in Turn Four and he regained his position. I then went in
too deep at Turn Eight and flatspotted my front right tyre
which caused a lot of vibration. It vibrated so much that
I was worried something would fall off the car. Things improved
in the second stint and the car worked really well towards
the end when we changed to the prime tyre. Fifth was the maximum
I could do today. However we still scored points on a difficult
day, and that is the main thing. I have total commitment to
the team and a good car, and I know we will keep working hard
to improve for the start of the European races.”
LEWIS HAMILTON
“I am really disappointed and feel like I let the team
down today as I always am the first to blame myself. The whole
weekend has not been ideal starting with the accident on Friday,
but I will keep my chin up and bounce back at the next race.
I messed up at the start as I didn’t hit the switch
early enough and therefore had not engaged the correct engine
setting, and the anti stall kicked in. I lost a lot of places
but things were still salvageable at that point. Then I had
the incident with Fernando. I was behind him, and I moved
to the right, and he moved to the right and that was it –
a racing incident I guess. I am confident that we have the
pace to be fighting at the front so the confidence is still
there. I have had such a good run in Formula 1 until now,
and it was almost inevitable that at some point things would
go wrong. However there is a long way to go in the Championship
and I intend to win it.”
RON DENNIS
“Most of the teams used the same tyre strategy with
the exception of those who went for a one-stop-strategy which
we switched Lewis to following his incident with Fernando.
Heikki’s race was hampered by understeer which we systematically
dialled out to a level which allowed him to set the fastest
lap during the closing stages of the race. Lewis’s bad
start and the incident with Fernando, which extensively damaged
his car, seriously hampered his pace, and we then took the
early decision to save the engine for the next race in Barcelona.
We will continue to work hard in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart
to make sure we are well prepared for the start of the European
races.”
NORBERT HAUG
“A day to forget. First Lewis lost seven positions at
the start and then he lost his front wing in the rear end
collision. As a consequence his car was damaged and technically
handicapped he was without a chance to score points. Heikki
had a reasonable speed only towards the end of the race. The
only positive point after today’s race is that the top
five in the Drivers’ Championship are within five points
and the top three in the Constructors’ ranking within
two points. Congratulations to Ferrari on the first one-two
victory and to BMW Sauber on their lead in the Championship.
We will now focus on the start of the European season in Barcelona
in three weeks time and will increase our efforts to be upfront
there.”
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