Canadian GP: HRT qualifying report

Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team is closing the gap to the other teams

Although it was raining in the morning, the third practice session in Montreal proceeded with dry conditions. With air temperatures of only 19DEGC and a cold track (21DEGC) the practice was tricky for everybody. Fortunately, the weather improved and in qualifying the track was dry and the temperatures rose up (air 23DEGC, track 31DEGC).

Finishing on position 23, Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team driver Bruno Senna (1.20.325) was in front of his team mate Karun Chandhok (24th) who couldn't do a timed lap in the morning session due to a gearbox problem. In the afternoon when fighting for positions for the grid, Bruno Senna finished on 22nd position with a lap time of 1.19.484 and in front of another team again. Today, the Brazilian was able to equal his best qualifying result this year. However, his teammate Karun Chandhok had a sensor issue in qualifying and wasn't able to run until the end of the qualifying session, when the track got much quicker because of a higher grip level.

Dr Colin Kolles, Team Principal:
"It was another step forward for us today as Bruno Senna only was 3.6 seconds from the quickest in qualifying session 1. He did a good lap and is closer to the car in front of him. Unfortunately, Karun Chandhok wasn't able to drive this afternoon because of a sensor issue. Now, we have to focus on a good race tomorrow."

Karun Chandhok, Race driver #20:
"It was very frustrating today as we missed the third practice and also qualifying. We have to look into the problems and understand what went wrong. After two good sessions yesterday, it's even more frustrating as this weekend we really could have competed against the other new teams in qualifying. It will be a tricky race tomorrow with the tyre wear and high probability of safety cars. So, let's see what we can do tomorrow."

Bruno Senna, Race driver #21:
"It was a good lap and I am happy with the result as we are in front of another team's driver. We could work on the setup which helped us a lot to improve the performance of the car today. Unfortunately, there was rain last night and the track got green again in the morning. The track got more grip and quicker even during the first twenty minutes of qualifying. That's why it was important to be out on the track at the end of the session in order to set the fastest lap. Thankfully, I could do a clear one on that period. Now, we have to decide the tyre strategy for the race. It is going to be very tricky tomorrow for everyone because of the tyre wear and hopefully we can have a good race tomorrow."

-source: hrt