Formula 1
McLaren Indian GP Friday practice report
McLaren press release
Published: Oct 28, 2011, 3:00 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
“WE’RE HOPEFULLY GOING TO BE FIGHTING FOR THE WIN ON SUNDAY”
Lewis Hamilton - MP4-26A-03
“The track is fantastic – the organisers here in India have done a great job. It’s very fast and flowing, the grip-level is fantastic, the run-off areas seem to be good, and the kerbs are probably the best of any circuit we visit: nice rumble-strips that you can drive on. Like any brand-new circuit, it’s been gripping-up throughout the day.
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes
Photo by: xpb.cc
“We looked quick this morning. This afternoon, however, I had a problem with the driveshaft – it felt like it was causing some wear and tear so it prompted me to end the session a little early. We’ll fit a new gearbox for tomorrow, so the car will hopefully start behaving a bit better. That should make things closer at the front.
“Sunday’s race will be a long one. Nevertheless, there will be opportunities to overtake: it’s a high-downforce circuit and, although it’ll be very hard to follow other cars closely, the double-DRS zone should make it a bit easier. We’ll get a clearer idea tomorrow of just how quick we really are.”
Jenson Button - MP4-26A-01
“I really like this circuit. It’s great fun to drive. There are some tough corners, like Turns Three and Five, but there’s also a lot of high-speed stuff and it feels a lot faster than we initially thought it would.
Jenson Button, McLaren Mercedes pit stop
Photo by: xpb.cc
“What’s also been quite a surprise is the amount of grip out there, particularly in the faster corners where the downforce is really working for you. And, because the high-speed corners are pretty smooth, you can really carry a lot of speed through them.
“It’s difficult to get the tyres up to their optimal working temperature range, but, once they’re in the operating window, the high-speed grip is phenomenal. From Turn Five onwards, the track is actually very quick.
“We’ll have a lot of fun this weekend and we’re hopefully going to be fighting for the win on Sunday.”
Martin Whitmarsh - Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“First of all, I want to congratulate the promoters here in Delhi for having created a truly excellent circuit. The drivers love it, and the teams’ facilities are very good too. And of course India, whose population is second in magnitude only to that of China, is a hugely important new addition to the Formula 1 calendar.
As it happened, the circuit offered up more grip than we’d anticipated
Martin Whitmarsh
“As is often the case when the Formula 1 circus travels to a brand-new circuit, today was a day of experimentation. As it happened, the circuit offered up more grip than we’d anticipated, which required a set-up review early on.
“I think we’ve got a little more work to do in order to unlock our latent first-lap performance, but Jenson in particular completed an extremely encouraging long run. By contrast, Lewis’s long run was interrupted by a driveshaft issue, which unfortunately prevented him from being able to complete it.
“Now, we’ll analyse our findings from today, and tomorrow we intend to convert that analysis in to a strong qualifying performance.”
LEWIS HAMILTON - MP4-26A-03
P1 programme - 22 laps - 1m26.836s - 1st
P2 programme - 26 laps - 1m26.454s (0.748s) - 4th
JENSON BUTTON - MP4-26A-01
P1 programme - 23 laps - 1m28.394s (+1.558s) 4th
P2 programme - 28 laps - 1m26.714s (+1.008s) 6th
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Marussia Virgin Indian GP Friday practice report
Next article Lotus Renault Indian GP Friday practice report
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lewis Hamilton
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
More from
Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
12 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Latest news
Belgian firm to take over Renault/Alpine engine facility in Viry
WEC
WEC WEC 10 min
Belgian firm to take over Renault/Alpine engine facility in Viry
Jorge Martin the slowest Aprilia in Australia practice: “I'm used to riding with the Ducati here”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
49 min
Jorge Martin the slowest Aprilia in Australia practice: “I'm used to riding with the Ducati here”
2027 Winter Series calendar: Three series across five circuits
General
Misc General 1 h
2027 Winter Series calendar: Three series across five circuits
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe