Mechanical woes for Doornbos

Mechanical failure hinders Robert Doornbos in Turkish GP qualifying A mechanical error, which has to be closer examined by the team, caused Robert Doornbos to abort his qualifying run this afternoon at the Istanbul Park circuit. Because his front ...

Mechanical failure hinders Robert Doornbos in Turkish GP qualifying

A mechanical error, which has to be closer examined by the team, caused Robert Doornbos to abort his qualifying run this afternoon at the Istanbul Park circuit. Because his front wheels locked continously and he could only reach fourth gear at the straights, the Minardi F1 Team decided to abort Doornbos' flying lap.

Doornbos wil start tomorrow's inaugural Turkish Grand Prix from the pitlane in 20th position.

Both the third and the fourth Free Practice sessions at the 5.340 Bosporus-side track went extremely well for Doornbos earlier today. After Doornbos finished the third session close behind his teammate Christijan Albers (1:30.837) by setting a fastest lap of 1:30.851, the 23-year old Dutchman surprised many by taking P18 (1:30.155) in the final Free Practice with a margin of almost a full second to his teammate (1:30.999).

Robert Doornbos:

"The car already felt strange in from the start of my outlap, as if the handbrake was still on. The back of the car felt very heavy, while the front wheels kept getting locked. Together with the team I decided though to start my qualifying lap, but at the straights I could only reach fourth gear. Therefore the team made a good decision to call me in before I finished my lap."

"It's a shame that because of these mechanical problems I could not show my pace like I did in the Free Practises. Hopefully the race will bring me more luck tomorrow as I will do my utmost to get the maximum out of this unlucky situation!"