Vitaly Petrov full of praise for Caterham after qualifying

Vitaly Petrov has enjoyed one of his most competitive qualifying sessions as a Caterham driver, after the Russian star out-qualified Heikki Kovalainen in 19th position. The Caterham mechanics carried out a masterful job of fixing his car after third practice, which saw Petrov tap the barrier on the exit of turn 21.

After several races of lackluster performance by the Caterham F1 team, it seems the Leafield-based outfit have rediscovered their form. Although they were still knocked out after Q1, the Renault-powered outfit were much closer to their midfield opposition during the opening 20 minutes of qualifying.

“I’m really happy with how qualifying went today.” Enthused Vitaly Petrov, “It’s my Father’s birthday and the performance is my present for him. He told me this morning “don’t push too hard” and then I went and crashed the car in P3! The boys did a fantastic job in the garage to repair the car and it was actually all ready 15 minutes before Q1, so thank you very much to them for putting in such a great effort.”

Vitaly Petrov’s highly competitive performance in qualifying was noticed within the team, as both Caterham’s technical director Mark Smith and team principal Tony Fernandes praised the Russian driver. Praise was in abundance throughout the team for their tremendous work on Petrov’s car between third practice and qualifying, after the Russian drive ruined his right-rear tyre in the closing stages of the session.

“First I want to thank the team for the excellent work they did between FP3 and qualifying to repair Vitaly’s car, and give him what he needed to put in the performance he did in Q1.” Said the team’s technical director, Mark Smith. “It is good to see that we have started to unlock the potential of the new parts we have brought here and the aim is to make sure we keep progressing.”

Tony Fernandes was full of praise for Vitaly Petrov, who has recently risen to the challenge within the Caterham outfit. The Russian driver has been rumored to be making way for Jaime Alguersuari next season, however these allegations are far from the minds of the Caterham team after qualifying.

“I think Vitaly’s performance today might just be the making of him as a Caterham driver.” Explained Tony Fernandes, “He drove outstandingly well today and I have never heard him speak so positively over the radio. He enjoyed his drive and his crew did a brilliant job to fix his car, and give him the platform to show what he can do.”

Tomorrow’s 61-lap race will unquestionably be one of the toughest of the season, however Vitaly Petrov will be striving to remain competitive as he fends off team-mate Heikki Kovalainen and the Marussia duo of Timo Glock and Charles Pic. With Caterham sill yet to score a point in Formula 1, Petrov would undoubtedly relish to opportunity of clinching that elusive maiden point for the team.

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