Kimi Raikkonen
Ive always enjoyed driving in Germany, but the problem is that luck has never been on my side there and something has always happened to stop me winning. Ive had four pole positions which shows my speed on German soil, but six retirements havent been what I wanted. In the past, the races Ive contested in Germany have never gone as I had been hoping for. Obviously both circuits - Hockenheim and the Nurburgring - have not been very kind to me. I like them both and I have always been very competitive there. Maybe it will all come together this year. The car can make all the difference at Hockenheim, and luckily weve got a good one. You need good traction out of the corners and if youre lacking rear grip its hard to get the pace from the car to challenge for the top positions. When I was last in Hockenheim in 2008 overtaking was quite difficult. Not as tricky as some circuits, but not easy at all. This year with the tyres, the KERS and the DRS it could be easier to overtake, especially if we are better on our tyres than the opposition. Its not all about qualifying at Hockenheim, but certainly it makes life easier when you start from the front and have clean air. Usually in Hockenheim it has been very hot and everybody has had problems with the tyres going off. Obviously, for us, the hot weather suits the car fine. Our car prefers the hot temperatures and in the long runs its not that hard on tyres. Lets have some real summer weather in Hockenheim.
Romain Grosjean
I like Hockenheim because Ive raced there quite a few times. In fact, one of my first single-seater races was there in Formula Renault 1.6 in 2003. Then in Formula Three, I did about eight races at the track because we went twice a year with the Euro F3 Series, so there are a few good memories and Im looking forward to returning. Hopefully well have some updates on the car, get pole position, a win and the fastest lap! The perfect weekend! I think the chances of overtaking will be quite high. We need to see the DRS zone and so on, but looking at the layout its good for that and all the races here are usually interesting. Im sure we can have a good race and deliver a strong result. The team have been working hard and finding solutions to improve our qualifying performances. In Silverstone it was cold and wet which made for a difficult session but we still made it through to Q3 quite strongly, even if we werent able to go out. Im sure Hockenheim will suit us well.
Eric Boullier, Lotus team principalWinning could be seen as a reasonable target considering our recent level of performance. This said, a podium could also be a fair goal to envisage. I think we should concentrate on the operational side of things and make sure that our preparations are perfect. Our car has not been the most reliable since Montreal, with KERS, differential, alternator and gearbox issues. Were doing our best to fix this situation. At Silverstone we dramatically improved our pit stops thanks to new procedures and new parts. In Hockenheim, some interesting development parts will appear on Friday. Were pushing, you see. We leave no stone unturned and want to have a much better second half of the championship.
James Allison, Lotus technical directorWe should see pretty warm weather conditions in Germany, and nothing about that track should do anything other than fill us with confidence, so Im feeling positive in that regard. Im excited too because weve got some interesting new updates for Germany and were looking forward to see how they work out. Were hoping for a similarly strong performance from both of our drivers in the race, a bit better in qualifying, and with a little luck to start hounding Ferrari for second in the championship maybe even opening up some clear water between us and McLaren in the process.
Click here for the Official Kimi Raikkonen web site - designed and built by Racecar
