• Canadian Grand Prix - Qualifying

Heidfeld opts for wet weather setup

ESPNF1 Staff
June 11, 2011 « D'Ambrosio allowed to race | »
Nick Heidfeld: "We actually drove with more downforce than normal, as we were gambling a bit and hoping for wet conditions tomorrow" © Getty Images
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Renault's Nick Heidfeld is hoping for a wet race on Sunday at the Canadian Grand Prix after electing to go with a wet setup in qualifying.

Heidfled will start from ninth on the grid but could be one to watch if the race is wet as he is running extra downforce to give him more grip.

"I am extremely happy because I think I achieved the maximum I could have done today," he said after qualifying. "We actually drove with more downforce than normal, as we were gambling a bit and hoping for wet conditions tomorrow. We made some minor adjustments with the car today and certainly got what we could have done from it. I'm also happier with how I'm driving on the supersoft tyres; yesterday I was not satisfied but today I really got used to them, and I think that showed through my lap times. Obviously you always want to be higher up than P9 but being in the top ten is satisfying and we will try to improve on this tomorrow by securing a good pace and gaining some places."

His team-mate Vitaly Petrov complained of a lack of tyre temperature after qualifying 0.023 seconds off Heidfeld in tenth.

"The track temperatures were much lower than yesterday and it was very difficult to warm-up the tyres properly throughout qualifying," he said. "As a result, I was lacking grip out there and I lost a bit of time during my quickest lap. This said, Nick and I got to Q3 and this is a good thing considering the problems we had in Monaco.

"Looking ahead to tomorrow, it is really difficult to make any prediction. Montreal is almost always a crazy race and the safety car is often a part of it. Also, the weather forecast is looking unsettled so we can expect anything. As a result, tomorrow will be a case of adapting ourselves to the conditions and taking every single opportunity."

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