Tulos tai ulos!
Autosport Weekly Journal Kovalaisen kierroksista harjoituksissa:
"Taking in and out laps into account, he had done just 13 proper, uninterrupted dry laps of the track, only five of which were on the soft tyre he was due to use in qualifying."
Tekninen johtaja
Bob Bell aika-ajosta:
"I don't think he was quite as happy with the car as Fisi was. The car was fundamentally OK, but I don't think he quite liked the feel of the softer tyres as much as Fisi did."
"All credit to him, as soon as he got out of the car after qualifying, he said he didn't do as good a job as he could have done."
Insinööripomo
Pat Symonds aika-ajosta:
"Maybe we've lost a little bit in respect of qualifying. The only qualifying emphasis he's done at all was one day in Bahrain, when both cars went out and did a qualifying simulation."
Johtava kisainsinööri
Alan Permane:
"He started quite heavy, but in the first stint he was actually going pretty well. He got through quite a few cars at the start, and he was doing quite a good job. Then he lost a place to Rosberg at the pit stop, and after that he was struggling. We put our soft tyres on at the end, and he was struggling a lot on those."
Moottoripomo
Rob White:
"It didn't quite come together. There's no reason to panic, he's strong in the head, he's a quick guy. He'll live to fight another day, he'll live to have better qualifying sessions than we had in Australia. There's nothing really to be negative about. Just a slight sense of missed opportunity, that's all. I think he's mentally strong, and certainly at this stage there's no reason to be worried. He has to plough his own furrow, doesn't he?"
"There's no question that ever since he arrived in the team as a test driver he's been really up for it. He's got a capacity to work on the car with the guys around the car. As racing has become closer, that's become more and more intense."
Tekninen johtaja
Bob Bell jatkaa:
"Given the fact that he lost a lot of track time, which was down to the team, I think he has done a credible job, he really has. Particularly on his first race weekend, there's a lot to do with any driver's mental approach, and if you take a setback like that, it knocks your momentum. And it does affect you, there's no doubt about it. He was really straight about it, and he'll put it behind him and move on."
"I think the best example of that was in Bahrain, when he had his accident. We managed to get the car back together again for him to go out, and as soon as he got in it again he was right on the pace."
Flavion luottomies
Pat Symonds jatkaa (muistakaa myös
Renault F1-podcast):
"It is fair to say that he was on the back foot from the very beginning. The car problems in P2 and P3 cost him track time, and this very likely contributed to his poor qualifying position. When you start back in the pack, you end up in traffic for a large part of the race – and I think some of the mistakes we saw were probably born of the frustration of being in that position.
At the time we signed Heikki, we full accepted that as a rookie, he would make mistakes in his first year. We have seen some of them in Melbourne, but one of the many reasons we believe in him, is that we know he is realistic, honest and intelligent. Without a doubt, he will learn from Sunday – and I don’t think it will be repeated."
Symonds vielä ekan kisan vaikeudesta:
"It's never easy, because you're doing your thing so publicly. One of the things that's very hard for any sportsman is that you are judged, as the public feel they have a right to judge sportsmen and celebrities. So it's a very public baptism of fire."
Renault F1:n pääjohtaja
Alain Dassas aika-ajon jälkeen:
"Tällainen yksi epäonnekas tapahtuma ei vähennä meidän uskoamme Heikkiin hitustakaan. Hän on erinomainen kuljettaja ja erinomainen persoona. Olemme onnellisia, että juuri hän on Renaultin autossa."
Renault F1:n pääjohtaja
Alain Dassas kisan jälkeen:
"Ei mitään syytä masentua. Sellaista sattuu moottoriurheilussa. 16 kilpailua on jäljellä ja luotamme täysin Heikkiin."
"Hän on nuori kuljettaja, jonka niskassa oli paljon paineita. Hänellä on yhä paljon opittavaa."
Vanha kunnon Rooman mies
Giancarlo Fisichella:
"Heikki ei selvästikään tuntenut oloaan kotoisaksi siinä kisassa. Kaikki asiat tuntuivat viikonloppuna kääntyvän häntä vastaan."
"Olisi virhe olla antamatta aikaa Heikille, joka on kova kuljettaja."
"Australia ei anna mitään lopullista tuomiota kenestäkään."
Maailman paras moottoriurheiluselostaja
Matti Kyllönen:
"Vähän sattuu, kun tuo maailma on niin julman kova ja Heikki on niin hyvä"
"Jos vastaavanlaisia tilanteita tulee toistamiseen, on pakko todeta, ettei Heikistä ehkä ole näin kovien paineiden alla tapahtuvaan kilpasarjaan. Sellaiseen synkkyyteen en kuitenkaan jaksa uskoa."
justF1fan sanoi:
Saattaa olla niin, että auto on kehno, mutta väkisinkin tulee mieleen, että jos fisico oli viides viime kilpailussa. Olisi Alonso ollut sen tyypillisen pari sijaa korkeammalla, eli toinen-kolmas samalla autolla.
Sellaisessa skenaariossa satavarmasti McLarenille palkattu Häkkisen Mika olisi rökittänyt Alonson mennen tullen ja Hamiltonillehan Alonso hädintuskin pärjää edes samalla autolla, joten Renaultilla ei toivoakaan. Ja Heidfeldikin meni BMW:llä niin kovin lujaa. Yhtä hyvin voisi sanoa, että Alonson varjosta feenikslinnun tavoin nouseva Fisichella on nyt elämänsä kovimmassa iskussa ja vain maksimaalisella huippusuorituksella oli mahdollista pitää R27 edes takarivistä startanneen Massan edellä. Joka tapauksessa vähänkin heikommalla suorituksella Fisi olisi jäänyt kuudenneksi.