[Siberian]

Kovalainen rear wing stuck open
26 March 2011


Heikki Kovalainen has revealed that his adjustable rear wing – officially known as Drag Reduction System (DRS) – did not return to its closed position at the end of Q1 qualifying in Australia on Saturday, meaning the Finn suffered a significant and crucial loss of downforce in corners.



”Unfortunately the rear wing was stuck in the high downforce configuration for the second run, which definitely masked the real pace there is in the car,” he explained after qualifying 19th, just ahead of team-mate Jarno Trulli.

”We've also struggled with getting the most out of the tyres all weekend but I think the increased temperatures tomorrow will suit the car much more and we'll be in good shape to show what we can really do in the race.”


Jarno Trulli shares the tenth row with his Lotus team-mate

The Italian, a tenth of a second slower, also shared his feelings:

”I've had a few issues with the power steering in practice but the team worked well to resolve that for qualifying and the car definitely felt better than it had this morning and yesterday.

”We'll clearly be much quicker when we can get the tyres up to full temperature, so it'll be an exciting race for us tomorrow and I think we'll be in good shape to push the guys ahead who we were much closer to in the warmer conditions in pre-season testing.”

Хейки говорит,что в КВ1 его заднее крыло не вернулось в закрытое состояние и он значительно потерял прижимную силу