DRIVERS - Jaime ALGUERSUARI (Toro Rosso), Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari), Kamui KOBAYASHI (Sauber), Vitantonio LIUZZI (HRT) Mark WEBBER (Red Bull) PRESS CONFERENCE
Q. Jaime, pit lane to eighth place in Canada. You must have been pretty pleased with that?
Jaime ALGUERSUARI: Yeah, it was a good race. We did a good job by changing the setup for the race on Sunday. We knew it was going to rain and the possibilities to score some points, to finish the race, were difficult starting from the pit lane. But with all the changes we did for the race it was worth doing it. I felt much better with the car, with the setup, with everything on the race but not on Friday or even on qualifying. It was a good race from the strategy side, from the team, from my side so I was quite happy, quite pleased with the race, yes.
Q. This time last year you finished 13th here. What are your feelings about this race?
JA: Well, you know we have some new things coming on the car. I think I am feeling a bit better with the tires, with the car, with the setup, a better understanding of it. Hopefully all the things that we have new for this weekend they work all together and we can have a bit of extra pace as well and we can finish in the points. That will be the main target for sure.
Q. Daniel Ricciardo always seems to do something on Friday morning. How much is he a threat? Do you feel he is waiting in the wings ready to grab your seat in case things go wrong?
JA: No, I think it is interesting as he gets to try different things on the car and at the end, still this year, I did not find the best way to improve the car, the performance, and am just still learning about the setup, about the tires, about so many things on the car. It is interesting that he also gets to know the car, to try to improve things on the car. I think it is quite interesting and it makes things a bit easier, a bit faster. But still I am not 100 percent happy with everything going on. I think Canada was very important for us and we are finding our way to the best performance.
Q. Vitantonio, a good 13th place in Montreal. It doesn't sound fantastic but 13th place is pretty good for an HRT car in the last race.
Vitantonio LIUZZI: Definitely, for us it was a good achievement. It was a big target for us. We know that in dry conditions that target would be pretty impossible if the race goes normally. But everybody did a great job. We have to use that kind of situation where it is a bit of a crazy race like happened in Montreal, to use it and optimize everything and the result came. Thirteenth position is the best result of the Hispania team and our target is half done as we did a step forward in terms of the Constructors' Championship and we are pushing really hard. We bring also some development every race. We had a good one for Montreal. It helped already in the dry as we have been ahead of Marussia Virgin in qualifying and in the race the crazy conditions helped us. But everybody did a really good job in the pit stop, in strategy, and I think everybody has to be pretty pleased as I think everybody did a good job for the target we want to achieve this year.
Q. Is Marussia Virgin where you have to look? You cannot look any further, Lotus?
VL: Of course, our target, we said from the beginning of the season, is to try to beat both, Virgin and Lotus. We know it is not going to be easy but that's what we are aiming for. Lotus is a bit further ahead in terms of lap time in dry condition but the program for the championship is quite interesting. A lot of development should be coming soon. We are pushing day and night. It is not easy when you are a back marker but you are still fighting with other teams and you don't have to give up.
Q. And you have got new bits here I think?
VL: We have some little things coming here in terms of the mechanical side but we are aiming for a bigger one for Silverstone.
Q. Kamui, a year ago from 18th place on the grid to seventh here. A typical Kamui type of drive I think?
Kamui KOBAYASHI: I think it is another (inaudible word) race and I think it is most important how we handle strategy and tire management, but I think this year it is different tire with Pirelli. I think I try to do my best but I think last year I made a mistake in qualifying. This year I try to do the best in qualifying but we have to fight for the best strategy in the race.
Q. Qualifying is really where you have got to aim at isn't it? We see you regularly racing very, very hard but if you could just move up the grid a bit it is going to make it easier.
KK: Yes, I think so. We try to do always the best in qualifying. But I think this year with Pirelli tires it is very important we manage race pace so we are definitely focusing more on race than qualifying.
Q. You have been in a points-winning position in every single race so far this year. Where do you think you can end up? What's your target now?
KK: I don't know. I always want to get points. At the moment, we manage to score points except Melbourne. But I think we have done a really great job. The team is doing good and still we are confident until the end of the season to be in the points.
Q. Do you think you can.....
KK: I try too much.
Q. You try too much?
KK: Not too much, but I mean I see if we can score points, like now. I think it is going to be enough.
Q. Fernando, you were talking earlier this week about the significance of Valencia for you. It is a significant race or a significant town or location for you?
Fernando ALONSO: Yeah. Why?
Q. In that you signed your contract with Ferrari here. Your first appearance with Ferrari was the Ferrari day at the local circuit here.
FA: Yes, Valencia has been always the debut for Formula 1, good years 2005 and 2006 for me. The first time in Ferrari in winter 2010. I did some shows here. First time with McLaren in 2007 on the streets so it has always been a nice feeling here in this city. I raced for a Valencian team in Formula Nissan or F3000 so quite close relationship with this town.
Q. But it's a circuit that you haven't necessarily done very well at in this European Grand Prix. Best of sixth in 2009.
FA: Yes, in 2008 I had accident first lap with (Kazuki) Nakajima. In 2009 sixth and 2010 safety car period, safety car line one.
Q. So do you feel it owes you a better result, a more significant result?
FA: No, obviously, we see you need to be competitive, you need to be lucky and where there are safety car periods you need to be in the right place at the right moment. As happened also in Canada with all the rain, all the red flags so all the crazy races you need a little bit of luck and I think last year we missed a little of that. Hopefully this year we can be competitive. That's the most important thing and try to get this podium here in Valencia which is important for us, important for me as well, and hopefully we can make a good show for all the fans on Sunday. This is a circuit where the attendance is not great in past years and there has been a lot of effort from the circuit and from everybody to get maximum fans through the circuit this weekend so we need to put on a good show for them and hopefully they will enjoy the race.
Q. But you feel with a bit of luck the Ferrari is a winning car?
FA: At the moment it is difficult to win a race. There is no doubt that in Monaco and Canada we had the opportunity to win the race. That's a fact. It is not a dream. We were very close. We were in the first row of the grid after qualifying in Canada and we were 10 centimeters from winning in Monaco, finishing second, so it is true in the last two races the trend is quite good. We improve and we seem to be more competitive. Valencia, the characteristics of the circuit are a little bit similar to Canada and Monaco, so maybe here is another good opportunity but we also cannot forget we are one second behind sometimes in qualifying and with this it is difficult to win.