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DRIVERS: Rubens BARRICHELLO (Williams), Heikki KOVALAINEN (Lotus), Robert KUBICA (Renault), Felipe MASSA (Ferrari), Sakon YAMAMOTO (HRT)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Robert, you regard this as your home race, don’t you?

Robert KUBICA: Yeah, it is the closest race to Poland. Many fans are coming here. As there will not be a Polish Grand Prix I think Hungary we can call it my home race.

Q: There are a lot of Poles here?

RK: For now, not, but expecting quite a lot. I think the biggest part of fans in Hungary are Polish and Finns, so I think there will be quite a lot of Polish fans.

Q: You have suggested that this could be a good circuit for you. Maybe not as good as Monaco, but it is almost like a street circuit in the countryside. That’s what it has been described as.

RK: I think we can be closer to the top here. The track characteristics suit our car better. Things have changed since Monaco. Monaco is a long time ago, so all cars have been improved. Most of the cars now are running F-duct although in Hungary here it is not so important. But I think it is still quite a big advantage. We will have to see. The cars are a bit different, so we will have to see.

Q: It has been suggested that the Renault engine is down on power. Is that something you have noticed?

RK: Well, difficult to say. From the numbers we lack power but how much and how big an affect it is it is impossible for me to judge. It is not a secret and I think it is not the first year that the Renault engine unfortunately is not the strongest one.

Q: Sakon-san, tell us how difficult it is to come in Formula One in the middle of the season as you have?

Sakon YAMAMOTO: Yes, it is not the easiest way to come back into Formula One but as long as I have got an opportunity to come back here I am really happy and appreciate for the team and I will try to do my best in the third race this year.

Q: This is a circuit you know quite well.

SY: I know it quite well since in 2006 and 2007 I drove (becomes inaudible) and in 2008 I drove GP2, so this is the fourth time I’m here.

Q: And a circuit you like. How well do you think you can do? Or is it impossible to really change the hierarchy down there?

SY: Personally I like the circuit lay-out and for us it is going to be a tough race again, but still I try to enjoy myself and pushing this challenging circuit.

Q: Rubens, a former winner here. If you can remember those days. Is it a favourite circuit?

Rubens BARRICHELLO: Why do you say that?

Q: It was a year or two ago.

RB: It was probably more than that. I do enjoy it here. I enjoy the weekend as a whole as you don’t turn up here and everything is set. Every time you come in there are some differences in the way the car behaves and the weekends evolve a lot in the way that you have to set up the car. You know that Saturday is going to be different, so if some rain comes it is a different thing again, how are you going to use the tyres. Qualifying is where the big bang is as you need to be towards the front for you to have a good race.

Q: With the rain expected, particularly tomorrow, will it take longer for the circuit to evolve and pick up grip?

RB: I think when it happens it makes it more exciting as with the Friday and Saturday you have chances to perform in a way that you want the car to be close to perfect. It is very difficult for you to get close to perfect, but when it rains it makes it even more difficult as sometimes you have to follow between set-up and things like this and the track changes as well as you clean all the rubber and it makes it more exciting. The chances are you don’t have all faster cars in front and you have some slower cars that are supposedly at the back and they are in front, so that’s what’s the challenge, especially now driving a car that is capable of getting to Q3 but is not as fast as we wished. It is a good time to put the car on a better show and the hope is to finish on a higher pointer.

Q: Is this a circuit that is suited to the Williams or vice versa?

RB: That’s a difficult one. I have never actually driven the Williams here, but I have seen on the papers they qualified well here last year. I think this circuit goes in a way that Monaco goes, so maximum downforce and so on. I think that we can do well. We are going to keep it very fair and simple and just work as hard as we can.

Q: Felipe, first of all, of course, coming back here where you had an awful accident last year. I believe that you have been to the hospital and met up with some of the rescue people. Tell us about it?

Felipe MASSA: The thing is it is a very special place looking at what’s happened to me so many times here. Coming in 2007 and having a difficult qualifying and doing a bad race from the back. Even in 2006 and then you come into 2008 and it was one of the best races of my career, starting third going to first at the first corner and doing fantastic pace and then suddenly from the middle of the race to the end it starts to reduce the pace, saving the car, just to finish the race in the position I was which was first and then three laps to go the engine blows up. For here it is okay, definitely. But then you come the next year. It was a difficult season. We didn’t have the same pace we wanted compared to 2008. But I think it was a good track for us. Kimi (Räikkönen) finished second and we were pretty good on the test. I think it was supposed to be a good race weekend as well and then the most incredible accident, the most incredible thing happens of all my life. Anyway it is a special place for me and we know that after such a difficult time that I had here it is a track I enjoy, a place I enjoy and a place that everybody supports me especially everywhere I go after the accident. So Iet’s try to keep pushing.

Q: Have you managed to meet up with some of the hospital people?

FM: Yeah, I went to the hospital here inside the track. I saw most of the people who took me out from the car and did a lot for me which was very important in that moment. I think this is the best thing that can happen in your life to see a guy who is working very hard to help you. I think this is really nice .

Q: Looking back at last weekend a point you made was that you are not very happy on the harder tyres. Are you going to be happier on the combination that we have here?

FM: Well, I expect so. It was definitely a much better combination compared to many races that I had the hard tyres.

Q: And a word about last weekend. What are your feelings after Hockenheim?

FM: Well, we know that sometimes you have a difficult time but anyway you always learn and we always need to think forward and always need to be stronger and stronger all the time in your career, in your life, and what I can say is I am very strong and looking forward to the victory.

Q: Heikki, you are also a former winner here, so is this a favourite circuit?

Heikki KOVALAINEN: Certainly a circuit that I always look forward to coming back. The first and only victory so far in my career came here, so it is a very special place. It was an unfortunate race for Felipe. He and Lewis (Hamilton) were both doing a great race and I really deserved to be third that day but they both had problems. It was a special moment for me and also it is sort of a home race for me as there are a lot of Finns normally turning up here. I am always looking forward to coming here and I like the track. This year it might be a bit more difficult to win the race but I will enjoy every day.

Q: It has been suggested that this is a circuit which could well suit the car or vice versa.

HK: It is irrelevant, isn’t it. It suits the car, but if it doesn’t suit the car it doesn’t really change our target. The target is to be ahead of the other teams and even if they seem like they have made a step forward, Virgin especially, I think in the Hockenheim race I was just behind them and I was a pit stop ahead of both of the Virgin cars, so let’s hope that trend continues here. That is our first target and I am also looking forward to seeing the gap to the cars ahead of us. It might be less here than let’s say a circuit like Silverstone. A very high speed circuit is something that is not good for our car and that peak downforce at high speed is something that we are lacking, so hopefully that will play into our hands a little bit as well.

Q: How much of a worry is reliability?

HK: Well, Hockenheim was again good on my side but unfortunate for Jarno (Trulli). He seemed to have something pushing all the unfortunate things for his side. Fingers crossed it will be better here with both cars running every day and also finish the race. I still say it is a concern. It is something that we can never prepare enough to say that it doesn’t happen but the team has done absolutely everything they can to make sure that the cars are reliable and will finish races.