The Russian-owned Formula One team Marussia “struggled massively” with a lack of grip at the rear of the car in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, driver Timo Glock said Saturday.
Glock will start Sunday’s race from 23rd place after running slower than HRT’s Pedro de la Rosa, the first time this season that one of Marussia’s drivers has qualified behind a car from the Spanish team.
“Not a very good Saturday for us. We struggled massively in terms of the car balance again this morning and also in qualifying because of too much instability at the rear under braking,” Glock said in comments on the team’s website.
“A fuel pick-up problem meant that we also dropped behind one of the HRTs as well.”
The desert heat causes tires to decay quickly, and the Marussia drivers’ main task Sunday is to conserve their rubber, team principal John Booth said.
“We will now have to start behind one of the HRT cars tomorrow, so Timo’s first mission will be to displace them before he sets about the onerous task that both drivers will face in managing the tires through the race.”
Marussia has struggled to catch up with the competition after missing all the pre-season testing days because the car failed a mandatory crash test, but has promised major upgrades to the car when F1 arrives in Europe next month.
