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Petrov delight at out-qualifying Kubica
Vitaly Petrov was delighted to have finally out-qualified his Renault teammate Robert Kubica ahead of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Petrov, the first Russian Formula One driver in history, qualified in seventh position for the Hungaroring race, and for the first time ahead of his Polish team-mate.
The 25-year-old rookie said he was very happy with his performance and hopes to profit from starting on the clean side of the grid.
"I think we did a good job today (Saturday) and I'm very happy to reach Q3 and to be starting seventh ahead of Robert because you first goal is always to be ahead of your teammate," said Petrov.
"We knew that the car would be quite good here and I have been very happy with the balance during the whole weekend, but the guys in front are still very strong so we know that we need to keep pushing to catch them.
"For the race tomorrow, overtaking will be very difficult, and the only real chance is at the start.
"The first corner is quite dangerous here, I hope it will be without accidents but I am starting with the good line so we will have to do a good start and get in front of everybody in the first corner!"
Meanwhile, Kubica, 25, said he was disappointed not to be starting in a better position, and blamed a lack of grip in the final session of qualifying.
He said: "We were hoping to be closer to the front today. My lap in Q3 was very slow - half a second slower than my Q2 run - I just didn't have the grip.
"For the race, everything will be about the first lap and the
start of the race, so we hope to get a good start and make up some
positions tomorrow."
