Might that have influenced things from a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes perspective?
“I don’t believe so. The circuit certainly offered lower grip levels initially, but it evolved. The asphalt is darker than before and thus gets warmer, which creates a greater range of temperature variations, but I’m sure it didn’t affect us adversely.” Heikki was unlucky not to finish second in Australia, where an unfortunately timed Safety Car worked to his disadvantage, so you must have been delighted to see him make the podium here. “Heikki did a terrific job. He and his crew developed his car’s set-up to the point that he was quicker than Lewis in qualifying – even though he had a marginally heavier fuel load. He did an excellent job in the race, too. Despite a five-position grid penalty, for obstructing another car during qualifying, he recovered to finish third. Without it I’m confident he would have been second. He was supposedly struggling for confidence last year, when people were starting to question his potential, but I’m delighted to see how hard he’s worked since joining
