What’s the key to a good lap around Silverstone?
“The car’s high-speed balance needs to be spot-on. You need to have enough confidence to attack the faster corners; the high-speed change of direction needs to be positive but shouldn’t be too sharp or too understeery. And in qualifying, the tyres start to degrade towards the end of the lap so you have to be careful through the slow stuff at the end of the lap. It’s a unique challenge.” The team has made several improvements to the car in recent tests – does the MP4-23 feel better to drive? “Yes, the improvements we had in France were a very good step forward and you could feel that the car had more grip and better balance. At the Silverstone test, we have introduced further upgrades which we hope to race at the Santander British Grand Prix. The team is currently pushing very hard and it’s encouraging when you can actually feel the improvements making the car go faster. We’re all optimistic of making a step forward for the race.” Is the team determined to bounce back after two relative
