The Monaco Grand Prix track is unforgiving enough in the dry, so the chance for Russian Formula One driver Vitaly Petrov to drive it in the wet in practice for Sunday’s race has given him extra confidence, he said Thursday.
Caterham driver Petrov was 16th in the rain-hit second session as some established names struggled, such as Lotus driver and former world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who was 19th.
“This is one of the races where we need to make sure we’re there at the chequered flag and not make any mistakes, so, having had a few laps in what will probably be the trickiest conditions all weekend, I’m feeling good,” Petrov said on the Caterham website.
With many in the paddock predicting rain could interrupt Saturday’s qualifying or Sunday’s race, Petrov said his car coped well on the intermediate tires used when the track is damp.
“In FP2 the car felt pretty good and even though the track was very slippery when we went out on the inters I still felt like we have a decent balance to work from,” he said.
Petrov will be chasing his first ever finish in Monaco in F1 on Sunday, after he was caught up in a multi-car shunt while chasing points for Lotus Renault in 2011.
He stopped near the end of the 2010 race but was classified 13th.
