"It’s a bad start. The situation is much, much worse than we thought it would be. We knew the Citroens would be fast - but not THAT fast. In service we’re going to make some set-up changes to the car and this afternoon I’m going to change my driving a bit too. I can push the tires more," he said.
"When I was driving early on it felt the tires were worn - but when I saw them they were fine. Then I saw Sebastien’s and they were like slicks - but they obviously still work. Looking at the situation now I hope the weather stays dry - that’s our only hope. The will be no rain dances in our team...”
On the other hand, Sebastien Loeb's strategy to use part worn tires and refuse to make use of new ones prove to be a smart choice. The French World Champion explained the grip was fairly low compared to a slick tire but the handling remained in the acceptable levels.
"We decided used tires would be better on tarmac than the new ones and it’s turned out not to be such a bad strategy. After SS1 I put our two spares on the rear and then moved them to the front for SS3. Also being first on the road helped up to get a good lead. I think it’s going to be more difficult in the afternoon to the same but if I can increase the lead a bit more that would be okay," he said.
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