Singapore: Friday Press Conference and Quotes
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: A question to you all. Can you give us some idea on how your team performed today?
Tony FERNANDES: Heikki (Kovalainen) had a much easier day today. He got through all his set-up work and was quite happy with the car. Jarno (Trulli) struggled to find what he wanted and we are going to have to do a little bit more work with him. Key for us was we overall thought we did better than we planned when we came in and the reliability was quite good, so not a bad day.
Colin KOLLES: We have two drivers who never drove before on this track, so they have to get acquainted to this. We are struggling with the set-up but no major issues. The car is reliable at the moment and this is one of the most important things for us.
Peter SAUBER: It was more or less okay. I think it was difficult for both drivers. For Nick (Heidfeld) it was a new car, new tires, and for Kamui (Kobayashi) a new track. I think it was okay.
Q: And they ended up twelve-hundredths apart.
Sauber: Yes, yes that's good.
Q: Stefano?
Stefano DOMENICALI: In this morning's session we wanted to do more mileage but considering the condition of the track it was really impossible. We did the minimum considering that we had a lot of things to compare and we didn't do that because of the situation. In the afternoon I think the situation improved. Difficult to say where we are. We had a little issue with Fernando's (Alonso) car. It was doing the fastest lap then when they reversed he started again but there was something that we need to understand what has happened and waiting for the car to be back. With Felipe (Massa) I think he was not happy about the grip, the general grip and the balance on the car. I think the condition of the track today was difficult for everyone, so difficult to judge but I think tomorrow could be a good fight.
Q: Are the drivers reporting that it is a smoother circuit this year, not so bumpy?
Domenicali: Not yet discussed it. What we have seen is that the new surface is more slippery as the bitumen is with maybe some dust or oil and you could see also this morning with changeable conditions the oldest part of the track was easier to dry up while the new one took a bit longer.
Q: Another question to you all. Bernie Ecclestone is apparently trying to revive his idea of medals being awarded to grand prix winners. What are your own personal thoughts about that? Do you agree with the idea rather than the points' system being the decider who wins the World Championship? Would you like the medal system?
Fernandes: I defer to the older guys.
Kolles: I think we have other issues at the moment. Maybe Ferrari can answer this.
Domenicali: We have not won more medals unfortunately. But apart from that I think it is an exciting idea. No doubt about it. It is something that has been discussed. As always in Formula One we discuss and go back with other solutions. For whatever reason the situation this year is good in terms of what you can recover from the points that you can gain. It is something that can be addressed in a very short time.
Sauber: I am quite happy with the system that we have.
Q: Do you feel the points system this year is an improvement over last year?
Sauber: It is much more difficult to count the points.
Q: Tony, can you clarify the situation between Group Lotus and Lotus Racing to become Team Lotus and also the ART link-up and the Renault situation as well.
Fernandes: Well, when Colin Chapman set up the company (becomes inaudible) there was Group Lotus which manufactured cars and there was Team Lotus which was the racing team. What we acquired was Team Lotus. This year we operated under a license from Group Lotus and next year we will operate under our own ownership. The chassis name still stays the same.
Q: And the link up with ART and with Renault?
Fernandes: I cannot really comment on ART. As to Renault I have no idea what that is. Are you talking about Group Lotus with Renault?
Q: I thought Lotus Racing had a link up with Renault for engines for next year?
Fernandes: We will make an announcement in due course.
Q: And there is no dialogue between Lotus Racing and ART?
Fernandes: No.
Q: Colin, today you had to replace Sakon Yamamoto with Christian Klien. Why did Karun Chandhok not have a chance? What's his future with your team?
Kolles: Well, he had his chance. I think Christian deserved also a chance, so therefore Christian is sitting in the car.
Q: Are you saying that Chandhok won't be driving again as he has had his chance?
Kolles: I am not saying this. I think it was Christian's, how could I say… he would be the first choice in this situation.
Q: And you would expect Yamamoto to be back in the car for his home grand prix?
Kolles: This is what we expect, yes.
Q: Peter, very sad to see Pedro (de la Rosa) going. But nice to see Nick in the car again. What was the thinking behind that? Was there a cut-off point after Monza?
Sauber: No, nothing to do with the Monza result. The fact is that Kamui and Pedro were more or less the same level but Kamui scored more points. We are simply not sure about the potential of the car. With Nick we have a clear benchmark as we know him well. This is important with regards to the development of the new car.
Q: And Nick will be in the car for the rest of the year?
Sauber: Yes.
Q: Stefano, Monza obviously was a high-speed circuit where the team did fantastically well. This is very much a different circuit. How are you feeling about the performance, especially after the first practice session here?
Domenicali: I think Monza was a fantastic weekend for us and for our people there. But as I always say we don't have to be over the moon if we have a great weekend and we don't have to be a total down if we have a bad weekend. The most important thing is that the team is always focused on the job, trying to do the maximum that we can. We know that this situation is totally different. But we also know that we have to be there trying to do the right thing as what has happened this year in terms of development was not what we really expected on the track. That is something also other teams have coped with and we need to make sure this weekend that we are doing the right step and keep the performance one step ahead. Even if on paper this track is not really the best for us I think our job is to make sure that we do everything perfect and then we will see. The championship is very open for everyone. Everything can happen, so the only thing we have to do is stay focused, not to be too excited when things are going well, but just keep the feet on the ground and work flat out and that is what we are going to do here and at the other grands prix.
Q: And you would expect to continue bringing developments all the way through to the end of the season?
Domenicali: Well, of course for the next couple of grands prix, yes, and then we need to see how the situation is before the last grands prix because of course we need to be focused on the new car project. Resources are limited, so at the moment the more time is passing the more we are swapping and taking people from this year (year's project) to next year (year's project). So at every race we need to understand what the potential objective to be achieved is and then we will decide when we really will devote all the resources to the new project.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) I have one question for each of you, all about next year but there are obviously different situations, so different questions. Colin, can you tell us about your plans for next year; are you a Spanish team next year?
Kolles: I hope so.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Are there any other options what the team might be?
Kolles: I'm used to too many changes in the past. You never know what might happen, but the plan is to be a Spanish team of course.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Peter, next year's plans – you have a big white car at the moment. Presumably you don't want it to be white next year?
Sauber: It's beautiful, the white car.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) It doesn't pay very well, though.
Sauber: Yeah, that's true.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) So do we have any plans actually finalized, apart from Kamui, obviously?
Sauber: No, but we are in contact with several companies and I'm confident that we will have a solid budget for next season. I hope as big as possible.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Stefano, in relation to Peter – because there have been some rather strange rumors this week about Felipe disappearing off to Sauber and Robert Kubica coming over to you – can you just put that story to bed completely and tell us it's rubbish?
Domenicali: Absolutely. I totally underline what you've said, because I think it's getting boring news. Every day there is something new on that and I tell you that Peter and I meet a lot of times because we have a good professional relationship, so I can confirm what you said, absolutely.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) And we are going to see the same drivers next year? ´
Domenicali: Yes.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Any other changes happening, are we going to see some restructuring technically?
Domenicali: No. I think that for sure, our main structure will not change and the objective is of course to have a good number two who can grow up within the team but I think this is the objective of all the teams but nothing major, I would say. But as I say, once again, on the Felipe story, I think it's getting a little bit boring.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) Tony, where to do we start? How about drivers for next year?
Fernandes: We haven't confirmed our drivers yet but I think over the next two or three weeks we will.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) And between the chassis and the gearbox you will have something?
Fernandes: Yes, hopefully.
Q: (Joe Saward – Grand Prix Special) And we are expecting to see a green and yellow car?
Fernandes: I would say that that's the only thing I can confirm one hundred per cent.
Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) A question to all of you. You always talk in a positive way about the countries visited by Formula One, even when the conditions are not great, in order not to offend anyone, but Singapore truly seems to be appreciated by everyone: night race, glamour, huge audience. Do you think this event should set new standards for Formula One, for the new countries to come or even for the old ones, and if yes, why?
Domenicali: For sure, the standard of this venue is really very high but we need to be realistic in respect of all the different conditions and all the different situations that you have country by country. There are certain places which have behind them the strength of the country, that can invest and can do something what I would say is outstanding. But there are other situations where really you have private organizers that have to live with their own money, keeping up the tradition of the venues that is not really comparable with the power that this kind of situation can offer to the others, so I think it's a mixed balance that we need to keep in mind and I think that the beautiful thing about Formula One is that you have this kind of mixed situation where you have this fantastic venue and you have the venues that are part of the heritage of Formula One and that are, in any case, very good for the show and for the history and heritage of Formula One.
Fernandes: I think Stefano has answered it very well. Obviously if you have a whole nation behind it (the event) it's a lot easier. Singapore's a small country which gets everyone together, it's easier to get everyone together. Don't take anything away from it, I think they've done a superb job and there's tremendous excitement here. I continue to say that you obviously need time for the other new venues to really fully mature and it takes time. They haven't had the racing pedigree of Monza or Monte Carlo or Silverstone, and I think that for the whole Formula One grouping to work harder in making racing second nature in some of the newer countries, I think the potential is huge. The price for getting huge crowds and activity, back up races in all these other countries is very critical but it will take time and it will take work but I think it's very important that we get all the races up to the standard of a common platform. Obviously there will be some better, some better organized, some better financed, some will be private but I think that we still, as a sport, need to work harder on some of the new venues, because I think there's a tremendous upside.
Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action) Tony Fernandes, the licensing agreement that you have with Group Lotus is that the extent of Group Lotus's involvement in your team?
Fernandes: Yes.
Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action) So then how do you claim heritage, because you've pointed out that Team Lotus and Group Lotus were separate entities, but in fact back in Colin Chapman's day they were quite symbiotic, so don't you need Group Lotus to have some sort of direct involvement in your team to be able to be actually able to claim the lineage?
Fernandes: I don't want to go into the legal side of it, but there were two separate companies and two very separate pools of goodwill. Of course they co-operated and of course we would like to co-operate but if Group Lotus doesn't want to then there's not much we can do about it. That's not to say that they won't, I think it makes sense, and maybe the ownership will come under one anyway in due time. So there was co-operation but there was never ownership and there was never racing by Group Lotus and vice versa, Team Lotus never manufactured cars.
Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action) No, but you clearly understand that one fed off the other, image-wise, you know, Group Lotus…
Fernandes: No, I don't think that if you look at the history of Team Lotus there was much talking about the Esprit or the Elan etc, in fact Group Lotus probably used the imagery of the Formula One team a lot more, if you look at the history.
Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action) So is there any prospect of Group Lotus getting heavily involved?
Fernandes: The door is always open. It makes sense if they did. If I was sitting there and there was a Formula One team that's going around the world with twenty races, promoting a brand, if I was the CEO, I would definitely want to get involved, especially if I'm not putting any money in it.
Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action) You've clearly spoken to the management about it. Do you get any feeling of why they're not involved or why they would want to get involved?
Fernandes: Best you ask them.
Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) Stefano, Fernando really seemed to be very fast before he stopped, even faster than Sebastian Vettel; do you think it's possible you may win and be faster than the Red Bulls on Sunday?
Domenicali: I don't know. I think that for sure the fight will be very tight but I am expecting Red Bull to be a little bit stronger than us here in terms of pure performance. What is going to happen then during the race no one knows but I think I need to be very careful but that's the picture that I'm getting here at the moment.
Q: (Joris Fioriti – AFP) Mr. Fernandes, what are the goals for next year? Do you think you can match the tail enders of the established teams? What do you expect for next year?
Fernandes: I think if you look at this year… when I was interviewed it was Formulaone.com and I said to Tom that we had an A, I think we've actually done alright this year but reliability could have been better. We had a very short time to develop the car. We stopped developing this car after Silverstone. We've put all our investment in next year's car, so we would have a really respectable amount of time to develop the car and our wind tunnel work is already showing quite good results. We will have a new engine and we will have a new gearbox and internals which I think will help us to propel ourselves. As a first year entry we took two drivers that we paid for which showed our seriousness and we hope to continue that. So if you think that we have time to build… 18 months to build a new car, we can have better internals and a rear end and an engine and two reasonable drivers. We're hoping we can move up the grid. I can't say exactly where we are but we're taking this very seriously and we've had a long term plan and slowly but surely we hope we will move up the grid.
Q: (Mat Coch – pitpass.com) Colin, there's been a lot of speculation about the future of Hispania with Durango, Jacques Villeneuve, even Stefan GP in recent weeks. What are the team's long term goals and ambitions and what are you doing now to really drive the team towards those goals?
Kolles: To be honest with you, I'm really speechless, that you believe this speculation. Why should I answer you if you mention the name Durango and of the people you just mentioned before? I cannot make any comment because I never spoke to these people. We are working day and night. Obviously Tony has his plans, we have our plans and we will stay with our engine, we will have a different rear end, and we will have a different car but we will stay with Cosworth, this is the plan.
QUOTES
McLaren-Mercedes
Jenson Button (3rd, 1:47.690): "We got some reasonable running during P2, and the car is working quite well. There are still some improvements we need to make, but I feel comfortable with it. We saw today that, after it rains, the track doesn't dry very quickly, and a lot of water comes up through the circuit. It's pretty tricky – it's difficult to see which parts of the track are wet because of the glare. Hopefully, we won't have any more rain this weekend, because wet conditions aren't the nicest to drive in. Our long-run pace looks good, but it's so tough around here on high fuel – we've never run this level of fuel around here before. Qualifying tomorrow will be all about finding track space – if you hit traffic, you've got to still keep pushing, especially in Q1, when the circuit will be at its busiest."
Lewis Hamilton (5th, 1:47.818): "The track was very tricky today because there were wet patches in some areas, but it was quite a good session for us. We're reasonably close; we're competitive; there's more time for us to find tomorrow; so I'm optimistic. In fact I think we'll be able to compete with the guys who were at the front today. The Red Bulls definitely aren't unbeatable here. Okay, they're very quick in the second and third sectors, so we'll have to work hard to try to make up time there, but I'm pretty confident we can do it. Finally, I think the changes made to the track have made it worse – and the chicane is now very tricky. You approach it at 170mph – and if something goes wrong, and you hit one of those curbs, then you could have a nasty accident."
Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal: "This afternoon's shower showed, for the first time, that this circuit is likely to be very challenging in the wet – the track doesn't dry out very rapidly and, as we saw this evening, certain parts of the track don't drain very efficiently. That meant some corners were still damp long after the rest of the track had dried. Coupled with the fact that visibility under the strip lighting makes it hard for the drivers to see where the circuit is drying, a race in wet conditions could be extremely challenging. While today's lap-times suggest that our competitors may have an advantage, there's still plenty of data to be combed through tonight. In particular, our long-run pace looks encouraging, so our aim for tomorrow is to ensure that our car's speed over a single lap is optimized for what's likely to be a rather tricky qualifying session. Initial analysis suggests that our upgrades have worked successfully, but we still need to look over the data in more detail in order to gain a greater understanding of our overall competitiveness ahead of tomorrow."
Mercedes GP
Nico Rosberg (8th, 1:48.679): "The second session was good today although we weren't able to learn so much in the first session. The track improved significantly during the later session so we were able to learn a few things and made some good set-up changes. Our long runs were ok but the main issue was that we didn't get the grip that I was expecting from the soft tire so that's something that we need to look at overnight. All in all, it was a reasonable start to the weekend."
Michael Schumacher (10th, 1:48.889): "It has been a lot of fun driving this track today, even in the dark. It is the first time driving here in Singapore for me and I was curious to experience how it would be and I have to say that I liked it. I had heard that the track is quite bumpy but I didn't find that it was too much, just in one sector. The rest is pretty good and exciting. This morning, well actually early evening, when the conditions were mixed, we looked quite good whereas in the later second practice, we seemed to struggle more. Let's see what we can do here tomorrow."
Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "As expected, we faced some weather-related challenges today but the first session proved very useful for Michael as he was quickly able to learn the circuit with good running in the damp conditions. The second session proved more useful from an engineering perspective as we could work through our normal Friday program. We are reasonably happy with our progress so far but there is still a lot of work to be done before tomorrow."
Norbert Haug, Mercedes Motorsport Director: "A beautiful venue here in Singapore with a great atmosphere and first-class television images for the spectators worldwide. Although it is only our third visit here, this is already a great Grand Prix and one of the most remarkable races on the calendar. On the track, we ran our usual Friday program and we still have some work to complete tomorrow. Our target on Sunday is to continue scoring points with both cars as we achieved in the last couple of races. Whilst we are not expecting miracles in the last five races, everybody will give their utmost to get the best possible results."
Red Bull-Renault
Sebastian Vettel (1st, 1:46.660): "The most important thing is to have a clean Friday and we had no problem with the car today. It was tricky in the first practice, as the circuit was still a bit damp from earlier rain, then in P2 it didn't really dry up and some corners were like a sponge where you couldn't get rid of the water. I think it could be interesting tomorrow or on Sunday if we get some rain. It doesn't mean so much to be P1 today, as it's only practice and there are no points available, but it's still good to be on top and we have good pace. The weather may bring a surprise though."
Mark Webber (2nd, 1:47.287): "A pretty good first day, the first session was wet, but we got some good running this afternoon. I haven't seen the times that closely yet, but I'm pretty happy with how today went. I need to work on my short run performance a bit, but overall it's good. We knew nothing would change with our car before we came here; we've passed all the new FIA tests and we weren't coming here expecting to be slower than we were in Budapest. Other people had their ideas how to improve their car and we have continued to improve our car too. Ferrari still look quick and anyone can be on pole tomorrow, us, Ferrari or McLaren, we just keep trying to do our best."
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso (4th, 1:47.18): "I braked a bit late at turn 18 and ended up in the escape road: I selected reverse, but when I then selected first gear to get going again, the car stopped. It's a shame, because I lost the final twenty minutes of the session, the part when I was due to run with a heavy fuel load. In the debrief, the engineers told me the problem was that an experimental part in the gearbox had broken. This can happen on a Friday, when you try a lot of things, some of them even aimed at next season. Our individual sector times don't seem too bad, in fact you could say they were quite competitive, when compared to our main rivals. We tried the car with and without the blown rear wing and for me, the first option seems to be the best, but we must study the data carefully before taking a definite decision. The hard tires proved to be consistent and the softs give more grip than expected. This morning, I did not do much running because the track was not dry enough for slick tires, while the intermediates would have quickly been destroyed."
Felipe Massa (7th, 1:48.341): "We did a lot of laps to try out different configurations on the car, especially comparing performance with and without the blown rear wing. I am not particularly pleased with the balance of the car and that is another reason why we spent a lot of time on track in the first session, even when track conditions were not ideal. Especially on the soft tires, I had a bit too much oversteer. There is much work to do but I think we can be competitive all the same, even up against Red Bull who seem to be very strong. The track was very slippery when it was still damp, especially the curbs and the part that was recently resurfaced. The hard tires take a while to get up to temperature, which is not the case with the soft ones, although these probably suffer a bit more from degradation."
Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: "Despite today's difficulties, we still managed to acquire sufficient data which our engineers can now use to decide on the car set-up for qualifying and the race. Friday's times are always difficult to evaluate and today was no exception. From the little we could see, Red Bull look very strong, as indeed was to be expected, but we are on the pace. Having said that, clearly we will have to perform faultlessly if we want to achieve our objective, starting from tomorrow's qualifying."
Chris Dyer: "Rather a difficult day in terms of running the program we had set out for the two free practice sessions. In the first one, the track conditions were neither fish nor fowl: the damp track meant you could not use the dry tires without the risk of damaging them, but it was not wet enough to run properly on the intermediates. In the second session, we were unable to complete the planned program on Fernando's car, because an experimental component in the gearbox broke, which was discovered when he went off the track at turn 18: now we have to take a close look at the part to determine what caused the breakage. We tried various new aerodynamic solutions, also comparing the handling of the car with and without the blown rear wing: now it is up to the engineers, along with the drivers, to reach a decision tonight as to which is the best configuration for qualifying and the race. In terms of performance, the F10 seems to be reasonably competitive at this track, even if it is difficult to draw any definite conclusion, especially when you consider how the two sessions went. I think the battle between the top three teams is very tight and that we can fight for places at the front of the grid."
Williams-Cosworth
Rubens Barrichello (6th, 1:48.302): "We've brought some new parts to the car this weekend, and they are working well, so the factory has done a good job. Today has been pretty good but there is work to be done tomorrow both in the car and out of it, but we should be up to the job here. In terms of the track, the surface is now much improved as it is far less bumpy, but the new surface can be quite slippery, especially in conditions like today when the rain was taking a long time to dry."
Nico Hulkenberg (11th, 1:49.153): "It was a positive Friday and the car feels pretty good. We've got some new elements to the package and although we didn't do back-to-back tests today because of the weather, it is pretty clear that they do what they are meant to. And the circuit, well it's just awesome, there's no other word for it. After today I am a little far away from Rubens on the timesheets, but actually I am not if I put a good option run together. All told, I reckon we can have a good, strong weekend."
Sam Michael, Technical Director: "Even with the circuit being damp for the majority of the first practice session, we still had a productive day working on set-up and tires. For both cars we had a new front wing assembly, and only on Rubens car for this race we had a new diffuser to evaluate -all of which are working as expected. Our pace looks reasonable, and qualifying will be about traffic management!"
Renault
Robert Kubica (9th, 1:48.855): "It was a more difficult Friday than usual because we had a problem with the hydraulics during the second session, when the track was at its best, so I only completed about five clean laps today. That makes it very difficult to say where we stand relative to the competition. The track conditions were changing a lot throughout the day, too, and it was clear to see that the new sections of tarmac took a long time to dry up."
Vitaly Petrov (14th, 1:49.608): "Today was a learning day for me and it was made even more complicated by the fact that the circuit was wet this morning. I worked hard on adapting my style to suit this circuit and the car, and we started looking at the set-up during the second session. It is hard to find a comfortable balance here but if we can continue in the same direction overnight, I don't think it will be too bad. I made a mistake on my quickest lap so I know there is more performance to come, and my target will be to get into the top ten tomorrow."
Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: "It was pretty wet during the first session so while Vitaly spent some time learning the circuit and achieving as much as he could in the conditions, with Robert we focused on checking f-duct settings and making sure the car was working okay. We chose to run Vitaly without the f-duct in the FP1, just to make his life as simple as possible for his first practice session at this circuit. Robert lost most of the second session with a hydraulic leak, and wasn't able to run a new set of soft tires to set a time – he only went out for a couple of laps at the end just to check the car. As for Vitaly, he's still learning the circuit and finding his optimum braking points, so we know there's a lot more time to come from him. It doesn't look fantastic on the timesheets today, but I'm confident we'll be in our normal place tomorrow. The drivers haven't been complaining about the bumps at all today. We know that our car rides them reasonably well, but they don't appear to be the issue that they have been for the last two years. Our limited data from today indicates that the softer compound will be the quicker qualifying tire, so we will simply try to run our normal program, have a trouble-free session with both cars, and prepare thoroughly for qualifying."
Force India-Mercedes
Vitantonio Liuzzi (15th, 1:49.896): "Today went OK and we got a lot of work done in the afternoon in particular. We didn't do much running in the first session as we waited until the track dried a bit, but in the later practice we completed our usual tire preparation and set-up work, which is crucial here due to the special nature of the track. It's going to be difficult to choose the tires tomorrow as the soft work well but tail off and then the car balance is affected, but the hard seem to work fine. We have to work a little on the set-up but on the longer runs it felt OK and even on the heavier fuel loads we seem competitive."
Adrian Sutil (16th, 1:49.984): "The morning session was very good and in both the wet and the dry conditions I felt able to push the car and set good times. In the afternoon it was also feeling very comfortable, but unfortunately I made a small mistake in the chicane and went over the curb. The car took off and when it came back down it broke some of the front suspension and I had to stop. It's disappointing as I couldn't do my soft tire run at the end. Based on the work we did do though the car feels much better here than last year and I think we can achieve a lot this weekend."
Dominic Harlow, Chief Race Engineer: "During FP1 the circuit took quite a long time to dry, meaning our program included a run on intermediate tires followed by a second on dry tires. The track was in quite good condition otherwise and in FP2 it was good for dry tires for our usual comparisons. Tonio worked on set-up, suffering from a bit of understeer, and unfortunately Adrian clipped a curb at T10 on his second outing and couldn't continue. With some improvements to the car overnight we believe we can be competitive tomorrow and to get both cars into Q3 remains a realistic target."
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Jaime Alguersuari (17th, 1:50.191): "A positive start to the weekend, especially doing a lot of running on high fuel loads in the second session. We should not read too much into my P5 in the first session, which was complicated by the wet track. In the second session I did my quick lap early on, after which the conditions improved, so I am quite confident with the results of the long run. We know the track will improve tomorrow and now we just have to keep on working to follow that development. There was just one moment, when I touched the wall: I was on the soft tires which I always find more difficult to drive on, because although they are obviously quicker, they are more complicated to adapt to as the rear end of the car moves a lot more and I just clipped the wall at Turn 19. It's very hot inside the car and you feel there is not enough oxygen, but I am in much better shape than when I first came here last year."
Sebastien Buemi (18th, 1:50.896): "We started the first session in the wet, which made it more complicated to work through our program although we were able to gather the data we wanted by running with the F Duct for a few laps. We had no problems on the car today which is another good point. I think the long runs gave us a very good understanding of both types of tire. I was unable to get the maximum out of the soft tires on the first two laps, because I made some mistakes, so I am a bit disappointed with my performance in terms of pure lap time, but that's not so important on a Friday. However, it helps if you get up to speed straight away as it is important to be able to follow the development of the track. All in all a good day, even if we are sweating a lot!"
Laurent Mekies, Chief Engineer: "This morning on Buemi's car, we carried out another development test on the F Duct, as we had done in Monza, even though again, we had no intention of using it on this circuit which requires maximum downforce. We also had to contend with a damp track, but we have to get used to it as we can expect this Equatorial weather throughout the weekend, being ready to deal with sudden showers. Therefore it was good for the drivers to complete some laps in these conditions. Jaime had a very good day: we saw him sideways a few times on TV, including one contact with the wall, but he put in a strong performance on both short and long runs. With both cars, we concentrated on race trim, doing extremely long runs to assess tire performance. Tire consistency has very much improved compared to the last two years, because tire degradation used to be a problem here and today their behavior was much better. Apart from that, we tackled the usual Singapore challenges of the bumpy track, trying to establish the best ride configuration for the cars."
Lotus-Cosworth
Heikki Kovalainen (19th, 1:51.878):
Jarno Trulli (22nd, 1:53.526):
Fairuz Fauzy:
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal:
Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director:
HRT-Cosworth
Bruno Senna (23rd, 1:54.725): "It was a good day for us here at the special event in Singapore. We managed to try a few things on the car and we learnt a lot about the track. In the second practice, we could improve and now we have to get ready for tomorrow."
Christian Klien (24th, 1:55.542): "I am happy to be back racing, which wasn't easy at the beginning of the first session as I only did 40 laps in this car before. But I felt more and more comfortable in the cockpit and could learn a lot and get more experience. I found a good pace on the prime tires even if I lost some time on the options compared to my teammate. I am looking forward to tomorrow and I hope to improve again."
Colin Kolles, Team Principal: "The first session started off under wet track conditions and so, our drivers could get some experiences on a new circuit for them. As rain is expected for almost the whole weekend, it was important for Bruno and Christian to run under changing conditions. The track dried up and in practice two, it was dry. Today, it was important for us to get as much track time as possible and data about the circuit and the car. Now, our focus is on tomorrow and we will try to do our best again."
BMW Sauber-Ferrari
Kamui Kobayashi (12th, 1:49.438): "Wow – it was really hot in the car here. But I like the track, and turn five especially is a nice and fast corner. The bumps are not too bad and didn't come as a surprise to me. I found it difficult to reach the limit today because after the rain the correct line was very narrow. I made a few mistakes, but I didn't hit anything. We managed to improve the set-up a bit between the sessions, but we still have to find a better balance to make the best use of the tires."
Nick Heidfeld (13th, 1:49.558): "Given it was my first day back in the team and also in the 2010 car I'm very happy. I enjoyed driving a lot. At the beginning it was a bit difficult because the track was wet. I just took it easy and tried to do as many laps as possible. For the second session we changed a few things, but it is clear two sessions are not enough to analyze everything. I see many areas where we can improve the set-up of the car and areas where I can improve in getting the best out of the car. The track itself with regard to the bumps has improved compared to 2009."
James Key, Technical Director: "Our work was cut out today compared to normal Fridays, because for Kamui it was about first learning the track and for Nick driving for the first time with the new car and current tires. We started off today in wet conditions and it seemed to go well. Kamui put in some good lap times, while Nick started to familiarize himself with the car. Due to the damp track, the tire temperatures were quite low in the first session. Between the sessions we had a good look at the data and the second session was okay. We continued to work as planned, except we had to replace the same new hydraulic component on both cars. We are midfield at the moment and are working to improve from there."
Virgin-Cosworth
Timo Glock (20th, 1:52.150): "I had quite a good session in Free Practice 1 and some fun in the wet conditions. It was good to see my name at the top of the timesheets for so much of the session. We were quite competitive in the mixed conditions. It was a bit of a shame that we couldn't go out for the last 10 minutes when the track was getting quicker and quicker. FP2 looked okay too. We had a straightforward program. The car is a bit nervous at the rear and therefore difficult to drive, but we will find a way to improve it for tomorrow."
Lucas di Grassi (21st, 1:53.431): "It was always going to be a challenge to get up to speed in just the afternoon session, particularly as I haven't raced here before, but I am pleased with the work we achieved here today. The track was very damp to start with, which made it even harder, and we had a few issues with the balance of the car, so we have some work to do to improve the car for tomorrow."
Jerome D'Ambrosio: "It is difficult for any driver to adequately describe the feeling of driving an F1 car – the awesome power and enormous braking in particular – but combined with the whole night race experience as well, today has been a very special day for me. The conditions this morning were very tricky so there was a lot to get to grips with and it was always going to take time to get up to speed. When the track did dry out my times started to drop and I was really pleased with where I ended up. It has been a good start for me and I'm looking forward to continually improving during the Friday morning sessions of the next three races. I would like to thank the team for looking after me so well. They are a great bunch of people and I am enjoying being part of Virgin Racing."
John Booth, Team Principal: "We are extremely pleased with how the day has gone. We've shown some good pace today on both wet and dry tires and all three drivers did a very professional job in difficult conditions. We do have a few issues to resolve before tomorrow's running, but generally a good start to the weekend. This morning Jerome did a fantastic job for his first time out in the car, particularly as there was a lot of media attention on him. To achieve the time he set and be the quickest of the three 'Friday drivers' was fantastic for him. Timo was pretty happy with his car on the prime tires and his time was impressive, but he had an imbalance on the car which prevented him from improving on his time on the option tire. Lucas got up to speed quickly in free practice 2, but was also unable to get the best out of his option tire run."
McLaren-Mercedes
Jenson Button (3rd, 1:47.690): "We got some reasonable running during P2, and the car is working quite well. There are still some improvements we need to make, but I feel comfortable with it. We saw today that, after it rains, the track doesn't dry very quickly, and a lot of water comes up through the circuit. It's pretty tricky – it's difficult to see which parts of the track are wet because of the glare. Hopefully, we won't have any more rain this weekend, because wet conditions aren't the nicest to drive in. Our long-run pace looks good, but it's so tough around here on high fuel – we've never run this level of fuel around here before. Qualifying tomorrow will be all about finding track space – if you hit traffic, you've got to still keep pushing, especially in Q1, when the circuit will be at its busiest."
Lewis Hamilton (5th, 1:47.818): "The track was very tricky today because there were wet patches in some areas, but it was quite a good session for us. We're reasonably close; we're competitive; there's more time for us to find tomorrow; so I'm optimistic. In fact I think we'll be able to compete with the guys who were at the front today. The Red Bulls definitely aren't unbeatable here. Okay, they're very quick in the second and third sectors, so we'll have to work hard to try to make up time there, but I'm pretty confident we can do it. Finally, I think the changes made to the track have made it worse – and the chicane is now very tricky. You approach it at 170mph – and if something goes wrong, and you hit one of those curbs, then you could have a nasty accident."
Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal: "This afternoon's shower showed, for the first time, that this circuit is likely to be very challenging in the wet – the track doesn't dry out very rapidly and, as we saw this evening, certain parts of the track don't drain very efficiently. That meant some corners were still damp long after the rest of the track had dried. Coupled with the fact that visibility under the strip lighting makes it hard for the drivers to see where the circuit is drying, a race in wet conditions could be extremely challenging. While today's lap-times suggest that our competitors may have an advantage, there's still plenty of data to be combed through tonight. In particular, our long-run pace looks encouraging, so our aim for tomorrow is to ensure that our car's speed over a single lap is optimized for what's likely to be a rather tricky qualifying session. Initial analysis suggests that our upgrades have worked successfully, but we still need to look over the data in more detail in order to gain a greater understanding of our overall competitiveness ahead of tomorrow."
Mercedes GP
Nico Rosberg (8th, 1:48.679): "The second session was good today although we weren't able to learn so much in the first session. The track improved significantly during the later session so we were able to learn a few things and made some good set-up changes. Our long runs were ok but the main issue was that we didn't get the grip that I was expecting from the soft tire so that's something that we need to look at overnight. All in all, it was a reasonable start to the weekend."
Michael Schumacher (10th, 1:48.889): "It has been a lot of fun driving this track today, even in the dark. It is the first time driving here in Singapore for me and I was curious to experience how it would be and I have to say that I liked it. I had heard that the track is quite bumpy but I didn't find that it was too much, just in one sector. The rest is pretty good and exciting. This morning, well actually early evening, when the conditions were mixed, we looked quite good whereas in the later second practice, we seemed to struggle more. Let's see what we can do here tomorrow."
Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "As expected, we faced some weather-related challenges today but the first session proved very useful for Michael as he was quickly able to learn the circuit with good running in the damp conditions. The second session proved more useful from an engineering perspective as we could work through our normal Friday program. We are reasonably happy with our progress so far but there is still a lot of work to be done before tomorrow."
Norbert Haug, Mercedes Motorsport Director: "A beautiful venue here in Singapore with a great atmosphere and first-class television images for the spectators worldwide. Although it is only our third visit here, this is already a great Grand Prix and one of the most remarkable races on the calendar. On the track, we ran our usual Friday program and we still have some work to complete tomorrow. Our target on Sunday is to continue scoring points with both cars as we achieved in the last couple of races. Whilst we are not expecting miracles in the last five races, everybody will give their utmost to get the best possible results."
Red Bull-Renault
Sebastian Vettel (1st, 1:46.660): "The most important thing is to have a clean Friday and we had no problem with the car today. It was tricky in the first practice, as the circuit was still a bit damp from earlier rain, then in P2 it didn't really dry up and some corners were like a sponge where you couldn't get rid of the water. I think it could be interesting tomorrow or on Sunday if we get some rain. It doesn't mean so much to be P1 today, as it's only practice and there are no points available, but it's still good to be on top and we have good pace. The weather may bring a surprise though."
Mark Webber (2nd, 1:47.287): "A pretty good first day, the first session was wet, but we got some good running this afternoon. I haven't seen the times that closely yet, but I'm pretty happy with how today went. I need to work on my short run performance a bit, but overall it's good. We knew nothing would change with our car before we came here; we've passed all the new FIA tests and we weren't coming here expecting to be slower than we were in Budapest. Other people had their ideas how to improve their car and we have continued to improve our car too. Ferrari still look quick and anyone can be on pole tomorrow, us, Ferrari or McLaren, we just keep trying to do our best."
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso (4th, 1:47.18): "I braked a bit late at turn 18 and ended up in the escape road: I selected reverse, but when I then selected first gear to get going again, the car stopped. It's a shame, because I lost the final twenty minutes of the session, the part when I was due to run with a heavy fuel load. In the debrief, the engineers told me the problem was that an experimental part in the gearbox had broken. This can happen on a Friday, when you try a lot of things, some of them even aimed at next season. Our individual sector times don't seem too bad, in fact you could say they were quite competitive, when compared to our main rivals. We tried the car with and without the blown rear wing and for me, the first option seems to be the best, but we must study the data carefully before taking a definite decision. The hard tires proved to be consistent and the softs give more grip than expected. This morning, I did not do much running because the track was not dry enough for slick tires, while the intermediates would have quickly been destroyed."
Felipe Massa (7th, 1:48.341): "We did a lot of laps to try out different configurations on the car, especially comparing performance with and without the blown rear wing. I am not particularly pleased with the balance of the car and that is another reason why we spent a lot of time on track in the first session, even when track conditions were not ideal. Especially on the soft tires, I had a bit too much oversteer. There is much work to do but I think we can be competitive all the same, even up against Red Bull who seem to be very strong. The track was very slippery when it was still damp, especially the curbs and the part that was recently resurfaced. The hard tires take a while to get up to temperature, which is not the case with the soft ones, although these probably suffer a bit more from degradation."
Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: "Despite today's difficulties, we still managed to acquire sufficient data which our engineers can now use to decide on the car set-up for qualifying and the race. Friday's times are always difficult to evaluate and today was no exception. From the little we could see, Red Bull look very strong, as indeed was to be expected, but we are on the pace. Having said that, clearly we will have to perform faultlessly if we want to achieve our objective, starting from tomorrow's qualifying."
Chris Dyer: "Rather a difficult day in terms of running the program we had set out for the two free practice sessions. In the first one, the track conditions were neither fish nor fowl: the damp track meant you could not use the dry tires without the risk of damaging them, but it was not wet enough to run properly on the intermediates. In the second session, we were unable to complete the planned program on Fernando's car, because an experimental component in the gearbox broke, which was discovered when he went off the track at turn 18: now we have to take a close look at the part to determine what caused the breakage. We tried various new aerodynamic solutions, also comparing the handling of the car with and without the blown rear wing: now it is up to the engineers, along with the drivers, to reach a decision tonight as to which is the best configuration for qualifying and the race. In terms of performance, the F10 seems to be reasonably competitive at this track, even if it is difficult to draw any definite conclusion, especially when you consider how the two sessions went. I think the battle between the top three teams is very tight and that we can fight for places at the front of the grid."
Williams-Cosworth
Rubens Barrichello (6th, 1:48.302): "We've brought some new parts to the car this weekend, and they are working well, so the factory has done a good job. Today has been pretty good but there is work to be done tomorrow both in the car and out of it, but we should be up to the job here. In terms of the track, the surface is now much improved as it is far less bumpy, but the new surface can be quite slippery, especially in conditions like today when the rain was taking a long time to dry."
Nico Hulkenberg (11th, 1:49.153): "It was a positive Friday and the car feels pretty good. We've got some new elements to the package and although we didn't do back-to-back tests today because of the weather, it is pretty clear that they do what they are meant to. And the circuit, well it's just awesome, there's no other word for it. After today I am a little far away from Rubens on the timesheets, but actually I am not if I put a good option run together. All told, I reckon we can have a good, strong weekend."
Sam Michael, Technical Director: "Even with the circuit being damp for the majority of the first practice session, we still had a productive day working on set-up and tires. For both cars we had a new front wing assembly, and only on Rubens car for this race we had a new diffuser to evaluate -all of which are working as expected. Our pace looks reasonable, and qualifying will be about traffic management!"
Renault
Robert Kubica (9th, 1:48.855): "It was a more difficult Friday than usual because we had a problem with the hydraulics during the second session, when the track was at its best, so I only completed about five clean laps today. That makes it very difficult to say where we stand relative to the competition. The track conditions were changing a lot throughout the day, too, and it was clear to see that the new sections of tarmac took a long time to dry up."
Vitaly Petrov (14th, 1:49.608): "Today was a learning day for me and it was made even more complicated by the fact that the circuit was wet this morning. I worked hard on adapting my style to suit this circuit and the car, and we started looking at the set-up during the second session. It is hard to find a comfortable balance here but if we can continue in the same direction overnight, I don't think it will be too bad. I made a mistake on my quickest lap so I know there is more performance to come, and my target will be to get into the top ten tomorrow."
Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: "It was pretty wet during the first session so while Vitaly spent some time learning the circuit and achieving as much as he could in the conditions, with Robert we focused on checking f-duct settings and making sure the car was working okay. We chose to run Vitaly without the f-duct in the FP1, just to make his life as simple as possible for his first practice session at this circuit. Robert lost most of the second session with a hydraulic leak, and wasn't able to run a new set of soft tires to set a time – he only went out for a couple of laps at the end just to check the car. As for Vitaly, he's still learning the circuit and finding his optimum braking points, so we know there's a lot more time to come from him. It doesn't look fantastic on the timesheets today, but I'm confident we'll be in our normal place tomorrow. The drivers haven't been complaining about the bumps at all today. We know that our car rides them reasonably well, but they don't appear to be the issue that they have been for the last two years. Our limited data from today indicates that the softer compound will be the quicker qualifying tire, so we will simply try to run our normal program, have a trouble-free session with both cars, and prepare thoroughly for qualifying."
Force India-Mercedes
Vitantonio Liuzzi (15th, 1:49.896): "Today went OK and we got a lot of work done in the afternoon in particular. We didn't do much running in the first session as we waited until the track dried a bit, but in the later practice we completed our usual tire preparation and set-up work, which is crucial here due to the special nature of the track. It's going to be difficult to choose the tires tomorrow as the soft work well but tail off and then the car balance is affected, but the hard seem to work fine. We have to work a little on the set-up but on the longer runs it felt OK and even on the heavier fuel loads we seem competitive."
Adrian Sutil (16th, 1:49.984): "The morning session was very good and in both the wet and the dry conditions I felt able to push the car and set good times. In the afternoon it was also feeling very comfortable, but unfortunately I made a small mistake in the chicane and went over the curb. The car took off and when it came back down it broke some of the front suspension and I had to stop. It's disappointing as I couldn't do my soft tire run at the end. Based on the work we did do though the car feels much better here than last year and I think we can achieve a lot this weekend."
Dominic Harlow, Chief Race Engineer: "During FP1 the circuit took quite a long time to dry, meaning our program included a run on intermediate tires followed by a second on dry tires. The track was in quite good condition otherwise and in FP2 it was good for dry tires for our usual comparisons. Tonio worked on set-up, suffering from a bit of understeer, and unfortunately Adrian clipped a curb at T10 on his second outing and couldn't continue. With some improvements to the car overnight we believe we can be competitive tomorrow and to get both cars into Q3 remains a realistic target."
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Jaime Alguersuari (17th, 1:50.191): "A positive start to the weekend, especially doing a lot of running on high fuel loads in the second session. We should not read too much into my P5 in the first session, which was complicated by the wet track. In the second session I did my quick lap early on, after which the conditions improved, so I am quite confident with the results of the long run. We know the track will improve tomorrow and now we just have to keep on working to follow that development. There was just one moment, when I touched the wall: I was on the soft tires which I always find more difficult to drive on, because although they are obviously quicker, they are more complicated to adapt to as the rear end of the car moves a lot more and I just clipped the wall at Turn 19. It's very hot inside the car and you feel there is not enough oxygen, but I am in much better shape than when I first came here last year."
Sebastien Buemi (18th, 1:50.896): "We started the first session in the wet, which made it more complicated to work through our program although we were able to gather the data we wanted by running with the F Duct for a few laps. We had no problems on the car today which is another good point. I think the long runs gave us a very good understanding of both types of tire. I was unable to get the maximum out of the soft tires on the first two laps, because I made some mistakes, so I am a bit disappointed with my performance in terms of pure lap time, but that's not so important on a Friday. However, it helps if you get up to speed straight away as it is important to be able to follow the development of the track. All in all a good day, even if we are sweating a lot!"
Laurent Mekies, Chief Engineer: "This morning on Buemi's car, we carried out another development test on the F Duct, as we had done in Monza, even though again, we had no intention of using it on this circuit which requires maximum downforce. We also had to contend with a damp track, but we have to get used to it as we can expect this Equatorial weather throughout the weekend, being ready to deal with sudden showers. Therefore it was good for the drivers to complete some laps in these conditions. Jaime had a very good day: we saw him sideways a few times on TV, including one contact with the wall, but he put in a strong performance on both short and long runs. With both cars, we concentrated on race trim, doing extremely long runs to assess tire performance. Tire consistency has very much improved compared to the last two years, because tire degradation used to be a problem here and today their behavior was much better. Apart from that, we tackled the usual Singapore challenges of the bumpy track, trying to establish the best ride configuration for the cars."
Lotus-Cosworth
Heikki Kovalainen (19th, 1:51.878):
Jarno Trulli (22nd, 1:53.526):
Fairuz Fauzy:
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal:
Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director:
HRT-Cosworth
Bruno Senna (23rd, 1:54.725): "It was a good day for us here at the special event in Singapore. We managed to try a few things on the car and we learnt a lot about the track. In the second practice, we could improve and now we have to get ready for tomorrow."
Christian Klien (24th, 1:55.542): "I am happy to be back racing, which wasn't easy at the beginning of the first session as I only did 40 laps in this car before. But I felt more and more comfortable in the cockpit and could learn a lot and get more experience. I found a good pace on the prime tires even if I lost some time on the options compared to my teammate. I am looking forward to tomorrow and I hope to improve again."
Colin Kolles, Team Principal: "The first session started off under wet track conditions and so, our drivers could get some experiences on a new circuit for them. As rain is expected for almost the whole weekend, it was important for Bruno and Christian to run under changing conditions. The track dried up and in practice two, it was dry. Today, it was important for us to get as much track time as possible and data about the circuit and the car. Now, our focus is on tomorrow and we will try to do our best again."
BMW Sauber-Ferrari
Kamui Kobayashi (12th, 1:49.438): "Wow – it was really hot in the car here. But I like the track, and turn five especially is a nice and fast corner. The bumps are not too bad and didn't come as a surprise to me. I found it difficult to reach the limit today because after the rain the correct line was very narrow. I made a few mistakes, but I didn't hit anything. We managed to improve the set-up a bit between the sessions, but we still have to find a better balance to make the best use of the tires."
Nick Heidfeld (13th, 1:49.558): "Given it was my first day back in the team and also in the 2010 car I'm very happy. I enjoyed driving a lot. At the beginning it was a bit difficult because the track was wet. I just took it easy and tried to do as many laps as possible. For the second session we changed a few things, but it is clear two sessions are not enough to analyze everything. I see many areas where we can improve the set-up of the car and areas where I can improve in getting the best out of the car. The track itself with regard to the bumps has improved compared to 2009."
James Key, Technical Director: "Our work was cut out today compared to normal Fridays, because for Kamui it was about first learning the track and for Nick driving for the first time with the new car and current tires. We started off today in wet conditions and it seemed to go well. Kamui put in some good lap times, while Nick started to familiarize himself with the car. Due to the damp track, the tire temperatures were quite low in the first session. Between the sessions we had a good look at the data and the second session was okay. We continued to work as planned, except we had to replace the same new hydraulic component on both cars. We are midfield at the moment and are working to improve from there."
Virgin-Cosworth
Timo Glock (20th, 1:52.150): "I had quite a good session in Free Practice 1 and some fun in the wet conditions. It was good to see my name at the top of the timesheets for so much of the session. We were quite competitive in the mixed conditions. It was a bit of a shame that we couldn't go out for the last 10 minutes when the track was getting quicker and quicker. FP2 looked okay too. We had a straightforward program. The car is a bit nervous at the rear and therefore difficult to drive, but we will find a way to improve it for tomorrow."
Lucas di Grassi (21st, 1:53.431): "It was always going to be a challenge to get up to speed in just the afternoon session, particularly as I haven't raced here before, but I am pleased with the work we achieved here today. The track was very damp to start with, which made it even harder, and we had a few issues with the balance of the car, so we have some work to do to improve the car for tomorrow."
Jerome D'Ambrosio: "It is difficult for any driver to adequately describe the feeling of driving an F1 car – the awesome power and enormous braking in particular – but combined with the whole night race experience as well, today has been a very special day for me. The conditions this morning were very tricky so there was a lot to get to grips with and it was always going to take time to get up to speed. When the track did dry out my times started to drop and I was really pleased with where I ended up. It has been a good start for me and I'm looking forward to continually improving during the Friday morning sessions of the next three races. I would like to thank the team for looking after me so well. They are a great bunch of people and I am enjoying being part of Virgin Racing."
John Booth, Team Principal: "We are extremely pleased with how the day has gone. We've shown some good pace today on both wet and dry tires and all three drivers did a very professional job in difficult conditions. We do have a few issues to resolve before tomorrow's running, but generally a good start to the weekend. This morning Jerome did a fantastic job for his first time out in the car, particularly as there was a lot of media attention on him. To achieve the time he set and be the quickest of the three 'Friday drivers' was fantastic for him. Timo was pretty happy with his car on the prime tires and his time was impressive, but he had an imbalance on the car which prevented him from improving on his time on the option tire. Lucas got up to speed quickly in free practice 2, but was also unable to get the best out of his option tire run."