Brazilian Grand Prix Practices
Getting prepared for the race ahead this weekend, let’s take a look at what some of the teams and drivers had to say after the Brazilian Grand Prix Practices.
Sahara Force India – Brazilian Grand Prix Practices
Nico Hulkenberg
“It was a good Friday, just what you want from a day like this. We had two dry sessions and collected some useful information for the tyres with the two long runs.”
“The car feels OK but there are still a few improvements that need to be done for the balance overnight.”
“It is a good starting point but it’s still too early to know just how competitive we are – it feels like we have potential for a strong weekend though.”
Sergio Perez
“A very hot day, things went to plan and I feel positive for this weekend.”
“This afternoon I didn’t get a clear lap for my first run on the soft tyres so I feel there is more potential to come.”
“We tried a few set-up adjustments that didn’t really work with the car but we’ve learned some things which will give us a better direction for tomorrow.”
“We expect the weather to be slightly cooler over the weekend but I still think that the work done today is representative and we just need to adjust that – if the track temperatures drop.”
“Overall, I am very happy with what we’ve done today, we have a good idea of where to go and how to improve the car overnight.”
Robert Fernley – Deputy Team Principal
“As the forecast indicated, we had a very hot day with high temperatures – up to 50 degrees on track, this was in both FP1 and FP2.”
“The actually allowed us to learn a lot about the set-up of the car and the performance of the tyres in these conditions however, we are aware that cooler weather is expected over the weekend, with a realistic chance of rain too, so we need to keep that in mind when looking at a qualifying and race set-up.”
“Overall, it was a fairly standard Friday in which we were able to complete our programme with no issues. Both drivers are quite happy with the car and tonight we’re going to focus on this weekend.”
RedBull Racing – Brazilian Grand Prix Practices
Daniel Ricciardo
“Today was really hot and you could feel the tyres were having a hard time, it means that we’re not as quick as we’d like to be.”
“On the long run today, I didn’t feel like we were that strong towards the end but I did feel that once the track cools, it’s going to be completely different.”
“There’s still a lot more to come from the car but to really have a chance to win, I think we need some rain to help us – the rain would be fun to change it up a little but even if it’s just cooler tomorrow and on Sunday, as forecast, it will be better on the tyres.”
“We will definitely try and improve from today but tomorrow is another story.”
Max Verstappen
“First practice was really good this morning, we made some changes for the second practice which meant that my short run pace wasn’t fantastic, along with the increase in track temperature which didn’t help.”
“Using both the soft and medium compound today meant that we got a good understanding of how they will react around here – no real surprises to be honest.”
“Mercedes are still too far ahead in my opinion but after them we are up there competing so I am hoping that it will rain on Sunday as this will definitely close the gap and give us a good chance at winning and it will also add to the excitement.”
“If conditions are like this, then it will be a bit tougher for us to be up in the front.”
McLaren – Brazilian Grand Prix Practices
Fernando Alonso
“We saw today that we seem to be a little bit more competitive here than at some of the previous races and I believe that tomorrow, we have the chance to make it into Q3.”
“In the second session, I had to stop the car due to the fact that we saw an anomaly in the ERS water pressure data – we’re going to change the engine anyway for tomorrow so this issue won’t affect me at all for the rest of my weekend.”
“With the high temperatures we had today, I think everyone suffered a lack of grip and degradation – it looks like the weather will change too, some lower temperatures, cloud and rain also. That could help us as it would reshuffle the deck a little.”
“Tomorrow we need to have a good qualifying session – that’s very important as overtaking around here can be quite difficult.”
Jenson Button
“On low fuel – the car didn’t feel too bad and it was relatively fun to drive. The balance still needs a bit of work though on high fuel.”
“We didn’t get much running done as we had to stop – we had an issue with the exhaust temperatures.”
“Neither of the cars did much long-running today, this is a pity as we need that information for our understanding of the option tyre’s performance.”
“Fortunately, the problem on my car should be very easy to solve – it’s just hurt today’s running a little.”
“Hopefully, tomorrow will be a good day and we can get plenty of running done – we need it! With the anticipated lower temperatures, I think qualifying should be fun – getting into Q3 will be tough but that should be our aim.”
“For the race itself – I’d like the weather to sort itself out and rain!”
Eric Boullier – McLaren-Honda Racing Director
“It was frustrating to see both cars stop in quick succession of each other as it meant we weren’t able to complete our proposed long-run plan at the end of FP2.”
“Looking at it pragmatically, it’s better that these issues occur during free practice rather than in qualifying or even the race. I’m sure we will be able to resolve the problems before tomorrow’s sessions.”
“On a more positive note, we were able to complete a fairly comprehensive test programme morning, running through a number of correlation exercises and test-item evaluations, all of which should prove useful to our knowledge and understanding of next year’s car.”
“We have a bit more work to do ahead of FP3 tomorrow but nonetheless, we’ve made a positive start to the race weekend.”
Ferrari – Brazilian Grand Prix Practices
Sebastian Vettel
“I think today was a tricky day. The track was very slippery, the temperature was hot and I think everybody was struggling with the tyres.”
“The long run was better for us – I haven’t seen what the others were doing but I just felt a bit more confident with more time and more laps in the car.”
“Towards the end of the day, things seem to calm down a bit more – finding a rhythm, which wasn’t the case for the short run, for the first lap – I wasn’t too happy.”
“The good news today is that the gaps were very close. Mercedes for sure, as expected, is up a bit at the front but other than that, if it stays like this – things bode well for tomorrow.”
Kimi Raikkonen
“It was a pretty normal Friday, we tried different things to make it better for tomorrow. It was a bit tricky to find the balance and the set-up is not ideal – yet.”
“We are going in the right direction. I only did a few laps on the soft and it felt, pretty ok but obviously it has the best grip.”
“Unfortunately, at the end of the second session I had an issue with one visor which obstructed the cooling duct and the brakes overheated so I had to stop.”
Williams – Brazilian Grand Prix Practices
Valtteri Bottas
“For a Friday, it was good. The balance was quite good in the first run so it has just been fine tuning after that.”
“The long runs seems consistent – the car feels ok and the pace also seems promising but it’s only Friday. Like every weekend, we will need to find out a lot more for tomorrow because everyone else will improve as well.”
“I am happy with today but it’s tomorrow and Sunday which count, I think we can be more competitive than we were in the last race but it’s difficult to say in detail after practice because everyone is trying different things.”
Felipe Massa
“It’s definitely been a god day. It’s always nice to see your name near the top of the leader board and I’m looking forward for that competitiveness tomorrow and especially on Sunday.”
“This is a track that I love, the people really support me here which gives me so much confidence.”
“I really hope we can stay up there this weekend, it won’t be easy but I will definitely try!”
Rob Smedley – Head of Performance Engineering
“We are pleasantly surprised at how good our pace was today. We’ve done a lot of set-up and development work in the simulated and then subsequently on the track here. The drivers are really happy with the results.”
“We knew that we had to take a slightly different approach for a track like this – with it’s low-speed corners so that’s what we’re really concentrating on.”
“Both the low and high fuel runs looked good – we could run the soft tyre easily as long as we need to – it was good on the medium tyre as well.”
“There was a lot of degradation on the high fuel but the degradation was high today anyway so we aim to have relatively less than other people.”
“Felipe suffered a flat spot on his long run and that knocked his pace back a little bit but other than that, we’re in good shape for the weekend.”
More to follow!
The Formula 1 Girl 🙂
xxx