“This morning was okay. It was difficult for everyone as there was very little grip with not much rubber laid down. I think most people struggled to find a balance, including us. We took the hard tyre for the first session and recorded a standard lap time, but at least we could see where we were. It was okay with the balance and some corners were quite good.

“We used the harder tyre again in the second session with the longer runs, but it did not work as well at the beginning as I lost all the temperature in the tyres. After the red flag we realised that there was a clutch issue and we couldn't do any more running so it was a bit disappointing, but hopefully tomorrow will be better.”

Stefano Domenicali [Ferrari – team principal]:

“For the umpteenth time today we learnt, if indeed we needed to learn it, that it only takes the slightest little hitch to lose valuable time. From what we saw on-track, it is very close between us and our main competitors. From our side, we need to work very carefully to find the right settings for both cars and to be in the best possible shape for qualifying and, above all, for the race.”

Luca Baldisserri [Ferrari – technical director]:

“This Friday's free practice did not go entirely to plan. This morning we had a gearbox problem on Kimi's car which meant he was stuck in the pits for most of the first session. Felipe managed to get through his planned programme and is reasonably satisfied with the handling of his car, while Kimi is less so.

“As usual for a Friday, we worked on finding the best set-up on the car and on a comparison of the two types of Bridgestone tyre available to us. Now we have to study all the data we have gathered to understand how to improve the performance on both cars.”

Ron Dennis [McLaren – team boss]:

“Two productive practice sessions where both drivers managed to complete their programmes. Both were quick and consistent. A special mention to Heikki who went out for the first time since his accident and was fast immediately. We seem to be competitive and look forward to the rest of the weekend.”

Norbert Haug [Mercedes-Benz Motorsport – vice-president]:

“A good first practice day. Lewis' and Heikki's lap times looked reasonable, and we completed our planned programme including tyre evaluation. The best news is that Heikki is back in his car, and he drove and worked with the team as we all know from him.”

Pat Symonds [Renault – executive director of engineering]:

“It has not been easy today. We were expecting low temperatures with the race being held earlier in the year than usual, but the temperatures have turned out to be even lower than we had anticipated. Consequently grip is pretty low, which is why we saw so many incidents on the circuit today.

“Both drivers are still looking to improve the balance of the car, but I am happy with the work we've done as we have been able to evaluate the tyres and look at some different set-up options.”

Denis Chevrier [Renault – head of engine track operations]:

“We only visit this circuit once a year, so our Friday programme was especially busy as we had to try a lot of different set-up solutions to allow the drivers to feel comfortable on the circuit. It is difficult to draw many conclusions from the practice sessions, but at least we were able to complete our programme without any problems. We also know we were not the only team to suffer with the track conditions. It is therefore a good basis to work on for tomorrow.”

Willy Rampf [BMW Sauber – technical director]: