“The new circuit here in Valencia is impressive and the grip levels have been improving throughout the day, so the lap times are becoming more representative. We had a good morning session and I felt the car was quite well-balanced, but this afternoon it was almost like I had a completely different car.

“We changed some parts for the session and unfortunately they had a real impact on the car's performance which, along with some braking concerns, meant we were unable to progress. I'm confident that we can resolve these concerns overnight and get back on the pace for qualifying tomorrow.”


Stefano Domenicali [Ferrari – team principal]:

“It was a good day. We worked well and acquired a lot of data from this track which, over the next few hours, will be used to prepare ourselves as well as possible for this weekend. From what we could see, given the usual unknowns on a Friday, we can say we are competitive. Whether we will be competitive enough to reach our target will only be revealed starting with tomorrow afternoon's qualifying.”

Luca Baldisserri [Ferrari – technical director]:

“Overall, a good start to this Valencia weekend. It was important to get off on the right foot – and we did. We had prepared a baseline set-up for the F2008 and it seems to be about right, which meant that right from this morning we could work on improving it. Both drivers are reasonably happy with the handling of the car.

“Now we have to analyse all the data we have gathered, to work out how to move forward in terms of getting the best performance. Today the track has been very dirty, which was in fact predictable; however, the two types of Bridgestone tyre did not show up any great difference in their performance.”

Pat Symonds [Renault – executive director of engineering]:

“It has been interesting learning and adapting to this new circuit. During today's practice sessions we completed our programme of learning the circuit, the car and the tyres. As expected, the grip level was very low to begin with and developed through both sessions. It is difficult to understand too much about our situation relative to the others, but we had no significant problems, which is encouraging for the rest of the weekend.”

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

“We covered lots of miles today, which was the aim because the priority was all about making the most of the track time available. We had to gather as much information and data as possible to improve the car and get ready for the qualifying session tomorrow.

“In terms of the engine, we concentrated mainly on optimising the gear ratios. Now we have to wait for the final practice session tomorrow morning to have a better idea of our relative performance level. Overall, though, today was trouble-free and encouraging.”

Steve Clark [Honda – head of race and test engineering]:

“The track is very dirty as it is so new, and it's very easy to lose a bit of direction as the track improves – the car balance changes and the tyres behave differently. There are also some unknowns, like the optimum downforce level and the drivers finding the racing line.

“In addition there is the additional challenge of getting the brakes to work correctly. There is quite a lot to get to grips with, and we have to do so as quickly as possible. Fortunately we have two very experienced drivers, which makes the process a lot easier.