“Then in the second practice all of a sudden I lost all power when the engine switched off and I was told to pull over, and that was the end of that. We will have a good look at the car overnight to understand what caused the problem in the second session, and then start a new day tomorrow. There is still time left and a lot can happen.”
Fernando Alonso:
“This first day of running allowed us to finish the work we began in testing last week. We have therefore tried different configurations and have been able to collect lots of information. The conditions on the track were very different to those we had last week though, with more wind and much less grip, and you had to get used to it.
“I am satisfied with my day’s work and the results that we have registered. However, we still need to improve here tomorrow to ensure a good qualifying session, because that will determine our race on Sunday.”
Nelsinho Piquet:
“I am happy with the day’s work. The car felt good, we have tried lots of different settings and we have made good progress with the evaluation of the tyres. I covered a lot of laps and completed my programme. We therefore have lots of data which we will look at this evening so that we can continue progressing and be in the best possible condition for qualifying.”
David Coulthard:
“We ran a normal Friday programme today. While we have a lot more experience of the track because of last week’s testing here, it doesn’t actually matter what you achieve on a test day because the track conditions are only relevant to that day, so we’re trying to find a balance as always.
“Testing the tyres last week gave us some information, but it’s warmer than at the test, which means the properties of the tyre are different, the humidity is different, so the downforce is different. You get less horsepower on a warm day because there is less oxygen to burn, so there are many factors which affect the way the car feels.”
Kazuki Nakajima:
“It was a good day for us today. We tried some different set-up options in both sessions, and have found a good direction to take us into qualifying. We will be doing some more work this evening, but we are well-prepared for tomorrow.”
Mark Webber:
“It was a good day for us, carrying on from where we left off at the test. We are running with all the new aero parts we tested last week, and they are all working in the right direction. We had a small problem in the first session, but the afternoon was faultless for us.
