“The car seems okay so far, but there is still work to do in order to improve the handling. Now we have to work hard over the next two days to maintain our strong start to the season with a successful race.”
Kazuki Nakajima:
“Practice was good for me today. In the morning I struggled a little with the grip levels because the track was really slippery, but it improved a lot in the afternoon. The rain at the start of the second session prevented me from carrying out some of my scheduled programme, but I did at least do a tyre comparison which has given us some useful information. We’re looking in reasonable shape for tomorrow’s qualifying; there’s still some work to do tonight on set-up, but I’m happy.”
Nick Heidfeld:
“The trouble is I don’t get the tyres heated up quickly enough. The long run wasn’t bad. As soon as the tyres start to work it is okay, but it takes too long to get there. We now have to work on that.”
Jenson Button:
“We made a lot of changes to the car after this morning, when I was struggling with a lack of grip on initial turn-in which you really need around here. This afternoon was much better right from the start of the session. We tried a lot of different things on the set-up, and I’m confident that we know which direction to take for the rest of the weekend.
“It was a bit damp when we first went out this afternoon, but from then on the track was fine. This circuit is very tough without traction control and you could see a lot of people were making mistakes, but that does make it more fun to watch and drive. I was certainly enjoying it out there! The car is working better on the smoother asphalt here and we have made some changes to help with the ride quality, so for me the car feels better than in Barcelona.”
Timo Glock:
“Both practice sessions went pretty well and the car felt good throughout the day. I also had a strong long run with competitive lap times. Graining and understeer were challenges today. On a late run I went off the track and couldn’t stop the car from hitting the kerb and damaging the front wing. It was my mistake and I missed the last five minutes, but it was nevertheless a good first day.
