FP1 & FP2 - 2017 Monaco GP team quotes

Williams

Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer

Thursday in Monaco is all about getting in the laps and I think we ran a good programme. We timed our runs well for both drivers as we didn’t encounter too much traffic. Felipe conducted a number of tests throughout both sessions, and we gathered some good information from those. It was Lance’s first time driving around Monaco, and he did a very solid job in building up his confidence and improving his laptimes. By the middle of FP2 he was producing times that were very similar to Felipe’s. Unfortunately, towards the end of the programme we’d planned for him, he braked too late for Massenet and lost the back end. Despite that mistake we’re all happy with what he has achieved today. On the whole the baseline performance of the car isn’t too bad, but there are a few things we need to understand to be better on Saturday; as it’s going to be very close between everyone out on track.

Felipe Massa

Today was a typical first day in Monaco, really. We had to try and understand everything: the tyres, the balance, and try to get used to the track with the new car and new rules. But today was always going to be a learning day. Happy may not be the right word to describe today because we’re not in a great position, but we are a little better than we have been at this track in previous years. It’s definitely going to be a big fight with so many teams around us. But we’ll do everything we can and I hope we’ll be able to understand everything to improve so that we can be ready for qualifying on Saturday.

Lance Stroll

The track is great and I was really happy with the car, but then there was the crash at the end. I just basically centred in looking for the limit, got onto the dirt a little bit and lost the rear. It was a typical street circuit mistake. I got into learning the circuit pretty quickly and I was happy with the day until then. What is good here is the tyre seems to be hanging on quite a bit, so we are able to do multiple push laps. In FP3 I am just going to build up my rhythm in that area, but I think I know pretty clearly in my head what I did wrong. I am going to look at the little areas I can improve on for Saturday, as I know we can do that and have a good day. I think corner eight and the last corner are the two places I need to improve on, but it really annoys me because every time I play the Playstation game it has always been those two corners that I couldn’t get right, and in reality it is still those two corners!

Renault F1

Renault Sport Formula One Team experienced a challenging first day of the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco with both Nico Hülkenberg and Jolyon Palmer missing out on track time during the course of the day. Nico set a 1min 14.870secs in the afternoon despite sitting out almost all of FP1 whilst an electronics issue was investigated. Jolyon Palmer enjoyed a trouble-free FP1, but a power unit related issue in FP2 meant he could only complete eight laps.

Nico Hülkenberg

“We made progress in the afternoon after a morning where I wasn’t put through my paces but my team mechanics had all the work to do. There were no issues for me in the afternoon however we were a bit behind where we should have been by missing the earlier track time. I focussed on assessing parts and set-up more than going all out for the fastest time possible, so there’s more in the bag for Saturday.”

Jolyon Palmer

“Monaco’s all about building momentum and getting the laps in, so in that regard it was a positive morning but a less positive afternoon. There’s certainly more pace to come from me and the car so I’m very eager to get back out on track, although we have to wait a day longer for FP3 and qualifying here. Obviously the afternoon was unfortunate but there’s still a lot of potential for the weekend ahead.”

Nick Chester, Technical Director

“Today certainly wasn’t the start we wanted for our Monaco weekend. Nico suffered from an electronics issue in the morning whilst Jolyon experienced a power unit related issue in the afternoon, meaning less running for both drivers. We have some work to do but we know where improvements can be made looking to qualifying on Saturday.”

Toro Rosso

Daniil Kvyat

“A productive Friday. We did many laps today and they were all of good quality. We now have a lot of useful data to analyse before Saturday. The good news is that I’m happy with the balance of the car and we already look quite competitive. We now need to maintain this and get the car ready for qualifying and the race.”

Carlos Sainz

“I think that we did what we needed to do on a Thursday in Monaco, building the speed up little by little and trying different configurations to give myself confidence with the car. After today’s two practice sessions it’s safe to say that we’re quite happy with everything. Obviously, from Thursday to Saturday a lot of things could change so we can’t let ourselves get carried away with today’s result, but it’s definitely a good starting point! I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend!”

James Key (Technical Director)

“Quite a productive day today. Since our problems in Barcelona, where we had a number of updates, we’ve learned a little more on how to get a better balance with the car. Both drivers seemed to be reasonably happy in FP1, so it was a case of fine-tuning the car a little bit for FP2. We ran a slightly different tyre programme to other teams, concentrating on our own work, car set-up and understanding. During the afternoon session we made reasonable progress and, even if there are still some issues to resolve, the session went well. We will now be working hard overnight and tomorrow to look at the data and optimise the car as best we can.”

Haas

The sixth round of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship began with practice Thursday at Circuit de Monaco as teams prepared for the 75th Monaco Grand Prix Sunday.

Two 90-minute sessions – FP1 and FP2 – on the 3.337-kilometer (2.074-mile), 19-turn track allowed drivers to get used to the wider and more powerful generation of Formula One machinery on the historic course that has been used since 1929.

Haas F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen began the sun-kissed day on the same program for FP1 – an installation lap on Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft tires followed by two timed runs on brand new sets of Purple ultrasoft tires. The duo wrapped the session with two more stints with their Haas VF-17s outfitted on used ultrasofts.

Magnussen logged 34 laps with his best time coming on his 21st lap – a 1:14.870 that placed him 13th overall. Grosjean tallied 33 laps and secured a best time of 1:15.321 on his 18th lap to put him 15th on the speed chart.

Leading the way in FP1 was Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, whose fast lap of 1:13.425 was .196 of a second better than the next quickest time of Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and .107 of a second better than Kimi Räikkönen’s qualifying lap record of 1:13.532 set in 2006 with McLaren, which is widely considered the fastest lap of this Formula One era at Monaco.

Times continued to drop in FP2 with the top-six drivers turning laps under Räikkönen’s 2006 record.

Magnussen bettered his FP1 mark by .98 of a second with a time of 1:13.890 on his 21st lap shod on a set of ultrasofts. And Grosjean also improved, shaving 1.299 seconds off his FP1 time with a 1:14.022 on his 21st tour while also riding on a set of ultrasoft tires. Magnussen ended FP2 ninth overall and Grosjean was 14th. Both drivers ran the same program in FP2, beginning the session on Red supersoft tires before switching to the Purple ultrasofts. The duo returned to the supersofts at the end of FP2 as the team practiced pit stops. Magnussen ended the session with 46 laps and Grosjean topped out with 44 laps completed.

Fastest in FP2 was Vettel, but instead of vying with Mercedes drivers for the top spot, it was Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari teammate Räikkönen making up the top-three. Vettel’s quick time of 1:12.720 was .487 of a second faster than Ricciardo and .563 of a second better than Räikkönen. Hamilton, quickest in FP1, was only eighth-fastest in FP2, 1.153 seconds behind Vettel.

Between the two sessions, Haas F1 Team ran a total of 157 laps – 80 by Magnussen and 77 by Grosjean.

Romani Grosjean

“We managed to stay out of trouble. It’s a very tight midfield. We need to get all our sectors together. I think there’s a bit of work we can do on the car to make it better. In general, though, I’m happy with the work everyone’s done. I’m looking forward to Saturday. It’s harder and more challenging to drive here, but it’s more fun.”

Kevin Magnussen

“I’m pretty happy with the day. We got everything done that was on our program. The car’s not feeling bad, so I’m looking forward to qualifying on Saturday. It’s very fast here. It feels amazing and it’s really good fun to drive. Let’s hope we can be competitive, as well.”

Gunther Steiner

“It was a pretty good day. If in FP1 and FP2 you bring both cars home without damage, it’s always a good day in Monte Carlo. There’s a very tight midfield as always – it’s even a little bit tighter, which is very interesting. We had a good session. We did a lot of laps and learned a lot. Now we’re soon into qualifying. It will be tight – there were seven cars in less than three tenths (of a second). I think we’re in a good position. We’ll try to do our best to get ready for Saturday.”

Force India

Sahara Force India completed 163 laps of practice today in preparation for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.

SERGIO PEREZ

“Finishing in the top ten in both sessions is a good result, especially considering I am not feeling fully comfortable with the car yet. We have a lot of work to do before qualifying, but I am confident we can extract more performance and be really strong on Saturday. It hasn’t been easy to get the tyres into the right window today and this makes it very hard around a place like this where there is no margin for error. We have time tonight and tomorrow to analyse all the data and ensure we can get our set-up right for qualifying and the race.”

ESTEBAN OCON

“It was my first experience of Monaco from inside the cockpit and I am impressed. To be here for the first time in an F1 car is not easy, but I was able to do a good amount of laps and learn my way around the circuit. I took it step by step in the morning and felt satisfied with what we achieved. In FP2 I tried to push a bit more and I ended up brushing the walls a couple of times. Fortunately there was no significant damage and I could carry on with our programme. I am looking forward to being back in the car on Saturday and seeing where we stand in qualifying.”

ROBERT FERNLEY, DEPUTY TEAM PRINCIPAL

“We started FP1 pretty well and the drivers were immediately comfortable with the balance of the car. We tried a slightly different direction in FP2 and things didn’t really improve, so we will need to look at the changes we made to understand how to move forward for Saturday. Esteban had to get up to speed with a new circuit and he went very close to the limit at times, but that’s part of his learning process around this track. We were able to do a lot of mileage with the softer compounds and we also tried some new parts, which seem to be working as expected. Now it’s a matter of extracting some more potential from the car during FP3 and focussing on qualifying performance.”

Red Bull

DANIEL RICCIARDO

“Regardless of how the car feels it is always so much fun to drive this track. We are looking pretty good at the moment. We put some good laps together and know where we need to improve so I’m very happy with our position after the first day. We have good downforce here, the rear of the car feels like it is working the best it has so far this year. If we can get the tires warmed up I think we can be pretty close on Saturday. I’m pleased with the cars rhythm and set-up which gives me confidence and makes me feel we are back in that groove after the first couple of practice sessions. I don’t think we need to do too much to the car set-up wise at the moment, just a couple of small tweaks overnight perhaps. Being the first time round here with the new cars it definitely felt a little bit tighter so that needs to be considered when pushing on quick laps, but as I said, so much fun as always.”

MAX VERSTAPPEN

“It felt quite straightforward today, the balance of the car felt ok and we didn’t do too many big changes so we are pleased with our performance. We still need some small improvements which we will hopefully find overnight and be up there at the front tomorrow. The red flag in the second practice messed up my run a bit so I didn’t get a good chance on the new tyres and to show a true fast lap potential. I have learnt from the last few years you do not need to be the quickest on Thursday, it takes a lot of concentration here as one small mistake means you are in the wall and the session is over. Qualifying is very important in Monaco as once you get in traffic during a race it is so hard to overtake and progress, it’s also very risky trying it. If you can get the tyres in the right window it helps massively, today we didn’t quite manage to get there so we will work on that tomorrow and be ready for Qualifying.”

Sauber

The Sauber F1 Team has brought further aero parts to the Monaco Grand Prix – after both practice sessions the first results are as expected. Overall it was a productive day, during which Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein completed 35 and 70 laps in the two sessions. In FP1 Marcus Ericsson had a gear box issue, which was the reason for him not completing a timed lap.

Marcus Ericsson

“It was obviously not an ideal day. I have lost lots of track time in FP1 because of the gear box issue. That really hurts, especially on a track like Monaco, where you need to find a good rhythm every lap. The guys worked really hard to get the car ready again for FP2. The afternoon session was good in terms of running, but our pace is not satisfying at the moment. We made some proress in Barcelona, but here we struggle with the overall grip.”

Pascal Wehrlein

“Overall it was a difficult practice day for us. We definitely expected more here in Monaco compared to where we are. Therefore, I am not satisfied with today’s performance. We need to understand the reasons for that, so that we can improve for tomorrow and Sunday.”

Ferrari

They say Friday lap times don’t count. In Monaco it’s different, as the first day of running is on Thursday, but the same principle applies. Still it was good for Seb and Kimi to end the first day with P1 and P3 respectively on the time sheet.

“I was pretty happy with the afternoon session”, said Sebastian. “We had a small issue at the start of the session which needed some extra time to be looked at, but then we were on our way. It’s fun to drive these cars around Monaco because they’re faster than in the past. They’re also wider, and I kissed the barrier a couple of times this morning, but I could carry on with no damage. “Overall it has been a good day. It’s only Thursday, so we have to wait for Saturday to get a clear picture, but it is nice to have a good feeling with the car already. I was very happy with the first run in the morning and since then we didn’t have to change too much, but we improved the car in the afternoon. It feels good on a quick lap, the long runs are a bit harder to judge because of traffic. Now it’s about fine-tuning and we have time for that. Yet, we still have to do something more on the car to be more competitive. Meanwhile, we’ll have some commitments at the track tomorrow; it is more relaxed than usual because we have more time, but we are definitely not on holiday!”

Kimi’s performance improved consistently as the day went on: “Today it was getting better and better and that’s the main thing. We made smooth progress; In the long runs the feeling with the car was good, while on the shorter ones we still have to improve a little bit. We made some changes and it got better all the times. We only need to work on small things to get a nicer feeling all the time and see once we push where we end up on Saturday. For sure it will be close between quite a few cars and so we obviously we need to do a good job”.

McLaren

It was a productive day of first running for McLaren Honda in Monte-Carlo today. Stoffel ended this afternoon’s session in 11th position, pleased with the direction and momentum of the package beneath him.

Stoff is joined in the garage this weekend by Jenson Button, subbing for Fernando Alonso, who is racing in Sunday’s Indy 500 in the USA.

Jenson spent the morning session bedding himself in and evaluating the grip and grunt of the MCL32, before starting to more fully explore the limits in this afternoon’s session as the grip on-track increased.

He ended the session 12th, just a few hundredths’ shy of Stoffel. However, both drivers are still confident there is more to come.

STOFFEL VANDOORNE

“It’s been a reasonably good day’s running.

“If you look at today’s lap-times, you can see how extremely tight it is in the midfield – and that’s exactly where we are. That means we really need to maximise every single opportunity that comes our way this weekend so we can eke out every last bit of performance from the car. An extra tenth or two could make a huge difference in Saturday’s qualifying.

“I’m feeling pretty comfortable in the car. I think we’ll make some small adjustments ahead of FP3, and those should hopefully help us take another slight step forward. The most important thing around here is to build up throughout the weekend, and to be fully prepared for qualifying.

“I think we can be in good shape for that. There’s still more to come from us this weekend.”

JENSON BUTTON

“It was funny when I did the install lap this morning, I had a little giggle to myself. Have I missed it? No, but when you jump in the car, you definitely enjoy the moments that you have. I’ve really enjoyed practice, both the long and short runs. FP2 was a bit of a struggle to really find my feet with the car. I’m braking so much later than what I’m used to here and carrying so much speed into the corners. Adjusting to that takes time, so with another day with the engineers and a look through the data, I’m confident that I can improve for Saturday.

“As soon as I exited the pits, everything felt very natural. The weirdest thing is when you’re behind a car or when you let a car past, because you look at it and it’s gigantic. Then you feel really uncomfortable because you think, maybe I am too close to the barriers. But the car fits well; it fits like a glove.

“I haven’t really thought about where I hope to finish. It’s a very mixed-up grid at the moment which I’m sure will all change again on Saturday. I don’t expect to be one tenth off the Mercedes cars in qualifying, but the guys understand where I’m coming from. They know what they need to do to improve the car to suit me a little bit more and to give me a little bit more confidence.

“Hopefully we’ll see a step in performance on Saturday.”

ERIC BOULLIER

“It’s always fantastic to be in Monte-Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix, particularly after a relatively quick and trouble-free day of running. We managed to execute our run-programme with very few disruptions today, and, while that’s nothing to be proud of, it’s satisfying to have been able to maintain momentum with both cars through both sessions.

“I’m pleased that Stoffel had such a productive day. Both he and his engineers have worked hard since the last race to better understand how he and the car can work together, and I think we’re starting to see the fruits of those labours.

“Jenson also had a good day. He judged the day very well, typically playing himself in gently during FP1 before starting to explore the increased grip and performance of these 2017 cars in the afternoon. After FP2, he admitted that he’d had a lot of fun in the car today, and I think that translated directly into his lap-times.

“This has been a solid start to our weekend. We’ll now spend Friday evaluating the data and will look to further improve on Saturday.”

SATOSHI NAKAMURA

“It was a good start for us here in Monte-Carlo today. Stoffel and Jenson each clocked more than 70 laps without any major issues throughout FP1 and FP2, and we were able to go through our programmes with minimal disruption.

“For Jenson, today was his first time behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car since his swan-song in Abu Dhabi last year. The cars have changed a huge amount since then, but Jenson showed today what an incredibly capable and experienced driver he is and was quickly up to speed. I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses over the remainder of the weekend.

“It was also Stoffel’s first time around Monaco in a Formula 1 car, although he is of course a former winner here in GP2. It was great for him to have such a solid day of running. He’s been working incredibly hard with the team over the last few weeks and we are seeing encouraging results from that hard work this weekend.

“Needless to say, qualifying will be key here as overtaking is very difficult. Although we will not have any sessions tomorrow, we will continue to work hard analysing the data collected today to gain as much lap-time as possible before Saturday.”

Mercedes

Work to do in Monte Carlo, after a mixed day for the Silver Arrows

— Lewis Hamilton topped the morning session with Valtteri Bottas 0.366s shy in P4
— Lewis ended the day with the eighth fastest time in the afternoon session, with Valtteri 10th quickest
— Both drivers ran the SuperSoft and UltraSoft compound tyre in FP1 and FP2

Lewis Hamilton

We didn’t have the greatest day today. Practice one was actually really good and we were quickest, but then in second practice we just struggled to extract the grip from the tyres and we were sliding around a lot. I’m not sure why the tyres weren’t working but the difference between the two sessions was night and day. We’v e got some work to do ahead of Saturday that’s for sure but I’m confident the team can work it out. Monaco is always amazing to drive, but this is definitely the best car I’ve driven around here. Ferrari are very quick again and Red Bull are also looking good this weekend. We’re looking forward to a real fight on Saturday.

Valtteri Bottas

Practice two was difficult and we struggled with the pace over one lap. We made some changes between practice one and practice two but we clearly went in the wrong direction - that’s why both of us were struggling. When the car isn’t quite right you lose a lot of time in Monaco. We tried to go back with the set-up and it felt better but by that point we’d already put a lot of laps into the tyres. At least we’ve learned what not to do with the set-up here. It’s a shame but we have a full day tomorrow to analyse everything and come back stronger on Saturday. It will be close again at the top I’ m sure.

James Allison, Technical Director

After a very positive morning session with both cars and drivers, the afternoon proved more difficult and we clearly took a step in the wrong direction with the car set-up over the break. We will have a good think about it tomorrow in order to put things right for Saturday. But I think we can be encouraged by the pace and consistency that we were able to demonstrate in FP1.