Team reaction after day one in Silverstone (part 1)

Red Bull Renault

Sebastian Vettel: "The sessions were okay today - in afternoon I had a bit of a spin and a set of hard tyres. We also had a with the brake pedal, but nothing big. pace of the car was good. The new the track is quite low speed, but it’s slow as we expected and doesn’t kill rhythm. It adds something new and more of a challenge. The track here magnificent; it’s good fun, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow."

Mark Webber: "A pretty good day apart from the electrical problem at the end, which was a shame – we lost a few laps. The car seems to be going pretty well here otherwise – I think a few of the other teams were sandbagging a bit, but we’re happy with our programme and looking forward to qualifying. The new section of the track is pretty difficult, but they got it right I think – it’s a good challenge for the drivers."

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso: "I think the only way to describe today is that it was a Friday like so many others. I expected to be competitive because our car is much better than it was at the Turkish Grand Prix, which was the last time we raced at a track with similar characteristics to this one. As expected, Red Bull is very strong and therefore the big favourite for tomorrow’s qualifying and behind them, we will fight it out with McLaren, Renault and maybe also Mercedes: nothing different there to Valencia. At this track, you need a car with a lot of aerodynamic downforce and slightly different suspension settings to usual. The new components introduced in Valencia and those brought here have improved the handling of the F10: we must continue to push on the car development front at each and every race. I like the new part of the track: it is fun and safe and I think it improves the show. Regrets over the outcome of the last two races? The final adding up comes in Abu Dhabi. We lost points that were within our grasp but, in Barcelona for example, we were lucky to pick up others. Now there are 75 points up for grabs in the space of four weeks: we must try and do better than our rivals, trying to always finish on the podium, starting from here."

Felipe Massa: "I would say it’s been a good day for us. We tried out various new aerodynamic components and compared different configurations: by the end, the car was pretty good, with a variety of fuel loads and on both new and used tyres. We are doing so much work on the development of the car and one can see the benefits: the new elements we brought to the track for this Grand Prix did the job and can now be signed off after their track debut. After this good start, let’s hope the weekend continues down this route. The new part of the track? Honestly, I was expecting more in terms of overtaking opportunities: I do not think it will change the situation much compared to the past."

Stefano Domenicali: "We had a good day, especially as we were able to complete a very intensive work programme. With in-season testing banned, Fridays take on a dual function - preparing the cars for qualifying and the race and the development of new solutions for the short and medium term – and today we completed both phases. From what we have seen today, we have a very strong Red Bull, which is definitely no surprise, while the rest are closely matched behind, with some who might have masked their potential. We have to remain concentrated on our own work, trying to get as well prepared as possible for qualifying and especially for the race. Today, we saw several cars go off track, a sign that the slightest error can be costly at this circuit: everything will have to be perfect if we want to bring home a good result."

Chris Dyer: "We are pleased with how things went on this first day of the British Grand Prix. We had a very packed work schedule and we managed to get through it all successfully. The indications we are getting from the new components we introduced here and at the last race seem to be positive. The overall performance of the package we have here is reasonably good: we still have a bit of work to do to fine tune the car, especially for qualifying, but overall, we have a good starting point from which to continue working this afternoon and tomorrow morning. Over a long run we seem to be competitive, which is a good sign for the race. Both drivers tried the car with and without the blown rear wing, because we wanted to be sure that overall, its use would pay off at a track like this: and the response to this configuration was a positive one."

Mercedes GP

The opening two practice sessions for the British Grand Prix took place today at the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire giving the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS drivers, Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, their first opportunity to experience the remodelled and extended track layout.

In two busy practice sessions, the pair concentrated on set-up, fuel and tyre evaluations with Nico completing 50 laps and finishing the day in fifth position and Michael completing 46 laps in sixth place.

Nico Rosberg: "It’s been a decent start today and we have been able to get on top of many of our problems from Valencia. We achieved some good set-up work to optimise the aero package. It’s not easy to understand and find the optimum so it was good to make progress there and I think that we’ve found a good direction. Our pace this afternoon was reasonable and we seem to be getting the most out of the car. I like the changes that they have made to the circuit here and it’s a great track to drive."

Michael Schumacher: "It was quite a reasonable Friday which went according to our expectations and it looks as if our updates have helped. Saying that, it looked similar in Valencia on Friday so I prefer to see what more we will find out tomorrow. The new part of the circuit is certainly interesting. It’s very fluid and fast but there is no overtaking possibility which is a bit of pity for me. The bump at Abbey is tricky, a lot of the drivers had to really work their steering wheel, so it is likely that this will be discussed more deeply in the drivers briefing today."

Ross Brawn: "We’ve had a positive day but then we have had good Fridays before. The car is not too bad and the refinements that we have made to our updates seemed to have solved the temperature issues that we faced in Valencia. This is really a consolidation weekend for us where our focus is on the basics of tyres, fuel and set-up. Nico and Michael were reasonably happy today and our pace on high fuel looked good. It was tricky this afternoon with the gusty wind making it a bit edgy for the drivers and giving variable data but we have a lot of information to look at this evening. Silverstone is a great venue and it’s nice to be at a race which our staff can attend and enjoy."

Norbert Haug: "We did a lot of laps today and learned a lot about the new layout of the Silverstone circuit. Our lap times with heavy fuel loads did not look too bad and we certainly can improve further. It will be important to get a reasonable position on the grid tomorrow to provide a good base for the race on Sunday."

Renault

Robert Kubica: It has been a fairly normal Friday for us. Of course there is a new layout this year, so I had to get a feeling for the braking points and the lines, but to be honest it only took a couple of laps. We then evaluated a new front wing, but we will probably use the older spec for the rest of the weekend. In the afternoon we worked on the set-up just to get a feeling for the car, but I think we will stick with the settings we had this morning. The new part of the track was dirty and slippery because it was quite windy and there was a lot of dust. There is also a huge bump in turn 11 on the new tarmac, which is quite surprising for a new section of track.

Vitaly Petrov: One of the most important things today was to learn the new part of the track, which is quite interesting. However, there is a big bump at turn 11, which is a very quick part of the track and this was causing problems for a lot of cars. Once I had learned the new section, I started to work on the set-up and we changed quite a bit between FP1 and FP2 and found an improvement with the balance. We will continue working this evening and looking at the data to be ready for tomorrow.

Technical Debrief with Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer

Summary of the day: Today was quite a challenging day, but I think we can be fairly happy with the work we have completed with both cars. We had a productive morning and changed a few things on the cars over lunch, but it was much hotter and windier in the afternoon and we didn’t find the improvements we expected.

New part of the circuit: The new part of the lap is particularly slippery and the windy conditions were blowing the dust about, which is why the track wasn’t really cleaning up as we would normally expect. The new tarmac also seems pretty bumpy, so we’ve been playing a lot more with the ride heights, especially raising the front to improve the car’s handling.

New developments: We brought another front wing development, but it does not seem as suited to the high-speed corners here as we would have hoped. It was an improvement in the low-speed sections, but not overall lap time.

McLaren Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton: “It’s a fantastic feeling to be racing at home again. You feel that the most when you launch from the pitlane exit and see so many fans on the banking – and they’re all waving at you! And when you’re driving, you really can pick out all those rocket-red caps all around the track, even on a Friday. And that support is definitely a bonus. The fans always make my weekend – the Silverstone fans are the best in the world.

“We spent both sessions running with the new components. I definitely feel we’ve made a step forward from the last race. This circuit is a bit like Barcelona, where we were one second behind Red Bull – I don’t think we’ll be seeing that sort of gap tomorrow though, hopefully.

“It was fun to try the new track configuration for the first time. The new section is very fast and flowing, and I don’t think it interrupts your rhythm too much. It still feels a little weird turning right at Abbey rather than left, and there’s a big bump there too, but that just makes it more exciting.

“We haven’t got the optimum out of the car yet, there’s still more to come.”

Jenson Button: “It’s great to be back at Silverstone. Hearing all the fans cheering you when you first walk into the garage makes it such a special atmosphere – it was a really great start to my day. And the number of rocket-red caps in the grandstands was unbelievable – when I first saw them, I thought it was for another team, then I realised they were for us, which was amazing.

“And I think the new layout works, too. I put this circuit up there with the best in the world, like Spa and Suzuka, and getting a good balance around here is such a good feeling. There are a couple of new grandstands down at Turn 13, where there’s a good opportunity for overtaking, particularly if somebody gets out of shape at Turn 11. If I was a spectator around here, I think I’d want to be at that corner, because there could be a lot of action there.

“Our day was a little trickier than we’d expected. I couldn’t get a set-up with the new package. We improved through the day, but there’s still a lot of work to do, and we’re not where we want to be with the balance yet. As always, the Red Bulls look very fast, and it’s going to be tough to challenge them. So we’ve just got to hope we make a good step forward tonight.

“But I’m still positive; I remember in Turkey last year, I really struggled on Friday, and yet I won the race. And I’d really love to win my home grand prix in front of all the fans here. This is a special weekend for everyone in our team – we want to get the best out of car, and put on a show for all the thousands of people who’ll be cheering us on.”

Martin Whitmarsh, Team principal: “We have a new package for Silverstone, and as is often the case with new packages we’ve had to work hard to make it work today. As a result, the drivers haven’t got really comfortable with it yet.

“But, just as our engineers and mechanics worked really hard last night – they were still hard at it well after midnight and a batch of parts arrived at 1.30am – so also they’ll work really hard tonight. To be honest, I find their commitment truly inspirational.

“I also find Silverstone truly inspirational. Its ‘camp-site’ atmosphere is incredibly refreshing – unique in fact – and as you drive in to the circuit every morning you can somehow sense the heritage in everything you see and hear, and you can definitely feel the enthusiasm of the crowd, numerous already before breakfast time. It’s a truly special place.”

Force India Mercedes

The Force India F1 Team’s home Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit - just metres from its HQ - got underway today with the first day of practice.

Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta were on driving duties in the morning’s opening session, which took place under unseasonably sunny skies. Adrian quickly got to grips with the modified 5.901km circuit, setting the fifth quickest time of the 90 minute practice as he established a baseline set-up for the weekend. Paul, completing his first laps in an F1 car round Silverstone, completed 22 laps to familiarise himself with the challenges of the high-speed track, setting an impressive 14th quickest time, just one tenth from Fernando Alonso.

Tonio Liuzzi resumed his regular seat alongside Adrian for the afternoon’s practice to put in more running of the switchable rear wing, tyre comparisons and further set-up work. Adrian posted the ninth quickest time, with Tonio the 15th.

Adrian Sutil: This morning was quite OK - out on the partly new circuit, which I have to say was quite nice to drive. The new section was reasonably difficult to learn with quite low grip and hard to find a good line through the esses in particular. The car behaved well in the morning and it was easy to set a good time, but we had a couple of problems in the afternoon to find a decent set-up or balance. I had a bit too much oversteer and at one stage it was very hard to drive but it improved on the new tyres and the long run was good. I think we now need to do a little bit of work to perfect the set-up changes from last year but there’s still some time before qualifying to get all the little things sorted.

Tonio Liuzzi: I think we are quite competitive on this new track. We need to understand a few issues on top speed compared to the other car but through the high speed corners it seems pretty stable and we are in a good position balance and set-up wise. It was a little difficult sitting out the first session, particularly at a circuit like this when things are new and not particularly easy. There are a couple of corners we need to figure out in the new section but overall I think we can quite happy about the performance today but I really hope we can find a bit more top speed with my car.

Paul di Resta: This morning was quite productive, getting up to speed with another new track. There are a few bumps in there and the grip is quite low for now, but by the time we go racing it should have rubbered in and provide a new overtaking opportunity. I went through my usual programme, building up slowly through the session but unfortunately on my last run I had a problem with the radio not working and I got caught in some major traffic and could and should have improved the time. Overall I’m pleased with the session and it’s a great thrill to be out here in front of my home crowd at a circuit I’ve watched so many races at in the past.

Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer: A solid start to our home grand prix weekend with just one or two issues. During the morning session the circuit took a while to improve, but Paul and Adrian gained familiarity with the new layout and we were pleased that our simulations prior to this weekend correlated well with what we found at the circuit. In FP2 Tonio and Adrian continued to look at the tyres and evaluate some setup options. The circuit was quite hot today, and the afternoon was more breezy than the morning, it’s close as usual, but I’m sure we can improve the car further overnight and for qualifying.