Team reaction after day one in Singapore (part 2)

Sauber Ferrari

Both drivers had to venture into unknown territory during the first two practice sessions ahead of the Singapore night race. While Nick Heidfeld drove the 2010 car and tyres for the first time, Kamui Kobayashi had to familiarise himself with the challenging city circuit.

Kamui Kobayashi: ”Wow – it was really hot in the car here. But I like the track, and turn five especially is a nice and fast corner. The bumps are not too bad and didn’t come as a surprise to me. I found it difficult to reach the limit today because after the rain the correct line was very narrow. I made a few mistakes, but I didn’t hit anything. We managed to improve the set-up a bit between the sessions, but we still have to find a better balance to make the best use of the tyres.“

Nick Heidfeld: ”Given it was my first day back in the team and also in the 2010 car I’m very happy. I enjoyed driving a lot. At the beginning it was a bit difficult because the track was wet. I just took it easy and tried to do as many laps as possible. For the second session we changed a few things, but it is clear two sessions are not enough to analyse everything. I see many areas where we can improve the set-up of the car and areas where I can improve in getting the best out of the car. The track itself with regard to the bumps has improved compared to 2009.“

James Key, Technical Director: “Our work was cut out today compared to normal Fridays, because for Kamui it was about first learning the track and for Nick driving for the first time with the new car and current tyres. We started off today in wet conditions and it seemed to go well. Kamui put in some good lap times, while Nick started to familiarise himself with the car. Due to the damp track, the tyre temperatures were quite low in the first session. Between the sessions we had a good look at the data and the second session was okay. We continued to work as planned, except we had to replace the same new hydraulic component on both cars. We are midfield at the moment and are working to improve from there.“

Force India Mercedes

A day of mixed fortunes for the Force India F1 Team on the opening day of practice for the Singapore Grand Prix, F1’s only night race. A wet-to-dry opening 90 minute session saw both Tonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil running consistently in the top ten and ultimately finish inside the top seven, however the afternoon practice proved a little more challenging. Tonio put in a promising performance and completed the usual tyre preparation and set-up work, concentrating on longer runs. Adrian’s running was however curtailed prematurely when he ran across a high kerb through the chicane at turn 10 and damaged the suspension, missing out on his final run on the soft tyres.

Adrian Sutil: The morning session was very good and in both the wet and the dry conditions I felt able to push the car and set good times. In the afternoon it was also feeling very comfortable, but unfortunately I made a small mistake in the chicane and went over the kerb. The car took off and when it came back down it broke some of the front suspension and I had to stop. It’s disappointing as I couldn’t do my soft tyre run at the end. Based on the work we did do though the car feels much better here than last year and I think we can achieve a lot this weekend.

Tonio Liuzzi: Today went OK and we got a lot of work done in the afternoon in particular. We didn’t do much running in the first session as we waited until the track dried a bit, but in the later practice we completed our usual tyre preparation and set-up work, which is crucial here due to the special nature of the track. It’s going to be difficult to choose the tyres tomorrow as the soft work well but tail off and then the car balance is affected, but the hard seem to work fine. We have to work a little on the set-up but on the longer runs it felt OK and even on the heavier fuel loads we seem competitive.

Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer: During FP1 the circuit took quite a long time to dry, meaning our programme included a run on intermediate tyres followed by a second on dry tyres. The track was in quite good condition otherwise and in FP2 it was good for dry tyres for our usual comparisons. Tonio worked on set-up, suffering from a bit of understeer, and unfortunately Adrian clipped a kerb at T10 on his second outing and couldn’t continue. With some improvements to the car overnight we believe we can be competitive tomorrow and to get both cars into Q3 remains a realistic target.

Toro Rosso Ferrari

Jaime Alguersuari: “A positive start to the weekend, especially doing a lot of running on high fuel loads in the second session. We should not read too much into my P5 in the first session, which was complicated by the wet track. In the second session I did my quick lap early on, after which the conditions improved, so I am quite confident with the results of the long run. We know the track will improve tomorrow and now we just have to keep on working to follow that development. There was just one moment, when I touched the wall: I was on the soft tyres which I always find more difficult to drive on, because although they are obviously quicker, they are more complicated to adapt to as the rear end of the car moves a lot more and I just clipped the wall at Turn 19. It’s very hot inside the car and you feel there is not enough oxygen, but I am in much better shape than when I first came here last year.”

Sebastien Buemi: “We started the first session in the wet, which made it more complicated to work through our programme although we were able to gather the data we wanted by running with the F Duct for a few laps. We had no problems on the car today which is another good point. I think the long runs gave us a very good understanding of both types of tyre. I was unable to get the maximum out of the soft tyres on the first two laps, because I made some mistakes, so I am a bit disappointed with my performance in terms of pure lap time, but that’s not so important on a Friday. However, it helps if you get up to speed straight away as it is important to be able to follow the development of the track. All in all a good day, even if we are sweating a lot!”

Laurent Mekies (Chief Engineer): “This morning on Buemi’s car, we carried out another development test on the F Duct, as we had done in Monza, even though again, we had no intention of using it on this circuit which requires maximum downforce. We also had to contend with a damp track, but we have to get used to it as we can expect this Equatorial weather throughout the weekend, being ready to deal with sudden showers. Therefore it was good for the drivers to complete some laps in these conditions. Jaime had a very good day: we saw him sideways a few times on TV, including one contact with the wall, but he put in a strong performance on both short and long runs. With both cars, we concentrated on race trim, doing extremely long runs to assess tyre performance. Tyre consistency has very much improved compared to the last two years, because tyre degradation used to be a problem here and today their behaviour was much better. Apart from that, we tackled the usual Singapore challenges of the bumpy track, trying to establish the best ride configuration for the cars.”

Lotus Cosworth

Friday in Singapore began with a momentous announcement off-track when Team Principal Tony Fernandes confirmed that Lotus Racing will become Team Lotus for the 2011 FIA Formula One™ World Championship and beyond. As the action returned to the track Fairuz Fauzy deputised for Jarno Trulli in FP1, whilst Heikki Kovalainen showed good pace in the humid conditions to finish the day’s two practice sessions in 15th and 19th places respectively.

Heikki Kovalainen: “It was a pretty good Friday practice and I’m pleased with where we ended up. Track conditions like today make it interesting for the drivers, especially on the dry tyres, as it’s slippery and wet in some places, then good grip in others. We’ve found a good direction with the set up today, particularly in the second session, and both of the tyre compounds worked well. The long runs seemed promising so I’ve got to say it’s one of the good Fridays!

“The track is improving too. The bumps are still there, but they feel less severe, and overall there’s a very positive feeling around the whole place. The heat doesn’t feel so bad this year either so I’m really looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”

Fairuz Fauzy: “The wet-dry track conditions meant we limited our running in the first session today, to avoid using up tyres, but when I got out on track it felt good to be back and we managed to get some useful data from the run. I’ll be back in the car in FP1 in Abu Dhabi and hopefully it’ll be dry there so I can get maximum time in the cockpit.”

Jarno Trulli: “We did a good number of laps in the second session, but I had a few problems with the engine driveability and with braking – it’s really difficult to feel the car when you have these kinds of problems, but let’s wait and see what tomorrow brings.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “Overall it was a reasonable Friday, although we couldn’t find the perfect balance on either car. Jarno in particular was not happy with his setup, so we will work on that tonight and see what happens tomorrow. It was good to see Fairuz back in the car, and with the tricky conditions this morning it was difficult for him but he did a good job, so overall we’re satisfied, but I think there’s more to come tomorrow.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “On track, it’s been a reasonably satisfying day for all three drivers and the whole team. We think we have a lot left in the cars, and while Heikki was happier today than Jarno, we’re confident that in qualifying Jarno’s professionalism and experience will see him get what he wants out of the car, as he always does.

“Off track, today really was an exceptional day. There have been so many special days in our story so far, but for me it feels like the Team Lotus announcement we made this morning is all about the future. A year ago Mike and I were walking around Singapore talking about where we wanted to take a new racing team. Today we have established the future of our brand and we are thrilled about that. This is not about the legacy and the historic rights of Team Lotus – that is very well handled by Clive Chapman. His father Colin’s legacy is something we respect, and we are very proud to be part of it, but we played no part in creating that. Today’s announcement about Team Lotus was about solidifying our future, and moving forward under new leadership to try to bring more glory to a great name. We have a long way to go, and over the next few weeks more announcements will be made that will provide a clear view of our strategy for next year and beyond, but now it’s about our team rising up the grid and becoming a serious competitor. We have shown that we are a serious team, and that we are here to stay, and everything now is about our future being in our own hands.”

Virgin Racing Cosworth

A heavy downpour before the start of first free practice for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix meant that the track would be wet for the start of the session, which was to be the first for Virgin Racing’s new reserve driver Jerome d’Ambrosio.

After exploratory laps on wet tyres, the lap times started to drop, with Timo sitting at the top of the timesheets for quite a while as he relished the damp conditions on a circuit he enjoys. Jerome also drove well, completing 16 laps without a problem.

For the second session, Lucas was back in the car and keen to make up track time. Both he and Timo were able to work through a series of changes, but a steering problem prevented Timo from setting a representative time on the faster Option tyres. Timo and Lucas finished as 2nd and 3rd fastest of the drivers in the new teams section and both are looking forward to improving the car tomorrow.

Timo Glock: “I had quite a good session in Free Practice 1 and some fun in the wet conditions. It was good to see my name at the top of the timesheets for so much of the session. We were quite competitive in the mixed conditions. It was a bit of a shame that we couldn’t go out for the last 10 minutes when the track was getting quicker and quicker. FP2 looked okay too. We had a straightforward programme. The car is a bit nervous at the rear and therefore difficult to drive, but we will find a way to improve it for tomorrow.”

Lucas di Grassi: “It was always going to be a challenge to get up to speed in just the afternoon session, particularly as I haven’t raced here before, but I am pleased with the work we achieved here today. The track was very damp to start with, which made it even harder, and we had a few issues with the balance of the car, so we have some work to do to improve the car for tomorrow.”

Jerome D’Ambrosio: “It is difficult for any driver to adequately describe the feeling of driving an F1 car - the awesome power and enormous braking in particular - but combined with the whole night race experience as well, today has been a very special day for me. The conditions this morning were very tricky so there was a lot to get to grips with and it was always going to take time to get up to speed. When the track did dry out my times started to drop and I was really pleased with where I ended up. It has been a good start for me and I’m looking forward to continually improving during the Friday morning sessions of the next three races. I would like to thank the team for looking after me so well. They are a great bunch of people and I am enjoying being part of Virgin Racing.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “We are extremely pleased with how the day has gone. We’ve shown some good pace today on both wet and dry tyres and all three drivers did a very professional job in difficult conditions. We do have a few issues to resolve before tomorrow’s running, but generally a good start to the weekend. This morning Jerome did a fantastic job for his first time out in the car, particularly as there was a lot of media attention on him. To achieve the time he set and be the quickest of the three ‘Friday drivers’ was fantastic for him. Timo was pretty happy with his car on the prime tyres and his time was impressive, but he had an imbalance on the car which prevented him from improving on his time on the option tyre. Lucas got up to speed quickly in free practice 2, but was also unable to get the best out of his option tyre run.”

HRT F1 Cosworth

Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team was back in action today running for the first time ever at night and making its debut in Singapore. It was also the first time here for both drivers of the Spanish team, Bruno Senna and Christian Klien, who were able to keep their cars away from the close barriers and out of trouble. In the morning session, the Austrian did his first 17 laps (2.03.424) and the Brazilian did 23 (1.59.783). In the second practice session, both drivers were able to improve their lap times. Bruno Senna ended up 23rd with a best time of 1.54.725 and Christian Klien finished 24th (1.55.542).

Dr Colin Kolles, Team Principal: “The first session started off under wet track conditions and so, our drivers could get some experiences on a new circuit for them. As rain is expected for almost the whole weekend, it was important for Bruno and Christian to run under changing conditions. The track dried up and in practice two, it was dry. Today, it was important for us to get as much track time as possible and data about the circuit and the car. Now, our focus is on tomorrow and we will try to do our best again.”

Christian Klien: “I am happy to be back racing, which wasn’t easy at the beginning of the first session as I only did 40 laps in this car before. But I felt more and more comfortable in the cockpit and could learn a lot and get more experience. I found a good pace on the prime tyres even if I lost some time on the options compared to my teammate. I am looking forward to tomorrow and I hope to improve again.”

Bruno Senna: “It was a good day for us here at the special event in Singapore. We managed to try a few things on the car and we learnt a lot about the track. In the second practice, we could improve and now we have to get ready for tomorrow.”