The Ferrari engineers had
a clear plan of action for today’s two free practice
sessions: carry out the usual tyre comparison and work
on set-up, as well as try out the new aero components
introduced on the 150º Italia, namely updated wings
front and back and new brake ducts. However, the weather
gods had other plans with rain affecting the entire 90
minutes in the morning. This was not all bad news,
because although a wet track makes it harder to assess
aerodynamic changes, it did provide an opportunity for
all the teams and drivers to evaluate the Pirelli rain
tyres: that has not happened much this year as rain has
been in short supply since the start of winter testing.
The sun came out in time to dry the track for the
afternoon session in which three times Turkish GP winner
Felipe Massa set the sixth fastest time and Fernando
Alonso, who was hampered by a hydraulic problem and then
had a harmless spin when he was a touch over-optimistic
in activating the moveable rear wing, ended up eleventh.
Ever since China, the main F1 topic concerned which
teams would make the most progress in the three week
break and of course there are no clear answers. On the
plus side, both the Ferrari men felt the heavy workload
undertaken back at Maranello had produced results.
However, it would seem that, of the other front runners,
Mercedes might have made big steps, because behind
Jenson Button, who set the fastest time for McLaren,
comes Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes; these two being the
only drivers to drop below the 1m 27s barrier. Behind
them come their respective team-mates, with Lewis
Hamilton fourth and Michael Schumacher fifth. Mark
Webber in the Red Bull was fifth, just ahead of Felipe
Massa, but the Australian’s team-mate, reigning world
champion and current series leader, Sebastian Vettel,
took no part in the afternoon session after badly
damaging his Red Bull when he spun off in the morning.
There is one more hour of free practice tomorrow morning
for the Scuderia to further evaluate its updates and to
prepare for the two key moments of the weekend –
qualifying and the race.
Fernando Alonso: “These two sessions
were very different one to the other, because of the
change in the weather. It was useful to do some running
in the wet because there is a chance that it might rain
again at some point tomorrow. We tried various new
solutions and now we have to evaluate them carefully to
see what worked and what did not. I had a hydraulic
problem which cost me some time in the pits at the start
of the second session. That contributed to the fact it’s
difficult for me to give a precise evaluation of tyre
behaviour. Then, I also had a spin, when I was being too
optimistic in my use of the moveable rear wing. For sure
this track puts a heavy load on the tyres: it will be
interesting to see what happens in the race. I think we
have made progress, but there are various teams that are
quicker than us. We have to try and do our best, putting
together the best package made up of new components and
those we have used before to try and get all the
potential out of the car.”
Felipe Massa: “From what I could see,
we have made a step forward in terms of performance, but
we are not yet close enough to the best. It is always
difficult to say how much progress one has made after
just two free practice sessions: we will have to wait
for qualifying to get a clearer picture. We are working
very hard to catch up and I think we are on the right
road, but the others are definitely not standing still.
For example, Mercedes seems to have made a significant
step forward here. Would I prefer a wet race? Sure, if
it turns out we are not competitive then the rain would
open up more possibilities, but it could also go well in
the dry and it does seem as though the weather is
improving. This is a very demanding circuit, but I
really like driving here because there are so many
different types of corner.”
Pat Fry: “It’s always difficult to say
what the real order is after Friday’s free practice
sessions and that is even more the case when one of them
takes place in the wet, as was the case today. At least
this morning we were able to get a first impression of
the balance and handling of our car on both types of
rain tyre. However, we didn’t do that many laps because
the weather forecast for the rest of the weekend is
still uncertain, therefore we have to try and manage the
few sets of tyres available to us as well as possible.
In the afternoon, we concentrated mainly on evaluating
new aerodynamic components and, as usual, comparing the
two types of dry tyre. Unfortunately, we lost at least
half an hour with Fernando, because of an hydraulic
problem and so the Spaniard was not exactly in the best
of shape to get the most out of the soft tyres. As for
Felipe, he managed to get through the entire planned
programme. Some of the new elements, like the rear wing
for example, immediately showed good results, while
others, such as the floor and the front wing, still need
further careful evaluation.”
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