Sauber drivers Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi had very different stories to tell after Friday Practice for the German Grand Prix. Perez was fifth in the relatively dry morning session before improving to fourth in the wet and was reasonably happy in both conditions.
“Of course we were hoping for more dry running today, but it is good we now have some experience with both the intermediate and full wet tyres, because we might need them for qualifying tomorrow. I really hope we can put in a strong qualifying performance so we can make the most of our chances in the race. Regarding the new hard tyres we were using in the morning, I found it difficult to warm them up but overall to me they seemed to be alright.”
Meanwhile, Kobayashi struggled for grip in the afternoon which was heavily disrupted by rain and believes there was a problem with his car that contributed.
“I was struggling a lot in the wet and I had zero grip. I suppose there was something wrong with my car and we will check that now. Tomorrow is another day and I'm positive we can be strong here.”
Head of Track Engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara admits there are very few conclusions which can be drawn from today's running but is still positive about his team's chances.
“It was another Friday of fighting with the weather. We tried to maximise our learning, and apparently we have to find the best possible compromise because the weather forecast suggests it will be wet for qualifying but dry for the race. In the morning we were able to work on measurements related to aero parts. For the afternoon we had a revised programme due to the rain. Overall it is obviously very difficult to make a judgement on today's performance.”