Sam Michael, Technical Director:
“Today was a good day's work from the team to get through all of our programme, which included checking new aero parts, set-up and evaluating drag level. We had one issue in the morning with a gearbox input shaft failure on Rubens' car that cost him P1, but he recovered well in P2 to get through the items he wanted to test. On Nico’s car, we ran a solid program all day. Now we’re looking at set-up for tomorrow afternoon and we expect it will be a tight session.”
Rubens Barrichello
Chassis FW32-04 Engine CA105
“Obviously we had a little problem this morning and lost a bit of track time, but we caught up well this afternoon. In summary, we look good. That said, we will have to work hard to maintain our relative position, so I am pleased, but I am taking nothing for granted.”
First Practice Session: Run 1, new prime, 1 lap, installation check; Run 2, used prime, 3 laps, baseline – 1:28.516 (23rd) 4 LAPS
Second Practice Session: Run 1, new prime, 6 laps, baseline; Run 2, used prime, 4 laps, aero set-up; Run 3, used prime, 7 laps, set-up test; Run 4, new option, 7 laps, tyre evaluation; Run 5, used option, 7 laps, race set-up – 1:23.708 (7th) 31 LAPS
Nico Hulkenberg
Chassis FW32-04 Engine CA143
“It was a very positive Friday as far as I am concerned and I am very happy with the car right now. Hopefully it will be more of the same tomorrow and we will be able to put both cars inside the top ten. I think we're looking pretty competitive and we need to keep up the momentum that we have found today.”
First Practice Session: Run 1, new prime, 2 laps, installation check; Run 2, used prime, 7 laps, baseline; Run 3, used prime, 6 laps, aero set-up test; Run 4, used prime, 4 laps, aero set-up test; Run 5, used prime, 9 laps, race set-up – 1:24.841 (11th) 28 LAPS
Second Practice Session: Run 1, new prime, 5 laps, baseline; Run 2, used prime, 4 laps, aero set-up test; Run 3, used prime, 6 laps, set-up test; Run 4, new option, 8 laps, tyre evaluation; Run 5, used option, 7 laps, race set-up – 1:23.852 (9th) 30 LAPS
Photo credit: Williams F1 / Sutton Images
