Force India drivers Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg both feel happy with their car in the wet conditions which are likely to remain for qualifying at Hockenheim. Di Resta only drove in the second session which saw no dry running whatsoever, something which may compromise him for Sunday's race.
“A very short day for me with limited mileage in the wet”, said the Briton. “The track was drying up quite nicely towards the middle of the session and it was near to the crossover point for slicks until the rain returned. We've done our wet weather preparation so we just need to see what the weather brings tomorrow.”
Di Resta was eighteenth, twelve places behind Hulkenberg who finished both sessions in the top six. The German managed to get some brief track time on dry tyres but with very little chance to learn anything, he is still in the dark over the team's competitiveness.
“Another Friday practice where it was difficult to find a rhythm and get through the job list. In the morning the rain showers only gave us very limited time to run dry tyres, so I didn't really get a feel for the hard development tyre. The track surface here is also very smooth and it was quite low grip this morning, especially with the damp parts of the track. With the rain showers this afternoon, all we could do was understand the wet and intermediate tyres in case the wet weather continues tomorrow.”
Reserve driver Jules Bianchi filled in for Di Resta in the morning session and the Frenchman was happy with the way he adapted to the tricky conditions.
“It was not an easy morning session because of the rain showers, which meant we had to stop and wait for the track to dry. The rain was not heavy but it made the track very slippery. I did most of my laps on the medium compound tyres and I was improving lap by lap. I set my quickest lap on my final run when the track condition was at its best and I was able to get closer to the limit of the car.”
