Sauber drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez admitted they felt sorry for the spectators after seeing such limited on-track action at Spa on Friday. Kobayashi did manage to set the quickest time of the day in the running that did take place but the conditions were a far cry from those he experienced in his home land during the summer break.
“I feel very sorry for the spectators here in the grandstands. We did some running in the first session, but in the afternoon we basically stayed in the garage. There wasn’t anything to learn out there and it is obviously pretty easy to damage the car in these conditions. I can’t say much except: Welcome to Spa – and welcome back to reality. I didn’t see a drop of rain for the five weeks I have just spent in Tokyo and Hawaii.”
Perez also praised the spectators for braving heavy rain and temperatures that barely reached double figures but is hopeful of providing plenty of fireworks in qualifying tomorrow.
“Unfortunately for all of us the conditions today didn’t allow for any proper driving to kick off the second part of the season. It is such a shame for the brave spectators. I believe the fans in Spa really love Formula One and today we left them disappointed. I hope we can make up for this tomorrow and on Sunday and put on a good show.”
Head of Track Engineering Giampaolo Dall’Ara said conditions made it impossible to learn anything of relevance to Sunday’s race and feels the race weekend effectively starts tomorrow.
“Other than to praise the accuracy of the weather service, which was so precise, there is not much to say about today. We prioritised a bit more running in the morning as the conditions were looking worse for the afternoon. I can’t even say we were able to learn anything for the race, as the forecast for the next couple of days is for dry conditions. We just got our basic homework done, with start practice and systems checks.”
