Nico Hulkenberg was happy with his first day in the b-specification Sahara Force India VJM08 on Friday, with the German driver finishing both practice sessions inside the top ten at Silverstone.
Hulkenberg finished ninth in the opening practice and then followed that up with an eighth in the second, and felt it was a positive day for the team with their new updated car.
“It was a smooth Friday, with no dramas, and overall a pretty positive day,” revealed Hulkenberg. “When you get a new package, that’s just what you need and we were able to complete good mileage.
“We found performance straight away: from the very first run I had a positive feeling and that’s an encouraging sign. With new parts on the car, there is always a steep learning curve, so we will need to pore over the data tonight to find some more margins to optimise, but I am really optimistic.
“The red flag compromised our long runs so we didn’t get as much data as we wanted there, but we still got enough to put ourselves in a good position.”
