On a damp day at Albert Park, Sahara Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg believes the two free practice sessions were not as useful as they would have been if held in the dry despite setting two top-four times over the two sessions.
Most of the opening session was held in wet conditions, with only a brief window of opportunity to run the dry Pirelli tyres, while the rain returned for the second session, meaning intermediates were the only tyres used throughout.
Hulkenberg ended fourth in FP1 and second in FP2, but felt the conditions were challenging with the rain and the wind, and knows the running the team will need to do on Saturday when the weather is meant to improve will be busy.
“[It was] really challenging conditions today with the wind and the rain,” said Hulkenberg. “It was so gusty and the car was being moved around a lot by the wind, even on the straights. So the conditions were not the best for testing and learning.
“This morning we did a very short run on the soft tyres, but the track was very damp and so it was not really a representative dry run. Then, in the afternoon, we worked with the intermediates, getting a feel for the car in the wet conditions in case the rain comes back again tomorrow.
“So it was one of those slow days where you just had to make the best of it. Tomorrow is a new day so let’s see what the weather brings.”
