Nico Hülkenberg enjoyed a good day at the Sepang International Circuit as the Sahara Force India driver ended both sessions inside the top ten on Friday.
The German finished eighth in the opening session and ninth in the second, and revealed that they were able to get through the whole programme they wanted to on Friday.
“It’s been a good day,” admitted Hülkenberg. “We didn’t have any issues with the car; we ticked all the boxes on our programme and went through all the tyre compounds to collect the necessary information. It has been a straightforward day – the way you want a Friday to be.”
Hülkenberg admitted it was a hot day in Malaysia, especially with the new track surface soaking up the heat, and the German also said that the new profile to the final corner has made it far more of a challenge than before.
“The new track surface made driving here a lot smoother because it used to be very bumpy!” said Hülkenberg. “It’s a nice feeling, but with such strong sunshine and high temperatures you can feel the tarmac soaking up all the heat – it makes it really hot inside the car!
“The changes to the final corner have made it a real challenge: it’s the one corner where you can lose a good lap, right at the end, so you need to be very careful when turning in.”
