Nico Hülkenberg enjoyed his Friday running at the Circuit of the Americas as the German driver finished inside the top six in both free practice sessions.
The Sahara Force India F1 Team driver was fifth quickest in the morning session before slotting into sixth in the afternoon, just 0.060 seconds faster than team-mate Sergio Perez, and the German was happy to get a good amount of running and a good balance on his VJM09.
Hülkenberg, who is heading to the Renault Sport Formula 1 Team in 2017, knows some improvements are still needed to maintain this performance for the rest of the weekend, but he is optimistic that another good result is on the cards.
“It was a straightforward Friday – the way you want to start a weekend, really,” said Hülkenberg. “We didn’t have any major issues with the car and we were able to do a good amount of mileage.
“We tried a few different things with our set-up this afternoon, so the job tonight is to try and understand the best direction to take going forward. I am reasonably happy with the balance of the car, but I know we can make some improvements tonight. So we’re in a good place to start and I am optimistic for tomorrow and Sunday.”
