BWT Racing Point F1 Team had a positive day in Friday practice ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend.
Mexican Sergio Pérez ran a total of 22 laps during the first practice session, setting a 1:44.629 personal best, which put him fourth. In the second session, he completed 23 laps, and set a 1:44.137 personal best, ending up fifth on the timing sheets.
He said: “I felt really good in the car today and we can be happy with a positive Friday programme. I’m excited to go away tonight and see if we can find a few extra tenths in the car and fight for a strong starting position for the race – I think we’ve shown today we’re certainly capable of that.”
He added they can be confident of a result due to the strong pace they showed during today’s running.
“We can be optimistic considering our pace in the short and long runs today. Like everyone else, the red flag late in Free Practice 2 means it’s harder to figure out the pecking order, but I’m confident we’re in a good place right now. We didn’t get any truly wet conditions, so we’ll have to see what tomorrow brings.
“I think we’re better prepared for wet conditions than we were at the beginning of the season, so we’re ready for whatever tomorrow brings.”
His team-mate, Lance Stroll, also ran 22 laps in the first session, setting a 1:44.868 personal best, which put him fifth. In the second session, he ended up eleventh, with a best time of 1:44.678 over 23 laps.
Stroll said: “It’s been a good day and I’m happy with how the car feels – I just wasn’t quite able to put together a clean and quick lap in Free Practice 2. But we’ve already shown that the pace was pretty good in FP1, so I’m happy with today’s work.
“Checo was able to put together a strong programme, so we’ve got plenty of positives to take from today. I also think we’ve found a couple of small areas where we can make a few tweaks and find some improvements for tomorrow.
“I’m looking forward to trying to take a step forward in Free Practice 3 and then fighting for a good starting position inside the Top 10 for Sunday,” he concluded.
