15/11/2013
NEWS STORY
Daniil Kvyat: "I enjoyed every single moment of driving the track even though there was a delay because of the fog and then a red flag. We didn't do the full programme of course because the session was shortened, but we still did 20 laps which is important mileage for me and we also managed to do some aero measurements. Of course I've never driven here before and I think the track is very nice. It was good to go out there to try and find the limit of the car and the brakes. I've finished driving here but for the rest of the weekend I will be attending all the engineers' briefings, which again will be a very valuable experience."
Daniel Ricciardo: "Today was not what we had hoped for in terms of real performance. We were a little bit off the top ten, which is where we want to be. I wasn't really happy with the balance of the car today, both morning and afternoon. We still have some work to do tonight to understand how to improve the car and hopefully we can come up with some good solutions for tomorrow. I felt as if the tyres were a bit too hard for conditions today, as it was taking a long time for them to warm up."
Jean-Eric Vergne: "Of course I've got no problem with Daniil driving my car in FP1, as it's good experience for the whole team for next year, but it does make life a little bit harder when you only drive one session. We struggled with the car today and I wasn't happy with the setup, but at least the long runs were good given the problem we had with the balance of the car. We definitely have to work hard tonight for qualifying and I'm confident we can improve and be more competitive tomorrow."
Laurent Mekies (Head of Vehicle Performance): "It was the first time for Daniil in the car with us and unfortunately for him the session got shortened. But still the track was in a much better condition in FP1 than last year so this allowed him to get reasonable running. At the end of the session he got 2 runs in the car and he did a good job with no mistakes and gave some interesting feedback to the engineers. It was a good first try - so well done to him. For our regular drivers, we are not happy with the car right now. Obviously it was a little bit more difficult for JEV who had to jump straight into the car in FP2. We are equally unhappy with Daniel and therefore we have scanned a lot of things to try to find a best possible solution for tomorrow. The two cars ran quite differently in terms of set up this afternoon, I expect by putting together the best of both worlds that tomorrow we should be able to get back into our usual midfield positions."
Check out our Friday gallery, here.