07/11/2014
NEWS STORY
It was a mixed day of practice at Interlagos for Sahara Force India with the bulk of the workload falling on the shoulders of Nico Hulkenberg.
Nico Hulkenberg: "Most forecasts said it would be cloudy and wet, but the opposite was the case and it was very hot and sunny. We even saw track temperatures of 58ºC, which made it a challenge to manage both tyre compounds this afternoon. It might be cooler over the weekend, so we need to be careful about what conclusions we make tonight and the approach we take tomorrow. Apart from that it was a pretty straightforward Friday on my side of the garage and we just need to make the usual performance tweaks overnight."
Sergio Perez: "It's disappointing not to run today and what happened with Daniel is bad luck. This is how things are in Formula One and sometimes you just have to accept that it's not going to be your day. Final practice will be even more important now but hopefully I can get up-to-speed before qualifying."
Daniel Juncadella: "It's always good to be back in the car, but it's a shame to end the session with an accident. It was the strangest crash I ever had and I was not expecting it at all. The track was evolving very quickly because there is new asphalt and there was only one racing line with grip. On that lap I went a bit wider on the kerb, which was a bit too optimistic because I had a moment and had to catch the car. There was no room in the run-off area so I damaged the front of the car. I've apologised to the team and I'm sorry that it caused Sergio to miss track time, but hopefully he can still have a strong weekend."
Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director: "It was quite a testing day on Checo's side of the garage. Daniel drove the car this morning, but made a mistake coming through turn seven and ended up in the barrier. It was not a heavy impact, but the car experienced a lot of heat soak, which damaged some engine hydraulic components. The decision was taken to replace them as a precaution, which unfortunately deprived Checo of running today. With only one car available this afternoon, we adjusted our run plan to ensure we gathered all the data we needed prior to the race, although with several red flags during the session it was not easy to complete a long run without disruption."
Check out our Friday gallery, here.