16/09/2016
NEWS STORY
Sahara Force India completed a busy practice programme in Singapore with Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg covering a total of 117 laps around the Marina Bay Circuit.
Nico Hulkenberg: "It's a good starting point for our weekend: we stuck to our plan, completed all our runs and got plenty of learning out of the laps we did. There's still some work to do to be fully happy with the car, but we looked quite competitive. We are still trying to understand where we stand in terms of long run pace, but the first impression is that our one-lap pace looks good. Most teams usually take a big step forward between Friday and Saturday, so we are not getting carried away. We've done some good preparation work ahead of the race, which means tomorrow morning we can move on and switch our focus to qualifying."
Sergio Perez: "It was not the easiest day in the car. There are a few issues that we still need to solve and it means that I'm lacking confidence with the car - and that's not ideal for a street circuit. We need to make some good decisions tonight to find a direction that works for me. I also had a brake problem during our long run towards the end of second practice, so my session was not very smooth. Even when you don't have the best Friday, you can still recover and have a good weekend. I won't change my approach tomorrow - the focus remains getting the car in the best shape for qualifying."
Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: "It was a typical Singapore Friday with dirty and tricky track conditions, especially during the opening 40 minutes of the first practice session. Nico had a straightforward day - getting through the run plan without any significant concerns. He's quite happy with the car, but there remain areas where we know we can find extra performance overnight. Sergio's day was not quite so smooth and some set-up issues have left him chasing the ideal balance. Despite those issues, we showed some reasonable long run pace and we have a good understanding of the three different tyre compounds."
Check out our Friday gallery from Singapore, here.