31/08/2018
NEWS STORY
Sergio Perez: "It was a good day and I am fairly confident about our performance level. Friday times don't mean much but it's still nice to finish the morning session as the fastest driver. In the afternoon we worked on our race set-up and we found a very good baseline. I am definitely looking forward to qualifying because we have a good chance to be the best of the rest no matter what the weather does. We were able to run on all compounds and in all conditions, so we are well prepared."
Esteban Ocon: "It's been a pretty solid day with good preparation for the weekend. Seventh and eighth in the second session shows we have strong dry pace, as well as in the wet, and I feel optimistic for tomorrow. The car has been quick all day, but there are some areas where we can improve and I think there is more to come. The second session was shorter than usual because of the red flag, but it's the same for everybody and I think we are as well prepared as anybody."
Otmar Szafnauer: "It was an interesting day in changing conditions. The weather has been quite challenging so far this week, especially with the forecast evolving throughout the day. In the end, we were able to run a full programme on intermediate tyres this morning, gathering a good amount of data on a compound we may need to use in qualifying tomorrow. FP2 was fully dry and we could focus mainly on our set-up for the race. The red flag at the beginning of the session obviously cut into our time, but we still managed to catch up and both our drivers were quite happy with the balance of the car in the end. We still have some work to do, but we're satisfied with a solid start to the weekend. The key for tomorrow and Sunday will be to adapt to a changing environment. Tomorrow is looking cooler than Sunday, so we expect different track conditions and temperature between the two days: the challenge will be to respond to these changes in the most effective way."