25/03/2022
NEWS STORY
Pierre Gasly: "It's been a good two practice sessions today. We sustained some damage in FP2 on the floor, so we haven't shown our true pace yet, but we believe that we're in the mix of the top 10 and I expect a very intense battle tomorrow amongst all the midfield teams. We know we've got some work to do but we'll focus on improving the car for tomorrow and I think it could be quite an exciting race based on what we've seen today."
Yuki Tsunoda: "Until the last few moments in FP2, the car had felt okay today. There are still lots of things to work on at the moment, but we've been able to gather a lot of crucial data across both cars, which is still hugely important so that we can learn more about them and find a clearer direction to go with this car. Hopefully we can understand the issue we've had tonight and get it fixed for tomorrow's FP3, so we can then put it altogether when it comes to Quali."
Jonathan Eddolls (Chief Race Engineer): "Up until the end of the FP2 we were having a good Friday practice. We spent the day carrying out test items, following the post event analysis from the Bahrain weekend. We started both cars with a slightly different aero configuration and went in different directions to obtain the balance they required. Bouncing was not an issue, even though we felt there could have been some signs of it here. In any case, we had a stable platform to complete a number of test items, including trying to optimise the performance of the 18" tyres - this being the first time we have used the C4 tyre at a race weekend. With the operating conditions under the 2022 regulations, the tyres were given quite a hard time, so we need to review how to give them some breathing space on Sunday. Then unfortunately at the end of the session we had an issue with the driveline on Yuki's car, so had to stop on track. We will review the vitals when it's back in the garage and understand what is needed to turn it around for tomorrow."
Check out our Friday gallery from Jeddah, here.