16/06/2023
NEWS STORY
Yuki Tsunoda: "Although FP1 was interrupted, we still had two hours of running on track, which was enough. Our balance isn't too bad, but it seems we are struggling to find pace during our performance runs. It looks like it will be raining tomorrow so we will be focusing on wet conditions for one-lap runs, with multiple tyre sets left to use. We did some long runs in the dry, and the pace doesn't seem bad, but first, let's see how tomorrow goes. I hope we can achieve Q2 or Q3 tomorrow."
Nyck de Vries: "I think it was a challenging day for everyone. Obviously, FP1 was interrupted so we had to change our run plan for the afternoon but nonetheless, I think we completed enough laps to be able to get up to speed with the track. Tomorrow will see different conditions again with rain forecasted, so there is lots of work ahead of us. As the track is quite different compared to Barcelona, more bumpy, narrow, and with less grip, I will have to get used to it and make the necessary changes. We didn't do any laps in the rain today, but the grip seems low in dry conditions already, so we will have to see how it goes in the wet."
Jonathan Eddolls (Chief Race Engineer): "It's been a very different Friday to usual here in Canada. In FP1 we managed to get our planned aero rake running completed before the red flag, and then it was a case of waiting in the garage while the circuit resolved the CCTV issues. These were not fixed in time, but the plan to extend FP2 and start the session 30 minutes earlier was a very good decision, because we knew the chances of rain later in the afternoon were high. We were able to carry FP1 tyres into FP2, which was now 90 minutes long, so we had three brand new sets and one nearly new set of tyres to use. The plan focused on giving the drivers as many laps as possible, with short runs and pitstops on the four sets of tyres, before turning our attention to the long runs. We were tracking the rain and could see it coming towards the end of the session, so the run plans were geared around this and we managed to cover all the planned work. The track was declared wet, so to get our "free" intermediate tyres for tomorrow, we had to complete one lap on it. This was done in the dry because we didn't want to risk a red flag and miss the opportunity. Overall, we were expecting a bit more pace than we showed, but given the dense programme, we didn't focus on setup changes. I think we can make a step forward tomorrow with changes to the car overnight."