Force India
Nico Hülkenberg: “It was a smooth Friday, with no dramas, and overall a pretty positive day. When you get a new package, that’s just what you need and we were able to complete good mileage. We found performance straight away: from the very first run I had a positive feeling and that's an encouraging sign. With new parts on the car, there is always a steep learning curve, so we will need to pore over the data tonight to find some more margins to optimise, but I am really optimistic. The red flag compromised our long runs so we didn't get as much data as we wanted there, but we still got enough to put ourselves in a good position.”
Sergio Perez: “I think we can be happy with what has been a very positive start with the b-spec car. We got good mileage today so there is plenty to analyse and learn, but I feel we have definitely taken a step forward, which is what this team was expecting. It is always a complex task to learn about all the new parts in just a couple of sessions, but by the last run of the session, I was feeling comfortable, and that’s promising for the race. Qualifying will be interesting because there are many directions in which we can go and we'll need to choose the right one.”
Vijay Mallya, Team Principal & Managing Director: “Today was a crucial day with the arrival of our b-spec car and a lot of new parts to test. We had both mechanical and aerodynamic upgrades, and this was the first chance to evaluate them altogether. We had to contend with a lot of wind out on track, which obviously affects both the running and the data acquisition, but we still managed to gather all the information that our very comprehensive test plan required. We have a big task ahead of us, going through the data and analysing it to maximise what we get out of this new package. Both drivers were positive about the car, which is a good sign, although we also know it will take time to fully optimise things and make the drivers totally comfortable. Overall, the first impression is that the package is a step forward.”
