Nico Hulkenberg hopes Haas can uphold for the remainder of the weekend in Barcelona the strong form displayed by the US outfit in Friday's second practice.
Hulkenberg was a surprise visitor into the top three at the end of the session, the German clocking just behind Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and only 0.270s adrift of pacesetter Max Verstappen.
Hulkenberg set his quickest lap mid-session on Pirelli's soft compound tyre, during a qualifying sim.
©Haas
"It felt decent, especially that lap on new softs, it gives you a lot of grip over one lap," he commented.
"Particularly in FP2, I think we picked up some performance which wasn’t quite there earlier.
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"I’m satisfied with how it’s gone and hope we can keep it up for the next two days. There’s always more to explore, there’s always more to do, but I had a good rhythm today and felt at home in the car.
"I felt like I was in the driving seat which is important – especially around here – it’s been a positive Friday."
©Haas
Kevin Magnussen, who concluded his day P15, says he "tried something that didn't work" in FP2. But the Dane took a lot of encouragement from his teammate's impressive pace.
"Today was fun. The new layout is pretty full-on, it’s a good change," he said.
"FP1 was very good for us, we tried something that didn’t work in FP2 but Nico was fast, so we know the speed is in the car and we’ll work tonight as we always do to try and get on that pace tomorrow.
"It’s super tight, I was P15 and seven tenths off P1 which is crazy, but it is what it is and means we have something to fight for."
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