Renault: Sirotkin unlucky not to have driven much

For a first experience this year at the wheel of the R.S. 17, Sergey Sirotkin didn’t really have the time to prove himself. The Russian, invited by Renault to participate in FP1 in front of his home crowd, had to step out early in the session due to a problem encountered with his car.

A disappointment that the young driver plans to quickly erase: « It was a short stint in FP1, but that’s the nature of motorsport. It’s better to encounter a problem on the car during practice than in qualifying or the race. I can’t say much about the day, except that I was thrilled with the car during the Bahrain tests and I was fully ready to deliver everything needed today. I will be back on track in Spain, and my focus is already entirely there. »

Finding his seat in the afternoon, Nico Hülkenberg didn’t take long to settle in, ultimately securing an encouraging 8th place with nearly 40 laps completed in an hour and a half: « After listening to the radio the little time Sergey was at the wheel, I experienced quite linear FP2 sessions. We quickly got into the rhythm, and I don’t think we have anything to fear this weekend. We completed a solid number of laps, so we have enough information to analyze in our quest to be faster tomorrow and on race day. » declared the confident German.

But on Jolyon Palmer’s side, the results aren’t really there with a 15th place in FP1 and a 13th in FP2. The Briton still has work to do to extract the best from his car: « The car was good right away and I was able to push without encountering any particular issues. The front end behaved well and the traction was also there. So, I think we’ve made great progress in understanding the R.S.17 and the new parts brought in. The FP2 session ended a bit early on my side, but I remain positive for the rest of the weekend. »