Ferrari will have to confirm its good form
Despite Kimi Räikkönen's fastest time in FP2, caution is the order of the day in the Ferrari clan. The Finn and his team-mate Sebastian Vettel are still searching for the perfect balance and a better understanding of Pirelli tires.
As has been the case for several seasons now, tires play an increasingly important role in the balance and understanding of the single-seater.
On a track like the one in Shanghai, the tire choices made by Pirelli are of the utmost importance. Kimi Räikkönen was the first to witness this and only enjoyed driving his SF16-H with Super Soft tires in FP2, during which he set the fastest time: « It has been a rather difficult day overall. I was constantly searching for grip, probably due to the wind. It was sliding a lot, and that feeling is not really pleasant. When we put on the Super Softs, it seemed to work a bit better. I had more grip and was able to set a very good time. We’ll see tomorrow how the weather turns out, we’ll try to have a good day and do our best for the race. »
Sebastian Vettel, for his part, does not want to give too much importance to today’s results and prefers to continue working in the right direction: « Friday is not very important in terms of position but more in terms of feeling. We had a decent day and the feeling is quite good with the car. »
However, the two Ferrari drivers still have a lot of work ahead of them, as the German specifies: « We still have a lot of work to do tonight to improve all sectors. Of course, pole position is always our goal, but it’s only Friday, and we’re not going to put too much pressure on ourselves. »
