Friday: Hamilton and Rosberg dominate but think of Schumacher
The day was ideal for Mercedes, who confirmed their advantage while managing to work calmly for the race during Free Practice 2. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg did not forget to acknowledge the news from Grenoble regarding Michael Schumacher's health condition.
Lewis Hamilton (#44) – 1st and 1st
Ideal day for the Briton who, in addition to having no problems, was able to set the fastest time in both sessions, finding a car to his liking from his first laps: « It has been a pretty good day for us. The car felt good from the start which allowed us to spend time on the tires. The softs, in particular, seem to work well and we saw a good difference in lap time compared to the mediums. »
« The focus today was on the second session because the timing and conditions reflected what would be for the rest of the weekend, and the temperature difference between the two sessions was significant. The key was not to overreact to these changes in our setup approach, and it seems we managed well, » he explained. « As always, there are still things we can do to improve the car, but overall, I feel good. »
He loved driving at night on the Sakhir circuit: « It was excellent to drive under the spotlights here: the circuit looks much better at night and you don’t really notice any difference in visibility. It’s also great to drive in such cool conditions. »
Finally, he has a thought for Michael Schumacher, whose health has seemingly shown notable improvements: « I heard the news about Michael Schumacher after FP2 and we are all thinking of him and his family. »
Nico Rosberg (n°6) – 2nd and 2nd
On the side of the championship leader, apart from a slight engine problem during FP1, quickly fixed, this Friday was rather quiet: « Good testing day for us. It seems that we are fast in terms of pure pace and I also did a good long stint during the second session, so I am quite confident for the weekend. »
« Driving in the evening is very different, as the temperatures are lower than during the test sessions we’ve had so far. We learned a lot in these new conditions and it worked quite well, » he said.
The German also had a thought for the one with whom he was teammates for three seasons between 2010 and 2012: « It was also great to hear some encouraging news about Michael Schumacher today. The whole paddock was happy to hear that and I hope the progress will continue. »
