Friday: Methodical Learning for Marussia

Timo Glock – 21st and 20th:

A difficult start to the weekend – for everyone, I think. The track was very dirty this morning and during Free Practice 1 we just had to wait for it to become reasonable. In the end, the car was relatively good, but there was traffic in the last laps, and when you lose tire temperature because of that, it’s hard to make up for lost time. FP2 was a bit confusing because the car was very difficult to drive in the first 15 minutes, then at the end the balance was reasonable. It’s quite difficult to do a good lap here and find grip. We saw a few cars go off track because of this. We finished the day with a bit more confidence in the car, but we need to analyze the data and the new developments to see how we can improve things for tomorrow. Considering the challenge we had to face, I’m quite happy with how we finished the session.

Charles Pic – 18th and 22nd:

« It was an interesting day, driving here on the Circuit of the Americas for the first time, it was very close to the simulation work we did, which is always encouraging. I really like the track, the first sector in particular. This morning the track was so slippery that we just focused on the basics and tried to find grip. We constantly improved and it was nice to finish the session ahead of the two Caterhams. This afternoon we had a lot of work to do to make the tires work and that was our goal with different fuel levels. Tomorrow will give us a more precise idea but I’m quite happy with the first day here. »