Friday: First positive impressions for Ferrari in India
Although Felipe Massa had a difficult afternoon after losing the balance of his car due to poor settings and damaging his tires in a spin, Ferrari remains generally satisfied with the tests and must now analyze the data collected by the two drivers to choose the new parts that will be retained for the rest of the weekend.
Fernando Alonso – 3rd and 3rd:
« It’s an interesting circuit: after the longest straight, there’s a combination of fast corners which are really fun to drive. Today, the track was still very dirty, which is usually the case with new circuits that aren’t used much. Tomorrow, when it offers more grip, it will be even more fun.
The track conditions, which were changing rapidly lap after lap, made it even more difficult to understand the hierarchy situation. We need to study the data carefully to make the right choices for the rest of the weekend.
There isn’t much more to say about the tire performance: from what I’ve seen today, we can hope to have one less problem to solve.
Felipe Massa – 7th and 15th:
« It was a rather difficult day, especially in the afternoon. The first session went well and we were able to do everything that was planned. However, in the second session, when we switched from Hard to Soft tires, the balance was no longer optimal and the car became difficult to drive, to the point where I ended up spinning out. Unfortunately, it damaged a tire and I couldn’t complete the work on a stint, which was one of our priorities.
During the last hour, I therefore focused on pit stop simulations, the only thing possible with tires in this condition.
