Friday: Mercedes works on tire management
The W-Duct fitted on the F1 W03 could be a trump card for Mercedes during tomorrow's qualifying. In any case, Michael Schumacher showed his teeth this afternoon by being the fastest. The German team also worked on tire management to improve their race pace on Sunday, and it seems they have learned some interesting things.
Michael Schumacher – 3rd and 1st
« It was a disrupted first day and I am quite happy with the way our car is performing here. The balance is good, and that helps a lot in achieving a good time. As a team, we are much stronger in certain sectors this season, and we have a much better foundation to work from, even if we are not yet where we would like to be. But I am confident we will get there. We will analyze the data to find out where we really stand, and I am looking forward to tomorrow’s qualifying. »
Nico Rosberg – 2nd and 5th
« It’s important for us to try different things during the tests to improve our race pace. So I think it’s a decent start to the weekend given that we learned some interesting things. The conditions were changing, and it was difficult to make the right decision regarding the setup, and we encountered difficulties with the front tires. It was probably caused by today’s low temperatures, and it can change very quickly between today and the race, so I’m not worried.
