Friday: Red Bull is not at its best in the rain
For Red Bull, the biggest unknown will come from the tires for the rest of the weekend. The weather forecast predicts it should be dry tomorrow and Sunday, and the teams have not been able to run with the Pirelli slick tires. Tomorrow morning's final practice session will therefore be crucial for preparing for qualifying and the race, especially since Pirelli has brought the softest tires in its range to this demanding circuit from a tire perspective.
Sebastian Vettel – 2nd and 3rd:
« It was an interesting day. For Saturday and Sunday, the weather will be dry so what we learned today should not be very useful for the future, but we can use it for future races in the wet. Unfortunately, the track does not dry quickly at all so we did not have the opportunity to try the slick tires, so we will see during the race. It’s a tough track for the tires even though you have a long straight, but there is no respite after that. The car works well and that’s the most important thing. »
Mark Webber – 10th and 5th:
« It was quite simple for everyone today, we used a single set of tires so it wasn’t particularly exciting. McLaren seems very strong in mixed conditions and we couldn’t use the slicks. The track takes a long time to dry here. Slick tires are the most important thing. We’ll have to learn their behavior with different fuel loads. Usually, we do that on Friday, but we’ll have to do it tomorrow morning. »