Friday: The HRT F111 adapts well to the Monza circuit
At the end of a day of testing where they were relatively quick compared to their direct competitors, the HRT drivers are optimistic for the rest of the weekend, even though Daniel Ricciardo would have liked to run more during Free Practice 2 where he was stuck in the pits due to an electrical issue.
Vitantonio Liuzzi – 22nd and 21st
« It was a rather good first day in Monza, just the way I wanted my home race to go. This track suits us better than others because there are no high-speed corners where the lack of downforce tends to cost us. Thus, we have closed the gap with our main rivals.
We did some setup work this morning and worked on understanding the soft tires this afternoon, we have good information. I think we have a good balance on the long runs but we need to work on our pace on a quick lap tomorrow morning.
Everyone did a good job today, and I think we can have a good weekend, but we need to keep working hard for that.
Daniel Ricciardo – 21st and 24th
The morning session went as planned, and we completed the pre-established program. I’m understanding the car and how it behaves on track a little better each day. In the first lap of the afternoon session, we encountered an electrical problem and lost nearly an hour in the garage to resolve it. The mechanics did a great job in such a short time, despite the pressure, which allowed us to get back on track at the end of the session to complete a few laps. Obviously, I would have preferred to do 20 or 30 laps, but at least I was able to get back out.
I have a lot to learn from Vitantonio’s experience, and objectively speaking, if we compare his times to those of the Lotus or Virgin, then we are very close. The F111 adapts better to this track than to others, so I think it could be a good weekend, but now, what we need to do is work hard for tomorrow.
