Friday: Ferrari drivers have balance issues

Fernando Alonso – 11th and 10th

« It was a normal Friday, mainly focused on testing new aerodynamic elements during free practice 1 and tire testing during free practice 2. As always, we tried to work with what will be the fastest compound in qualifying and the one that is the most consistent over long stints.

Felipe and I shared the work on the track, and tonight it will be up to the engineers to analyze the data and make the best decisions for tomorrow, both regarding the new features brought here and the learning about the tires.

It rained this morning and that somewhat slowed our schedule, but we still managed to complete it during the second session. We clearly lack performance: we will try to find some for tomorrow and we will attempt to fix our balance issues, particularly concerning grip. There is still a lot to do if we want to qualify well.

Felipe Massa – 12th and 17th

We clearly cannot define this day as fantastic. This morning, the track was slightly wet, which means we couldn’t run as much as we wanted, but this afternoon, the track dried up and we were able to complete our usual Friday program.

When I was on my first stint with the Softs, Glock went wide at the first corner and I had to pit again: this means I couldn’t get the most out of that set of tires and improve my time. I’m convinced I could have been much faster than my final best time: it bothers me a little because I didn’t manage to use the Soft tires as I should have. At the end of the session, I drove with a lot of fuel to improve the car’s balance.