Friday: Williams optimistic despite Senna’s crash
Reluctant protagonist of the dull afternoon practice session, Bruno Senna, after his big accident, relies on the responsiveness of his mechanics to ensure the car is ready for tomorrow. For Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas, who replaced the Brazilian during FP1, the day was an opportunity to prepare for a rainy weekend.
Pastor Maldonado – 15th and 12th:
« We didn’t have the chance to do many laps today, but everyone is in the same situation. We didn’t try many things in terms of settings, but we used the track time to see how the track conditions were. There was a lot of aquaplaning, but the car seemed quite good despite the fact that we couldn’t run on wet settings. If it’s like this all weekend, we will have to make some decisions tomorrow before qualifying. »
Valtteri Bottas – 13th [in Free Practice 1]:
« It was really wet this morning, with a lot of water running on the track, causing a bit of aquaplaning on the tires. The conditions were not easy, but I think it was good overall. We have a small idea of the direction to take regarding the car’s balance, as it seems there will be rain all weekend. We did our best today by doing a few fast laps, but the weather was getting worse. »
Bruno Senna – 17th [in Free Practice 2]:
« Unfortunately, we didn’t have a very productive day in the end. The weather was bad, with puddles on the track during free practice 2. During my second stint, I aquaplaned at full speed at Becketts and at that moment, I was a passenger until my car hit the wall. It was quite a significant crash, but I’m okay. There’s a lot of damage to the car, but the Williams team will, I’m sure, do an excellent job of getting it ready for tomorrow. »
