Friday: HRT still has to master the Yeongam track
The tests are considered positive by the Spanish team, whose drivers were discovering the Yeongam track. Pedro de la Rosa, Narain Karthikeyan, and Dani Clos had never driven on this circuit, so they had to learn it before trying to set a time.
Pedro de la Rosa – 23rd and 24th:
Today was a normal Friday. We focused on our program and learning the circuit because I had never driven here before. It is very technical and you need to know it well. That was the goal for the morning and we gradually improved the car’s setup. In the second session, we fitted a new wing and tested both tire choices [softs and super softs] and we need to look at the data to optimize the settings for tomorrow’s qualifying.
Narain Karthikeyan – 23rd [Free Practice 2]:
« Since I didn’t drive in the first session, we had to do our best to adapt to the track in the second one. There are very technical areas like turn 11 and the second sector, so we still need to drive more to get to know it better. Tomorrow we will try different settings and I hope that in the third practice session we can better prepare for the qualifications. »
Dani Clos – 24th [Free Practice 1]:
« I had never driven here and it was an interesting session. The track was very dirty, especially at the beginning, and there wasn’t much grip. It was a very challenging practice session because I had to learn the track very quickly to be able to give the best feedback to the team. I’m satisfied because we drew positive conclusions and did a good job. »
