Friday: HRT made tentative progress on the Austin circuit
Not easy to discover a new circuit when driving for a team that doesn't have its own simulator. However, the HRT drivers successfully completed the scheduled program and approach the rest of the weekend with confidence.
Pedro de la Rosa – 23rd and 23rd:
« It’s a superb, technical circuit. There are all sorts of turns, and you need to be confident because there are some blind corners. The asphalt is brand new, and the car slides a lot, but it has significantly improved throughout the day. Our main problem is that we are struggling to get the tires up to temperature, which doesn’t make driving easy. However, the basic settings are good, and we just need to cover as many kilometers as possible to improve tomorrow. »
Narain Karthikeyan – 24th (Free Practice 2):
« It’s a great track. There are a lot of fast corners like the first esses and it’s very technical. It’s not easy to learn, but I did my best with the few laps I had. The grip level was quite low during the first laps and I couldn’t keep the tires sufficiently warm, which made driving tricky. But as the laps went on, it got better and better, and running on mediums also helped. We still have a lot to improve, but I’m confident for tomorrow. »
Ma Qing Hua – 24th (Free Practice 1):
Driving a Formula 1 car is always special, but doing it on a brand-new circuit like this one is exciting, although it is also a great responsibility. Being on a new track means there is a lot of work to do since we have no data or experience except for what we know from simulations. Therefore, the plan was to hit the track and work on the car’s settings while learning the track. The conditions were very tricky this morning because the track was dirty, slippery, and cold. But it improved as we completed more laps. It was important to gather as much data as possible but also not to take unnecessary risks. Even if there’s still room for improvement, I’m happy with the work I’ve done.
