McLaren
Piastri complained about a vibration on his brakes in FP1, but was able to continue running. Which is just as well as he was quick, two tenths behind Russell on both sets of tyres. Fornaroli also had a very good session, finishing an impressive fifth as last year’s F2 champion showed his credentials. But McLaren really showed their credentials in FP2, with Norris topping the timing sheets and Piastri third. It was tight though, with just 0.057s separating the top three in the end.
Lando Norris – FP2: 1:15.426, P1
“Today was a reasonable Friday, not perfect, but a step in the right direction. The heat and wind made it tough for everyone, so no one’s feeling completely comfortable out there, but our baseline is stronger than it has been at previous events. We’ve come to a circuit that certainly suits us better, and the car is operating in a very different window, which is encouraging.
“Going into Qualifying tomorrow, we feel we’re up there with the teams we want to fight. It’s hard to read other’s fuel loads and run plans, and there are still areas of the car I’m not happy with, so we need to keep improving. We’ll work hard overnight to find more, and if we do, we should be in a good place to maximise tomorrow.”
Oscar Piastri – FP1: 1:16.566, P2; FP2: 1:15.483, P3
“It was a pretty good Friday for us. We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made, and the pace is a lot better than last week, which is a positive step. We seem to be in the fight at the front, which is a much more satisfying position to be in.
“The key now is to maintain this momentum into tomorrow. While the initial signs are encouraging, there’s still plenty to learn and a lot more performance to find. We will keep working hard to see what more we can extract overnight ahead of Quali.”
Leonardo Fornaroli – FP1: 1:17.216, P5
“It was an incredible feeling to complete my first official session in Formula 1. I felt good in the car and fully focused on the job ahead, looking to deliver clean runs and execute the aero program. The pure lap time wasn’t our target today, even though we finished P5. The priority was to give the team all the data they needed, and I’m really happy with the work we did together.
“From here, I’ll keep supporting the team in my Reserve Driver role, continue the sim work throughout the season, and look forward to more TPC running ahead of further FP1 opportunities later in the year.”
Randy Singh, Senior Director, Racing
“After a couple of challenging events, it’s encouraging to see we’re back on the pace and seemingly in the mix with the other top teams. The characteristics of this circuit and the hotter conditions are playing a different role compared to recent races and we’ve shifted from trying to switch the tyres on to managing overheating and degradation, which seems to suit us better at this early stage.
“While it’s too soon to say if we’ve fully recaptured the tyre management strengths we had last year, we are optimistic. The key for the race on Sunday will be managing degradation effectively and sustaining good, consistent pace throughout the stints. It’s always difficult to be certain on a Friday, but the initial signs are positive and put us in a good position.”
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