Sahara Force India has prepared for the rain
In challenging conditions, Sahara Force India is at least satisfied with its level of competitiveness on a wet track since Nico Hülkenberg finished second in the second session. However, the team remains in the dark on dry conditions.
At the end of this first official day of the 2016 season, Sahara Force India still does not know its true performance level. Indeed, although both cars were in the top 10 during both sessions, the times are not truly representative, as Nico Hülkenberg acknowledges: “It really was a tough day today with the wind and rain. It was so wet and the car was moved so much by the wind, even on the straight. The conditions were not ideal for testing and learning. This morning, we did a short run on soft tires but the track was so wet that it was not representative for a dry run.”
The German can still be satisfied with finishing 5th and second in these two inaugural sessions. His performance in the second session took place in the rain: « In the afternoon, we worked with the intermediates to get a better feel for the car in wet conditions in case the rain returns tomorrow. »
For Sergio Pérez, who finished twice in 9th place, it was also perplexity that reigned at the end of the day: « When it seemed like the track would dry up, the rain would start again. It was quite frustrating, and we couldn’t do all the tests we had planned. We made the most of the conditions, and we seemed quite competitive with the intermediates. But you can’t interpret the times too much because they depended largely on when you were out on the track. »
The team will only know tomorrow if today’s work was ultimately useful, as explained by the Mexican: « We still don’t know tomorrow’s weather, but if it’s dry, we’ll be starting from scratch, and it will be a busy day. If it rains again, the setup work we accomplished today with the intermediates will be very useful. »
