Friday: Vettel making progress and Ricciardo on pace for Red Bull
The Austrian team is improving on a track that suits the characteristics of the RB10 better than the Bahrain circuit. They placed both their drivers in the top 5 after FP2.
Sebastian Vettel (No. 1) – 9th and 5th
The world champion completed his program without any issues but is not yet satisfied: « We didn’t encounter any major problems today, so it was good in terms of trials. There’s a lot to do for us, especially for me as I’m not yet at the level I want, but we’ve made some progress. »
Like the others, he encountered some difficulties with his tires: « Today, the graining was average, but I think it was the same for everyone; I’m sure it will improve as the weekend goes on. »
He thinks that the rest of the weekend will largely depend on the weather, which influences the track and therefore the tire degradation: « If the weather is dry, the circuit improves, but if it rains, everything has to be redone each time. »
Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3) – 3rd and 4th
The Australian driver also notices quite a bit of graining: « It wasn’t too bad today. The tires are always a bit of a challenge on this track, especially the soft ones; they seem to degrade on the front left tire. You see rubber marbles all along the track, but I think it’s just the nature of this circuit. »
But he is satisfied with his pace so far and is patiently waiting for the rest of the weekend: « The long stints seemed pretty good and we did more laps than we had planned, so we’ll see where we stand on Saturday and Sunday. »
