Friday: Virgin still needs to optimize its new features
After a rainy first day, the outcome is mixed for Virgin. The team seems capable of gaining more than a second and a half with its new package and competing with Lotus, but there is still a lot of work to optimize it. The penalty received by D'Ambrosio after ignoring a yellow flag only highlights the lack of management within the small team.
Timo Glock -18th and 21st:
A catastrophic start for us as well as for others due to the rain. The track was awful and water was stagnating. In the second session, we had a bit more opportunity to test the new package, which was a priority. We need to work a lot on it to optimize it. It’s the same case with the exhaust outlets. We will work more because, as usual, having something efficient right out of the factory is impossible.
Jérome D’Ambrosio – 19th and 20th:
«It was a good day today. The morning session was disrupted by rain, but even though it’s annoying for our development, it allowed me to drive the car for the first time on a wet track and thus get impressions under such conditions. Something you want to avoid experiencing for the first time during a race. The afternoon was a bit calmer. We had an issue with the KERS button on the steering wheel, so we lost a bit of time. We couldn’t do everything we wanted, but I feel good about the car, and tomorrow will probably be a more significant day. »
John Booth – Team Manager:
The new elements of the package were installed on Jérôme d’Ambrosio’s car today and we are more satisfied. Timo Glock had a complete car in terms of aerodynamics with the new rear exhaust outlets. He has more experience and it’s useful when testing newly manufactured equipment on track for the first time. There is still room for optimization, and we already noticed a problem caused by exhaust heat on the carbon.
