Friday: Toro Rosso hopes to take advantage of the low tire degradation
Toro Rosso shared the laps today between its different drivers. Sebastien Buemi is thus the favored one and the only one to have driven during both practice sessions this Friday. He has made good progress with the car and hopes to benefit from the low tire degradation on his STR5. Alguersuari and Ricciardo shared the car. Alguersuari drove this afternoon and set the 15th fastest time. Ricciardo drove this morning and set the 16th fastest time for his third Formula 1 practice session of his young career.
Sebastien Buemi – 10th and 13th:
« This morning’s tests went very well. I was able to do a lot of laps and was satisfied with the behavior of the car. We were able to complete our entire work list. After lunch, during the second session, I was also able to work well. We compared the hard and soft tires, among other things. However, a slight problem at the end of the day prevented me from finishing my race simulation. It’s not very serious since Jaime [Alguersuari] was able to complete his. So we have quite a bit of data to analyze. It’s still hard to analyze our pace. It seems good for now, but Force India seems fast as well. We have all night to make the car faster than theirs. »
« They have changed the tarmac on certain parts of the track. So, in my opinion, we will wear out the tires less than in Malaysia. It’s the same for everyone, but maybe we will exploit this advantage better than the others… »
Jaime Alguersuari – 15th:
Even though I only drove this afternoon, I was able to notice several areas for improvement to optimize the car for tomorrow. We still have things to improve. Nonetheless, it was a good session today. The balance of the car was good. I had a bit of traffic when I did my fast lap. I could probably have pushed more. What’s interesting here is the lower tire degradation compared to Sepang. We hope to optimize the car to make it less tire-consuming. That will be tomorrow morning’s job, before the qualifications. Personally, it’s a track I like!
Daniel Ricciardo – 16th:
The last time I drove here was in Formula BMW, four years ago and I was following F1 from the paddocks. It was raining and I was driving a minute slower than today. This was only my third practice session in Formula 1 today and I worked hard. My first two stints went well and I felt that I could be competitive. During my last stint, with new tires, I encountered a problem. Overall, the car seems good and the low tire degradation may help us this weekend. I am sure that Jaime [Alguersuari] and Sebastien [Buemi] will be capable of good things.
