Friday: Marussia tries to solve recurring problems
Marussia ran three drivers today in Austin during this first day. Jules Bianchi and Rodolfo Gonzalez shared one car, while Max Chilton had the opportunity to drive during both free practice sessions. The schedule was busy, especially to understand problems encountered with the car over several races.
Max Chilton – 20th and 21st:
Overall, the day went pretty well, and everything seems to be heading in the right direction. So, looking beyond the damage to my brake disc that cut my afternoon short, I think we’re making real progress. Fortunately, we didn’t lose much time and were able to find good settings for the rest of the weekend. I enjoyed my first day at the Circuit of the Americas and hope it will be the same tomorrow and during the race.
Jules Bianchi – 22nd (Free Practice 2):
When the day is shortened to just one practice session, it’s more challenging to acclimate to the circuit and find the right pace, and to achieve the right balance. The day was all the more complicated because the car’s balance was very inconsistent, and we tried different settings to improve it… We still won’t know what the best solution is or how to improve things until the engineers have analyzed the data collected today. It was a difficult day, and I hope my issues will be resolved tomorrow in order to have a better day.
Rodolfo Gonzalez – 22nd (Free Practice 1):
The day wasn’t ideal, but we made progress on the team’s weekend program. It’s a shame, we had an engine problem at the end of Free Practice 1, but I did my best to help the team. I had a specific program to try to understand some recurring issues the team has had in recent races. So we have some interesting data to analyze.
