Ferrari in the dark ahead of qualifying
The two Ferrari drivers went off track a few times during the two sessions on Friday, notably Sebastian Vettel at the end of the second session. This leaves them somewhat in the dark ahead of qualifying, even if the pace looks good.
Sebastian Vettel’s weekend had already started badly yesterday with the announcement of his penalty for a gearbox change. His Friday didn’t end any better as he lost control of his car at the very end of the session. While spectacular, this off-track excursion didn’t have a significant impact on the rest of his weekend: « When I spun out at the end of the second session, I had a problem with the brake distribution. It surprised me, but it doesn’t matter much because I only lost a few minutes and, ultimately, it doesn’t make a big difference. »
But the German driver was not the only one to make a mistake. The same happened to Kimi Räikkönen at the start of the session, just before the rain fell on Spielberg. Therefore, he only managed to set his first significant times of the afternoon at the end of the session, without having the opportunity to conduct a qualifying lap simulation: « *It was a complicated day but, in the end, I have a good feeling. In the morning we managed to do a few runs while in the afternoon, due to the weather conditions, we couldn’t do many laps and never got to do a clean qualifying simulation. The day could have been much better. Now, we are a bit in the dark but it’s not catastrophic either.* »
The Saturday morning session will therefore be important for fine-tuning the final adjustments. Hoping that the rain doesn’t once again cause havoc in the middle of the session.
From our special correspondent in Spielberg
