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ESPN staff
ESPN rounds up all the reaction from up and down the Monza paddock following practice for the 2018 Italian Grand Prix.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton: « We woke up to torrential rain this morning, which meant it was a less busy first session than normal. We did a few laps but after that it was like having a day in the office when you don’t have too much work to do – I was even snoozing in the car at one point! But we did plenty of laps this afternoon in the dry and we could see that, like in Spa, we had a small gap to Ferrari on both the short and the long runs. My laps felt pretty good, but Ferrari was a little bit quicker today. We’re all working flat out right now in every part of the team, and we have work to do tonight as well – but there are some areas where we can see deficits, so I hope we can make a little step for qualifying. It has been a big battle for a number of races now, and they have had a small advantage since the middle of the summer, but we are pushing as hard as we can to overcome that. Although we are on Ferrari’s home turf, we have some great support out there and it’s always a boost to see that in the grandstands. It will be a very close fight tomorrow and, like every race weekend, we will be giving it everything we’ve got. »
Valtteri Bottas: « The conditions out there were quite mixed today with heavy rain in the morning and a dry afternoon. We did only one run in the morning on the Intermediate tyres; Monza is a tricky place in the wet as it is difficult to find the right braking points. We seemed competitive in the wet compared to the cars who were out in similar conditions. Luckily the afternoon was dry and we could get some proper running in; the long runs were especially important as the race is expected to be dry. As expected, Ferrari seemed very quick in the dry. It’s not going to be easy, but we still have a few things we can improve for qualifying. Compared to Spa, the car felt better in the slow corners which is a good step in the right direction. The weather forecast for tomorrow is not entirely conclusive, so we need to be prepared for everything and get a lot of running done in FP3 no matter if it’s wet or dry. »
Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel: « Today it’s been a mixed day as the morning session didn’t go smoothly, but in the afternoon it got better. The balance of the car is not perfect yet, but I believe we can work on it for tomorrow as the car seems to be working well. This morning we had a little problem with the car; I wanted to run, but we had to check the gearbox first. However, it was good we could run in the afternoon. In P2 I slid off at Parabolica, but I managed to avoid touching the barrier, but I had just one slight nudge and came away with minor damage to the rear wing which had to be replaced. Apart from that, the car was fine. I am not entirely happy yet, but I know we can still improve because our car has big potential. I think we can do better tomorrow as the package is good, so we’ll see. We’ll keep doing our homework. »
Kimi Raikkonen: « This morning the session was held in the wet and we could only do a little running, but in the second practice, track conditions were back to normal. The conditions were the same for everybody, we cannot change the weather; I think that in the end we were quite lucky to have at least one session in the dry. Both compounds were ok, but obviously we did not do much mileage today. We are on yet another different track, so we obviously had some things to fine tune today, but it was not too bad for the first laps . Now we need to go through things and try to improve a bit for tomorrow. »
Red Bull
Daniel Ricicciardo: « We looked more competitive on the long runs this afternoon but on the short runs Ferrari were really fast and we also still have a big gap to Mercedes. We definitely closed the gap on the long runs which is promising for the race, but there is still a bit to find. I used the new C-Spec engine for the first time which seemed to run ok. We won’t really know how well it performed until we look at the data but this afternoon we did some decent running with it and hopefully it shows some good numbers. Tomorrow I probably won’t do much running and it’s possible I will skip Qualifying as I’m going to be starting at the back anyway. I think on Sunday we will have a good enough car to come through the field and then work on the best position in the top five. To be honest, it’s just good to see that Marcus is ok because that was a big one and a worry for us all. He had a far tougher day than me. »
Max Verstappen: « It was alright today, the same conditions for everyone. Luckily we had a dry second practice where we could try a few things. In Qualifying with dry conditions, I think we are too slow, but on the long runs it looks more positive. If it’s going to be enough to really fight, I don’t think so. From the car perspective the behaviour was good so of course I’m happy with that. But this is definitely the worst track for us, I don’t expect any miracles and we will try to make the best of it. I don’t think it’s necessary to go with a different tyre strategy tomorrow as both compounds behaved really well. I don’t expect any problems there and we will just have to try to have the best Qualifying possible. I don’t know yet whether we will use the C-Spec engine tomorrow, we will decide that overnight when we have looked at the data. We just have to keep pushing and try to improve our car and then we will see where we are. »
Force India
Esteban Ocon: « It’s been a pretty solid day with good preparation for the weekend. Seventh and eighth in the second session shows we have strong dry pace, as well as in the wet, and I feel optimistic for tomorrow. The car has been quick all day, but there are some areas where we can improve and I think there is more to come. The second session was shorter than usual because of the red flag, but it’s the same for everybody and I think we are as well prepared as anybody. »
Sergio Perez: « It was a good day and I am fairly confident about our performance level. Friday times don’t mean much but it’s still nice to finish the morning session as the fastest driver. In the afternoon we worked on our race set-up and we found a very good baseline. I am definitely looking forward to qualifying because we have a good chance to be the best of the rest no matter what the weather does. We were able to run on all compounds and in all conditions, so we are well prepared. »
Williams
Lance Stroll: « It looks better compared to the others, but we will see what tomorrow brings. We look a bit better now, but on Friday it is hard to know what people are doing with modes, fuel levels and that, so we will have a better idea tomorrow. We had some good running and this morning it was fun to get out in the rain for a few laps. It was short, as it was only three laps, but still it brought back some good memories from last year. I like this sort of track, as it is always fun to brake at 330 kph and get that last metre out of the braking zone. It is very challenging as you have to really build up to it and have the confidence to hit the pedal late and modulate off the pressure at the perfect time. Around Monza, we also see some nice overtaking moves, which provides a bit of a chance to gain positions in the race which is great.
Sergey Sirotkin: « I think it’s been a very good Friday. We had good pace in the wet, but it’s difficult to say how we’ll be tomorrow as we don’t know what the weather will be like. Today’s shown good signs of performance. The conditions have favoured us as they haven’t been hot. I had some issues throughout my lap which we need to understand and see if we can fix or not. They cost me quite a lot of time on my best lap. Had it not been for that, I think we wouldn’t have been far from the top ten which is a good sign. It’s a good weekend. »
Renault
Nico Hulkenberg: « In the morning it was obviously very wet, but it was good to get some laps in these conditions. The car was behaving well, as it did in the wet in Hungary. In the dry we completed the whole programme. It was a good day and now we need to look through everything to see where we can find some more time. We have tried some new parts across both cars and tomorrow we will put it all together and try to push for the top 10. »
Carlos Sainz: « This morning we ran a little to get some data on both wet and intermediate tyres, but it was pretty standard feedback; not much to report. When it dried in the afternoon we got the chance to test out some new aero parts, which seemed to work well. Of course, we need to look through the data to get the most from the car for tomorrow, but it was a good start for now. »
Toro Rosso
Brendon « It was a positive Friday in Monza, I was P4 this morning in the wet and momentarily held P1 which was nice! The car performed very well in the intermediate conditions this morning, but we had a small issue with our car in FP2 which meant we sat in the garage for a long time due to some problems on the bodywork. We missed out on some running time, but I would still say it was a good day and we’re in the mix. »
Pierre Gasly: « Today was a busy day. Between the rain this morning and the afternoon being dry, we could analyse the car in both conditions. We had a positive start to the day during the rain, and this afternoon we did some good work in the long runs. Overall, we need to work and try to find more performance as the car didn’t feel too great, I think there’s room to improve for tomorrow. Hopefully there will be some rain for us which will level the playing field and make things more exciting. »
Jonathan Eddolls, chief race engineer: « The Monza Grand Prix weekend is one of the best of the season, particularly because of the atmosphere from the Tifosi. Unfortunately, we came in this morning to a huge amount of rain, although this wasn’t enough to put the fans off who were still out in force. The rain continued throughout FP1, with the most suitable tyre being the Intermediate. We get a free one to use on a Friday which doesn’t come out of our Qualifying or Race allocation, so we were happy to do a reasonable amount of running. We had planned many aero and mechanical tests for today, however, we didn’t get to cover all of these due to the wet conditions. General grip was very low and the balance was tricky for both drivers, particularly on the low downforce setup we run which is unique to Monza. Having said that, we still managed to learn something in the session. FP2 remained dry as the expected rain never arrived, and we were delayed going out for the first run after Ericsson’s big crash – thankfully he was unhurt. FP2 was the normal focus on Qualifying preparation across the two tyre types followed by long runs. Unfortunately, we had a small issue on Brendon’s car after his first low fuel run and it took some time to fix, so he didn’t get to complete his Supersoft run until late in the session. Even if at this point others had started their high fuel simulations, we managed to find a gap in the traffic so Brendon’s Quali runs were not compromised much. It did mean though that he could not complete his long run which wasn’t ideal. However, it was a successful afternoon overall and the car is looking reasonable here, particularly since we thought this would be our most challenging race of the season. »
Haas
Romain Grosjean: « It’s been a fairly good day. It was wet in the morning, dry in the afternoon. I was quite pleased with how the car went in the afternoon, on both low fuel and high fuel. That was good. The team did a good job setting up the car before we got here. We did a few bits and pieces adjusting the setup but, really, the car felt good. With a wet morning and the red flag in FP2 – where I was glad to see Marcus (Ericsson) walk out of the car after a big shunt – we ran our program as we could. We lost a bit of track time, but we’ve managed to do everything we wanted. »
Kevin Magnussen: « It wasn’t too bad. FP1 was obviously wet, but we still got some running in those conditions, which was good to get a feeling of that. It looks like it’s going to be dry tomorrow, at least that’s what the weather forecast looks like. In FP2 we got a bit of dry running to prepare for that. The car felt ok. I think there’s some work to do for low-fuel running, but the high fuel looked ok. So, we’ve got some setup work to do, as always, and we’ve got to look at getting the tires to work properly, and getting the balance right in the car. It’s all normal stuff, nothing spectacular. We should be ok. »
Guenther Steiner, team boss: « As FP1 was rained out for the most part, we had to do some more work in FP2. We recovered very well. We got all the data we needed for tomorrow to continue in FP3, to then get ready for qualifying. So, losing FP1 was not a big deal, and it was good for us, as well, because we have very little experience on wet surfaces. To get the drivers out on intermediates and try to learn a little bit, it was quite helpful. I think we’re ready for tomorrow. »
McLaren
Fernando Alonso: « It was a strange day today, with the rain in the first session and Marcus’ (Ericsson) accident in the second – thank God he’s okay – so, like everyone else, we lost some track time. We missed a couple of runs that we had programmed, including some long runs, so we will try to make up for this tomorrow and get that information. I think we more or less confirmed today that it’s going to be a tough weekend for us as a team in terms of performance, and we’ll try to do a better job tomorrow. After Sunday’s accident, I still sometimes feel some pain in my hand and my back in some corners, so when I’m out of the car I try not to stress them too much. I think on Sunday it’s going to be perfectly okay. Last, but not least, a big well done to the FIA, who have done an amazing job over the years to improve safety. »
Stoffel Vandoorne: « Even though I didn’t do FP1 I don’t think I missed a huge amount with the weather conditions. FP2 was dry and a much more normal session than the morning apart from Marcus’ (Ericsson) crash at the start. I don’t think there will be any miracles for us here this weekend, we’ve expected it to be difficult and I think practice has already confirmed that it’s going to be tough for us. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow. « I like this track, I have some good history here in different series that I’ve raced in before, so I usually enjoy coming here and racing. »
Sauber
Marcus Ericsson: « The accident I had in FP2 was a big impact – thanks to the strength of the car I am alright. The team is already working hard to repair the car so that I can be back on track tomorrow. I look forward to driving again. »
Charles Leclerc: « The day was OK. On one hand, we had quite a few issues – on the other hand, our performance was quite good if you take the challenges we faced into consideration. We have some work ahead of us now, and will do everything we can to make the necessary steps forward before we head into the next sessions. The main thing is that Marcus is well after his crash, and we will push to have a good result tomorrow. »
Pirelli
Mario Isola, head of car racing: « From the point of view of data collection, it wasn’t an easy day, as there was really only an hour or so of dry running without interruptions. This means that the teams had to adjust their strategies and compress their programmes in order to maximise that period of time, especially because conditions are expected to be quite uncertain for the rest of the weekend. On FP1, the Teams were able to work on the crossover point between wet and slick tyres, while on FP2 they do some long runs, despite the red flag period, and to understand the gap between the compounds ».
http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/24534215/italian-grand-prix-said-practice
