Dave Robson, Senior Race Engineer: The weather has been kind in Shanghai today with low cloud cover and gentle wind. This allowed us to complete some good quality testing in FP1, both continuing the work we started with Nicholas in Bahrain, and also looking at some components that were new for this event. Although there is more analysis to complete this evening, early indications are that the new components are working well, and we will likely adopt at least some of them for the rest of this weekend. During FP2 we were able to turn our attention to tyre preparation in readiness for qualifying as both drivers got their first look at the qualifying tyre. Both were reasonably happy with their runs, which gives us a good baseline on which to build during FP3. Long runs were decent with the car again proving reliable, allowing us to gain some valuable information on how to manage the tyres over the course of a race distance on the Shanghai International Circuit.
Robert Kubica: It was a usual Friday. We were trying to understand some of the different characteristics of the Shanghai circuit and how our car copes. Generally, the car feels a bit different to the last two weekends so that is a good sign. Now we have to look at the data and see what to do but the balance is quite different to the previous two events. The characteristics of the car have changed, and it feels like it is responding differently.
George Russell: It was my first time out in China, so it took a bit of getting used to the circuit. It was a fairly normal Friday; the long run pace seems better than the qualifying pace for me. I am struggling with the single lap, but it’s my first day and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We seem closer as a team to everybody else than the previous two races, so we are heading in the right direction. We have to make the most of it, keep pushing, understanding the car, and see what we can do tomorrow.
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