Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka
5.807 km / 3.608 miles
FP1
Weather: Warm and dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 21-24°C / 30-36°C
V Bottas, FW38-03, PU106C Hybrid, 1:35.381 (10th)
F Massa, FW38-02, PU106C Hybrid, 1:36.169 (16th)
Quickest time: N. Rosberg 1:32.431
FP2
Weather: Warm and dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 24-25°C / 31-34°C
V Bottas, FW38-03, PU106C Hybrid, 1:34.028 (9th)
F Massa, FW38-02, PU106C Hybrid, 1:34.127 (11th)
Quickest time: N. Rosberg 1:32.250
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: It was a fairly normal Friday for us and we completed most of the work that we needed to in FP1 and FP2. We tested different suspension geometries and aerodynamic components, which we’ll have to analyse tonight, but everything looked reasonably good. In the afternoon we concentrated on the balance of the car and tyre performance, and it all went smoothly. Everything looks good on both low and high fuel runs so I think we are in our normal position, maybe a little bit further forward. The weekend has started quite well.
Valtteri Bottas: I think it was a pretty straightforward Friday. We got everything done that we had planned and there were no big issues. Balance-wise, I’m already pleased with the car but we still need to focus on tyre performance. I think getting more performance out of the soft tyre over one lap is the key, and then on the long runs we need to get both of the compounds working at 100%.
Felipe Massa: It was a normal Friday. We were mostly just trying to understand the tyres, the different aspects of the car and doing the long runs. I think we need to analyse where we are compared to our competitors tonight because this weekend is going to be another fight, but I hope we can have a good one.
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