Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: It was good day with no damage to either car and plenty of laps completed by both drivers. Alex was reasonably happy with the car straightaway and we were able to address his minor issues ahead of FP2. Nicholas has struggled a little bit more, but he improved during the day and has a direction to look at overnight.
We know that this circuit is tricky and unpredictable and that a lot can change as the weekend progresses. Usually there is an extra day before we return to the track and so it will be interesting to see how conditions are tomorrow. We have made a solid start to the weekend and have given ourselves the best possible chance of making further progress overnight. We will need to keep ahead of the changing track and weather conditions, but if we can do that then we can have a good weekend.
Alex Albon: It felt good out there today. We were feeling fairly optimistic heading into the FP1 as the track is similar to the Miami circuit which seemed to suit our car’s characteristics slightly more, so I’d say that we aren’t too far off where we want to be. There are a few corners in the second sector where we should be able to find some more lap time, so that’s what we’ll be working on tonight. I’m feeling positive; I think we’ll be pushing for Q2 tomorrow.
Nicholas Latifi: It was very tricky today. I think in general these new generation cars are trickier around here, the ride on the bumps is very harsh and visibility is tricky, meaning that on a few corners here you’re sort of guessing where to turn. I’m sure a lot of other people are going through similar things. In terms of the car, we’re not quite there with optimising it, but we have a clear direction of where we need to go overnight on my side.
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