FP1
Weather: Warm and dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 18-23C / 23-38C
F Massa, FW40-03, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:24.618 (14th)
L Stroll, FW40-02, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:25.919 (18th)
Quickest time: L. Hamilton 1:21.521
FP2
Weather: Warm and dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 24-26C / 39-45C
F Massa, FW40-03, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:22.015 (9th)
L Stroll, FW40-02, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:23.221 (17th)
Quickest time: L. Hamilton 1:20.802
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: Today we did some test work for new aerodynamic parts, and various other settings on the car. We also looked at the different tyres for the weekend. We ran a different programme to normal, with more focus on the medium tyre on race fuel loads in FP1 and FP2. The medium tyre has proved to be a difficult tyre to work with, both in pre-season testing and in Bahrain. We gathered all the data that we needed today and we had no problems, aside from disruptions to the track running with the red flags. Felipe set a good pace, which looks competitive. Lance struggled with the tyres today. But we’re optimistic that he’ll be on the pace of the car tomorrow. There’s lots of analysis for us to do tonight and we look forward to the excitement of qualifying tomorrow.
Felipe Massa: The session was a good one I would say. The medium and the hard tyres were quite tricky to run, and we did struggle with them a bit, especially with overheating. But, many others were struggling to make these tyres work too, so it’s not so bad. On the whole it was quite a positive day.
Lance Stroll: It was a tough day for me just putting everything together and getting everything to work. I didn’t get the medium working very well, and it was particularly difficult to find grip and stability in the car. It was quite easy to miss corners, have snaps and make mistakes, especially when you lose the temperatures in the tyres, so I have to look tonight to try and make it better for the race. I made a mistake on my first lap on the softs, then did two more laps and I finally did a lap time, but the tyre was gone at the end. Not the end of the world, as it is only practice.
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