Spanish Grand Prix 2020 – Practice

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: Roy Nissany drove the car during FP1 and did a very good job, showing good pace and completing his part of the test programme without issue. Between the two cars we got through quite a lot of chassis work during FP1, but the main observations were around the tyres, which clearly weren’t easy to use in the hot conditions.

George was back in the car for FP2 and during the session we began our work on qualifying and race preparation, but we struggled for basic pace at both fuel levels. We need to make some sizeable changes to the car overnight to get us closer to the pack, but we have a good idea of what we need to do and we’re sure that we can get it together overnight and put in a stronger performance tomorrow.

Nicholas Latifi: It was definitely very hot out there and the conditions were much more humid compared to Silverstone. It was a tricky day trying to get the right settings for one lap performance versus high fuel running. Especially after the previous rounds where we seemed a bit more competitive compared to our direct competitors, it seemed we were struggling a bit more today. We have lot of homework to do tonight to try and get back on the pace of the Haas and Alfa tomorrow.

George Russell: It was very tough; I think the track temperatures being so high meant that the tyres were really struggling for everyone in these difficult conditions. It wasn’t awfully pleasant, and I think we have a bit of work to do to get on top of it for tomorrow. I was a bit off the ball to start the short run having missed FP1, and then going straight in on the hard tyre didn’t help. We are not used to seeing Barcelona with these track conditions, we pre-empted that, but I think we need to go a step further. I think we can get some more pace out of the car for tomorrow, but I think Q2 which has been our focus and our aim in the last few races will be pretty tough this weekend.

Roy Nissany: It was a very positive session and I am pleased with my performance. Working with the team was perfect, we were quite close with the pace and I think it was a very encouraging experience for my first outing. I have learnt a lot and I think I gave good feedback to the team in terms of the development of the car. I come away with very positive feelings and I am already looking forward to the next one.