Browning and Sainz participated in FP1 and Browning had some problems at the start. The driver lost a lap for cutting the first chicane and then had to avoid Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari at turn 1. Afterwards, he managed to gain pace and finished 15th, with 1m24.740s. Sainz was 16th, with 1m24.827s.
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“It was great to be back in FP1 for the second time this season. I have good memories of this F2 circuit – winning the main race and taking pole position here. Today’s work was mainly to give feedback to the team and test some setup options for Alex, which went well and should put him and the team in a good position for the rest of the weekend. As always, I am very grateful to the team for the opportunity to drive the FW48 again,” said Browning.
In FP2, Albon returned to the car and shared the track with Sainz. Both started on medium tires and, in qualifying simulations, Albon set 1m23.853s, against 1m23.900s from the Spaniard. The times left the team in 16th and 17th.
He assessed that the car showed some progress, although still behind in pace: “A short day for me, but it was a reasonable Friday overall. We still don’t have the pace, but the car seems to be moving in a more positive direction. Luke did a good job in FP1 testing some floor-related items, so the car seems to be in a decent position. I don’t think there will be many changes overnight. Given my grid penalty for Sunday, our focus from tomorrow shifts to long runs, to prepare for a race we hope will be interesting,” concluded Albon.
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Sainz also gave a positive assessment of the work done and highlighted the performance of the three compounds: “The car felt good today, despite its limitations. We used both sessions to do a series of interesting tests to help with the setup for the weekend. The three tire compounds worked well for us, with minor differences between them. We will continue refining our setup and reviewing the data before tomorrow’s qualifying.”
Formula 1 holds the third free practice and qualifying this Saturday. F1MANIA.NET provides live coverage.
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