Haas closed the first day of the Formula 1 weekend at Suzuka in a very positive manner. After the first free practice sessions of the Japanese GP, held this Friday (27), Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon gave a positive assessment of the activities.
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Like Williams, the American team completed 108 laps throughout the day, with Ollie running 55 and Estie doing 53. In the end, the British driver completed the day as the ninth fastest with the soft tire, placing himself in the top-10 and with good prospects for qualifying.
“It was a good day. The difference between the cars is very small, and this competition in the midfield is always the same, with Racing Bulls in good form, as well as Williams and Audi. This is our standard competition, so we are looking to improve our lap times overnight for tomorrow”, said Bearman.
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“It was very difficult to overtake here last year, and it may have been one of the races with the fewest overtakes. With these new regulations, however, there will always be more opportunities, but qualifying will still be priority number one”, he added.
The French driver, meanwhile, finished close to his teammate, in 11th and also wearing the softest compound of the range for the Japanese GP. “Today was positive overall. It was a good start because we managed to test everything we wanted in FP1 and FP2. There is room for us to improve even more tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do. It’s still a pure pleasure to drive on this track and drive a Formula 1 car.”
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