Red Bull out top 10
The first day of running in China saw Red Bull Cosworth running just outside of the top ten. David Coulthard was 11th fastest just ahead of test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi. Christian Klien suffered a puncture late in the second session and was 15th.
David Coulthard “It’s a pretty unique track here; modern tracks always seem to offer something a bit different. Everyone really enjoyed the new track in Turkey, I think they perhaps enjoy this one less, but not because any particular features are lacking here. Turn one into Turn two is pretty awkward, as it tightens and tightens, which means the car gets slower and slower – it’s not really a case of what the driver can do in that corner, but more down to the grip of each car. I lost rear grip on the bumps in the middle of Turn one during the second session, which led to a spin. It’s sometimes hard to find good balance in the car on worn tyres, so when you go through a bumpy corner, the back of the car moves around. It’s just one of the challenges of this track.”
Tonio Liuzzi “Today is the first time I’ve driven on this circuit and I was pretty happy about both sessions. It’s not so easy to learn the track here, as there are some tricky corners and long, long bends. It’s quite difficult to find the racing line, as there are so many! But, in both sessions we were quick and I feel quite confident. The car seems pretty good and well balanced and I think the team should have a good weekend.”
Christian Klien “At the end of the second practice, we had a puncture on the long straight. We’ll have to look at the data to see exactly what caused it. Apart from that, the car felt much better in the afternoon; it had been tricky to drive in the morning and I wasn’t so quick, but I think we were around P10 in the afternoon. We still have to work on the balance, but things got better as the day went on.”
Paul Monaghan, Head of Race and Test Engineering “Christian lost a tyre from his car due to a puncture at the end of the second practice. This forced him to return to the pits just prior to the end of the session.”
