Difficult day for Williams, but Rosberg still tops FP2
It was a difficult start of the Monaco weekend for the Williams Formula One Team. Nico Rosberg didn't feel very comfortable in his car due to the lack of grip but still the young German was able to be on top of the timesheets during the second session. Team mate Nakajima struggled a bit as well and hopes for a better day on Saturday.
Objectives P1
Chassis set-up work - new suspension components
Aero performance analysis with the new Monaco package
Objectives P2
Further chassis set-up work from a new baseline transferred between the cars for the start of P2
Short and long run tyre tests for qualifying and the race
Conclusions - Sam Michael, Technical Director: “Today was a typical first day in Monaco. We have spent some time looking at the two tyres in the context of a track that is changing hugely compared to a normal track. As a street circuit, all the contaminants are getting cleaned off by the F1 rubber, so it’s too early to say where the car is. All the parts we brought here seem to be working well.”
Nico Rosberg:
Runs P1: 1 install (new prime), 8 (new prime), 6 (scrubbed prime), 6 (scrubbed prime)
Runs P2: 5 (new option), 4 (scrubbed option), 10 (scrubbed prime), 9 (new prime), 9 (new option),
“We had a difficult start to the weekend and I really didn’t feel comfortable in the car because of a simple lack of grip to begin with. So we made plenty of set-up changes and we found a significant improvement. By the end of P2, I was much happier and I would say there is more in the car as I had traffic and never really had a clean lap. We also suffered no problems or damage to the car which is a constant issue in Monaco. And let me say, it is great to drive on this track.”
Kazuki Nakajima:
Runs P1: 1 install (new prime), 8 (scrubbed prime), 9 (scrubbed prime), 5 (scrubbed prime)
Runs P2: 3 (scrubbed prime), 5 (new option), 5 (scrubbed option), 9 (new prime), 9 (new option)
“This morning was good but for reasons we will look at tonight, the afternoon session was a bit difficult in the car. So I am hoping we can establish what was happening and use third practice to make sure I am well prepared for qualifying.”
