Maximum track time most important for Williams
With their last Toyota powered race of the season and Nico Rosberg's certain departure, Williams have a lot on their plate and are simply focusing on ending the last race of the season on a high. Although Rosberg had a tough time this morning, as he ended the first and second session in 13th and 9th. Kazuki Nakajima did't fair any better, ending in 14th then 12th.
Rod Nelson, Chief Operations Engineer
“As with any new circuit, it is very important to get out for maximum track time. The circuit is very professional and immaculately presented, however, being near the desert, it is sandy which possibly coloured the times we saw today. Looking at our tyre tests, we have plenty to think about overnight. It will be interesting to see what condition the track starts in tomorrow as it certainly improved significantly over the course of today.”
"I enjoyed driving the track for the first time today. It was dirty to begin with and then of course in the second session we were interested in the artificial lighting conditions in the dark and the effect on the tyres of the temperature dropping. Visibility-wise it was fine in the second practice session and again, the temperature change didn’t seem to have too big an effect on us. The more unknown element is the choice of tyre and it is hard to say which is better. In terms of set-up, we have definitely found a direction especially on the mechanical side. All in all, a good day which has given me confidence that we can score some points here this weekend."
Kazuki Nakajima“It was an interesting day, running P1 in the daylight and P2 in the evening. The track has improved a lot and we have spent a useful day finding a set-up direction. The tyre selection is quite tricky, which will be the key factor we will look at tomorrow.”
