Mercedes happy with constistancy in both sessions
Despite an early problem with the clutch for Michael Schumacher, the Mercedes squad had a very productive day as each driver nearly completed a race distance each. Yet they did noticed that rear tyre was dangerously high, so the team will be on the cautious side as they prepare for FP3 and qualification.
Michael Schumacher "Our work today was reasonably good, with obviously a lot of data to be confirmed now in our technical briefings before qualifying. The second session initially started with an issue with the clutch but it turned out very ok. Of course we are aware that it will be a challenge for everybody, especially to keep the rear tyres alive but this is as expected. Let's see what we can do tomorrow."
Nico Rosberg "I'm happy with today's practice sessions, and we were able to learn a lot on high and low fuel levels. Although it's cooler today, the conditions are still really hot out there, but I believe that we understand the tyre work on the rears a bit better now. It was also difficult to avoid locking the front tyres in the braking zones. I'm looking forward to the next two days and it should be an exciting race on Sunday."
Ross Brawn "A fairly standard Friday programme for us today. We ran the medium tyres this morning to start our set up programme and get an initial understanding of the tyre management parameters, then used both compounds this afternoon over longer runs. The day ran smoothly and we completed our full programme. Michael and Nico are reasonably happy with the car's performance so far, so we will keep working hard and see what the weekend brings."
Norbert Haug "A positive first day for us. Nico posted fastest time on the prime tyre but did not get a clear lap without yellow flags on the options, following an accident on the track. Michael's and Nico's long runs under race conditions looked consistent on both types of tyres, so we have a solid baseline for another step tomorrow."
