Flywheel sensor and gearbox problem for Bourdais
Fresh from being announced as Red Bull's second driver for the 2009 season, Sebastian Vettel started his home Grand Prix weekend today at Hockenheim. The German had a trouble-free day while colleague Sebastien Bourdais had a problem with a flywheel sensor and his gearbox.
Sebastian Vettel (STR3-03)
"It's much cooler than last week and we are not seeing the hot and sunny side of Germany! I think the rain between the test and this weekend means the track surface has much less grip. The track needs to get rubbered-in again. This afternoon, the wind was quite tricky too and you could lose the car because of that. Overall, I think we can be quite happy with the set-up and the balance we found, which was based on the data from last week, while today we did a few more tests to figure out what to do for tomorrow and for the race."
First Practice Session
Best lap 1.16.618, pos. 7th, 25 laps
Second Practice Session
Best lap 1.16.422, pos.11th, 41 laps
Sébastien Bourdais (STR3-01)
"I did not get to do too many laps today, because in the morning I had a problem with a flywheel sensor and then this afternoon it was the gearbox. But the guys did a great job to get me out before the end of the session. The track is very different to the way it was at last week's test. So we had to make some changes to the set-up. The car's not bad and I think we know the way to go to improve."
First Practice Session
Best lap 1.21.506, pos. 20th, 16 laps
Second Practice Session
Best lap 1.16.860, pos. 18th, 14 laps