10/10/2014
NEWS STORY
Marcus Ericsson: "This morning's FP1 was all about learning the track and preparing for the rest of the weekend. We didn't go out straight away as we waited for the track conditions to improve but once we were out it was not too bad; apart from a small energy management problem it was a useful session. Then in FP2 we completed plenty of laps and I felt comfortable, it was a good session. We fined-tuned the car a bit more to suit the track and my driving style and I think we did a decent job and gathered good information for the rest of the weekend.
"When I saw the layout of this new circuit I thought most of the corners were going to be slow ones but, to be honest, now that I've driven it I can say that it's better than I expected - these 90° corners are actually medium-speed corners and that makes it quite good, it's a fun track to drive and I look forward to driving here the rest of the weekend.
"Overall it's been a good day out on track, but of course we're not forgetting about Jules, all our thoughts and prayers continue to be with him, his family and Marussia."
Kamui Kobayashi: "Missing FP1 wasn't the ideal way to start the weekend here in Sochi, as this is a new track and it's always best to get as much mileage as possible, but I think it was a smooth start for me and we were able to gather plenty of valuable data that we will analyse tonight. It was also good to finally drive here; the Sochi Autodrom layout is interesting, I like it. It has some high-speed sections and it's quite flat, I enjoy driving here."
Roberto Merhi: "It was a positive morning and I enjoyed driving here in Sochi for the first time. We were late out as we waited for the track conditions to improve. My first run was okay, we used it to check the track out and understand the behaviour of the car - I have to say that I felt comfortable from the very start. We made some adjustments before our second run and they certainly improved the car for our second run. We can be happy, our final result is very positive. I'm feeling more comfortable in the car each time and I'm satisfied with my third practice session with the team."
Cedrik Staudohar, Renault Sport F1 track support leader: "There were no big issues today and we were able to work pretty smoothly across both sessions, particularly FP2. Like at every new circuit we visit the drivers need to learn the track while the team assesses whether their pre-event simulations are accurate. We were almost on target from the start but did have to slightly adjust our energy management scenarios. They were ironed out in the morning, which meant we could focus on other things this afternoon. Now we'll work towards optimising everything in order to extract the maximum from the Power Unit tomorrow."
Caterham F1 Team is pleased to confirm that Ian Phillips has been appointed as Commercial Director. He officially joined the team six weeks ago, but the Russian Grand Prix here in Sochi marks his track comeback.
Check out our Friday gallery, here.