Fri: Lotus, STR, Sauber, Manor

Editor

Max Verstappen went from hero to zero as he crashed out early in FP2 while Romain Grosjean also had issues with his E23.

Lotus
Pastor Maldonado: “It wasn’t a bad day for us and I like the track. The surface was pretty slippery when wet but it was improving rapidly when we got some dry runs in. We had some work to do on balance and braking but the car felt pretty good. I’m looking forward to see how much progress we can make with the car then getting out and pushing hard in qualifying.”

Romain Grosjean: “It was really frustrating to have a gearbox issue in the middle of my single session today. The circuit is certainly interesting and very well put together and I was enjoying learning it and pushing harder. I’m sure we can get the gearbox sorted and rack-up some more laps ahead of qualifying.”

Toro Rosso
Carlos Sainz: “It’s been a bit of a tricky first day here in Mexico, the track was very slippery. In the morning we struggled a bit with brake temperatures, which didn’t allow me to push as much as I wanted in FP1. The good news is that it was better during this afternoon’s FP2 and I was therefore able to learn the track, step by step. We have a big of margin of improvement in terms of the car balance, as I wasn’t very comfortable today compared to the rest of the season. There’s a bit of homework to do tonight and it’s definitely going to be a challenging weekend but I’m looking forward to the rest of it.”

Max Verstappen: “It was a new experience for everyone today, as this is the first time we drive here, so at the start the conditions were quite tricky, but I think we built it up in a good way and had a very good FP1. To end the session in P1 is nice of course, and it means that the car is working well and I enjoy driving here. Unfortunately, during my first push-lap in FP2 I suddenly lost the rear and crashed in the last corner – I think it’s maybe just a combination of cold tyres and the track still being a bit damp. I think I overestimated the grip… It’s a bit of a shame that there isn’t more of a run-off at that corner! Tonight we have time to focus on all the data from Carlos’ FP2 to prepare ourselves for tomorrow.”

Sauber
Felipe Nasr: “Today it was all about learning the new circuit and getting used to it. As the grip level is quite low, we made some adjustments to the car in order to adapt to the track conditions. It is normal that the tarmac is very slippery on new circuits. I struggled mainly on the medium tyres to get them to work. It was a bit better on the soft compound, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have to analyse the data and then make the right changes on the car.”

Marcus Ericsson: “It was a difficult day for me. It is a challenge to get the tyres to work on this new track due to the low grip level. We tried different set-ups on the car which do not seem to have worked properly yet. We have to look into the data, so that we can improve for the rest of the weekend.”

Manor
Alexander Rossi: “It was a good day for me. In FP1 I got to grips quite quickly with what is a new and exciting circuit. We had a small electrical problem this afternoon, but we got that fixed and I was able to get some really good laps in. I’m feeling pretty comfortable with the car, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

Will Stevens: “It’s been a bit of a frustrating day for me. I lost quite a bit of time in FP1 due to a sensor problem. Things were a little better this afternoon, although I’m still struggling for grip, so there’s a lot of work to do tonight to get on top of that in order for us to have a better day tomorrow.”