Fri: STR, Force India, Williams

Editor

Another solid display from Toro Rosso's rookies in Friday practice while the upgraded Force India car showed good pace.

Toro Rosso
Max Verstappen: "We can be happy with today, especially if we consider that this was my first time driving an F1 car at such a difficult track as Silverstone. I’m satisfied with our pace and how the day went. Of course, we still have some work to do tonight on the set-up, but in general it was a good start to the weekend."

Carlos Sainz: "I think it’s been a decent first day for us here at Silverstone. We were able to complete today’s programme, so we can be happy and satisfied with that. Our pace isn’t too bad either, even though it’s only Friday so we need to be careful, but once again Q3 and the top 10 in the race should be our targets for the weekend. I love this track, so far I’d say it’s the nicest on the Formula 1 calendar and I’ve really enjoyed it a lot out there!"

Force India
Nico Hulkenberg: "It was a smooth Friday, with no dramas, and overall a pretty positive day. When you get a new package, that’s just what you need and we were able to complete good mileage. We found performance straight away: from the very first run I had a positive feeling and that's an encouraging sign. With new parts on the car, there is always a steep learning curve, so we will need to pore over the data tonight to find some more margins to optimise, but I am really optimistic. The red flag compromised our long runs so we didn't get as much data as we wanted there, but we still got enough to put ourselves in a good position."

Sergio Perez: "I think we can be happy with what has been a very positive start with the b-spec car. We got good mileage today so there is plenty to analyse and learn, but I feel we have definitely taken a step forward, which is what this team was expecting. It is always a complex task to learn about all the new parts in just a couple of sessions, but by the last run of the session, I was feeling comfortable, and that’s promising for the race. Qualifying will be interesting because there are many directions in which we can go and we'll need to choose the right one."

Williams
Felipe Massa: "It was not an easy day today as we found it difficult to find the right balance, especially on new tyres and with low fuel. With the high fuel though the car was good, consistent and where we expected it to be. The most important job we need to do now is concentrate on the new tyres for qualifying as our race pace isn't far off where we want it."

Valtteri Bottas: "Missing this first practice means I spent a bit of time at the start of FP2 getting used to the conditions and the track's grip. Looking at the lap times there is a bit of time to find, but we are improving the balance and have some further changes to make which will help. I struggled with the tyre temperatures over one lap so that will be tonight's focus for me."