Fri: Williams, STR, Sauber, Lotus

There were top ten times in Friday's practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix for both Williams drivers, Max Verstappen and Marcus Ericsson…

Williams:
Valtteri Bottas: "The changes we have made to my driving position have been positive and it was nice to be able to drive without any pain. I am confident for the rest of the weekend that I won’t be troubled by my back. The track in the morning was really dirty with a lot of dust which will change throughout the weekend and the second session was very hot. The short runs were good but the car had some damage to a rear brake duct in the long runs so it is hard to give any accurate feedback."

Felipe Massa: "It has been quite a difficult day. The tyres have suffered a lot in the conditions and the degradation is high, but it is the same for everyone. The aim is to close the gap to the people in front. There is time for this but we will study the data carefully to make sure we can get the best out of the car."

Toro Rosso:
Max Verstappen: "It was a good start to the weekend, as I used this morning’s FP1 to learn the track and I took it easy, as this is my first time here racing at this circuit. It’s not easy to manage the tyres here because it’s quite humid, but it was a clean first morning out on track. For this afternoon’s FP2 we made some changes and I was happy with the balance of the car. There’s still some room to improve, but the day went quite well overall."

Carlos Sainz Jr: "I think it was a positive FP1 this morning. The car was well-balanced and quick straight away. During this afternoon’s session we had a bit more of a problem, especially with traffic management, and when I went to do my Option run I wasn’t able to put a lap together as I didn’t find any clear space. But we’ve seen that with some clean running like the other car had, we managed to do a good lap time, so I’m calm and positive about where we are."

Sauber:
Marcus Ericsson: "In the morning we had a good start to the weekend. We had promising runs with consistent lap times, and we also did some set-up work which was satisfying. During the second free practice we continued to build on what we have learned in the morning, so it was another decent session. We were a bit unlucky when I went on track with the medium tyres, because during my preparation lap the red flag came out. I had to box, so I lost the peak grip of this set of tyres. Nevertheless, I think the performance was good and the long-runs were quite positive. I also feel comfortable in the car. The high temperatures will be a challenge for everyone on Sunday, which is going to be difficult with regard to tyre management."

Felipe Nasr: "After missing out on the first free practice, I had to catch up quickly in the afternoon. As I know the track well, that was not an issue. It was not an ideal practice session as we were struggling with the rear tyres due to the very high temperatures. This will give us plenty of work overnight. We need to understand how to handle this issue and put everything together for tomorrow."

Lotus:
Pastor Maldonado: "The car feels quite a bit different with the tyre allocation here and the different parts we’ve been trying and evaluating. Certainly, I felt happier in the afternoon and on the long run. We saw good pace from Romain in the morning and I was happy with the long run performance so we have some work ahead of us to piece the elements together to get the car where we want it for tomorrow."

Romain Grosjean: "It was quite a limited day for me in terms of running. We looked quick out of the box in the morning but the afternoon session was way too short because of an issue we’re investigating. It’s quite a different circuit here compared to Australia and the tyres and weather conditions are not the same either so we have quite a bit of work to do in FP3 before we head into qualifying. It’s been a frustrating day for me today, but I’m sure we’ll bounce back tomorrow."