Zoom Good pace again from the STR3 package

A hydraulic problem limited Sebastian Vettel to just 23 laps this afternoon at Fuji Speedway, but despite this the Italian Grand Prix winner managed the eighth fastest time with a best lap of 1:18.761s. Team-mate Sebastien Bourdais was three-tenths slower on his first visit to Fuji and set the 14th best time.

Sebastian Vettel
“Last year we ran mainly in the wet, so it was good to have a dry day today. I think this is one of the most difficult circuits when it comes down to setting up the car. It is tricky because of the mix of a long straight, some high speed corners and then some difficult low speed winding corners. Unfortunately, this afternoon, we had a hydraulic problem which meant I didn’t manage to do the long runs I wanted. But the car seems well balanced, which I was able to check at the very end of the session after the boys had worked very hard to get me out on track before the flag."

"I think we should be fine for qualifying, but for race set up I would have preferred more time to do some long runs. Tyre wise I think we are sorted though.”

Sebastien Bourdais
“It’s my first time at this track and also my first visit to Japan. The track is not the most exciting but it’s nicely done with a good bump-free surface and it’s a great facility. It’s not a difficult to track to learn as there only eight real corners. But after that, it can become quite tricky, because at the final complex, if you are too aggressive on the entry you pay the price on the exit, losing time for the straight, so you have to be careful not to be your own worst enemy. So, it’s not easy setting up the car as you want minimum downforce for the long straight and you want quite a bit of downforce for the complex and the two quick corners, which requires a compromise."

"I think we have got it about right so far and in terms of tyres, there seems to be quite high degradation, which is normal for a first day as the track began to pick up grip this afternoon.”

E.A. © CAPSIS International