Objectives: Aero evaluations, set-up work and tyre testing.
Mike Coughlan, Technical Director: We were running different parts across the two cars this morning to try to improve our overall performance. We were happy with what we saw with Pastor’s car, but we made some changes this afternoon which didn’t work as we wanted, so we will be comparing the data from this morning to bring back the performance. Valtteri completed his planned programme today. He was learning the track at the start of FP1, but the tyres were degrading quickly so he wasn’t able to improve towards the end of the session. We need to improve our tyre management over the long runs for better consistency in the race, but we have lots of data to analyse over tonight and tomorrow.
Pastor Maldonado: This is one of my favourite circuits on the Formula One calendar. It’s always great to drive here. The practice session today was productive and we feel we have made some progress. The set-up in the two sessions was slightly different and it felt like things were slightly better in FP1. We will analyse everything tonight and tomorrow and choose the best configuration for the weekend ahead.
Valtteri Bottas: The track here in Monaco is very challenging, but brilliant to drive. I was learning more and more with every lap and I feel like I’m really getting up to speed in my first time driving here. We have a lot of data from today that we will look at in order to find the correct balance for the car; hopefully we can look at everything and make a step forward for Saturday’s qualifying session.
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