Williams Martini Racing F1 Chinese GP Friday practice 07.04.2017: Chinese Grand Prix Practice Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: Whilst it’s been a frustrating

Chinese Grand Prix Practice
 



Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: Whilst it’s been a frustrating day for everyone, it’s probably more so for other teams, because we were able to make the best of the opportunity.


We didn’t run in the wet in Barcelona during the pre-season tests so we had never driven the car in the wet. It was particularly good for Lance, who has never driven any Formula One car in the wet.



The small amount of running we did on the full wets in FP1, and the sets of laps on the intermediates were actually invaluable as we learnt how the car behaves in wet conditions and on wet tyres. The pace was encouraging for the car but also for Lance, who was able to drive with confidence in those conditions. I feel the worst for the fans!



We have some really enthusiastic fans in China and they’ve been denied the excitement of the cars running today. From our point of view, we have a lot of homework to do ahead of qualifying and the race, which we haven’t done today, but it’s the same for everyone so that’s the challenge we face together.
 


Felipe Massa: There’s not much to say today! We did a few laps on the wet tyres, which felt OK in the few laps I did, but it was not really enough to understand the tyres. We had a few laps with barely anyone on track.


Whilst safety is so important, it was a fairly uneventful Friday and I hope we can have nicer conditions on Saturday and Sunday for us on track, but also for the fans so they get to see the spectacle of the race!
 



Lance Stroll: You can’t change the weather, it is what it is, and it was such a shame for the fans that they didn’t get to see us on track. It’s obviously not ideal, as for me it was the first time here and the first time in a Formula One car in the wet, so I would have liked to have run a bit more today.


The conditions were not fully wet, so I was on intermediates and, as the track was drying, it was even becoming a bit too dry for them. I only did seven laps, so there is still a lot to do. I hope there are a lot more laps to do before qualifying, as I have a lot more to learn. I am now just going to focus on tomorrow and make the best of it.
 





Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai 5.451kms / 3.387 miles
     FP1    FP2
Weather    Wet and foggy     Wet and foggy

Air & Track Temperatures    13.5-13.8°C / 15.4-15.9°C    N/A
F Massa, FW40-03    1:52.086 (2nd)    -
L Stroll, FW40-02    1:52.507 (3rd)    -
Quickest Time    M. Verstappen (1:50.491)    -



 
 
SOPHIE OGG - photo Williams