Yuki Tsunoda finished just outside the top 10 this Friday in Abu Dhabi, and the RB F1 driver was not unhappy with his only practice session, as he handed over the wheel to Ayumu Iwasa in FP1.
“It wasn't bad today. It was planned for me to miss FP1, and if I take that into account, it went well. There are things to work on, but I felt fast compared to other years and the differences are very small. Tsunoda said.
“Honestly, we don't have any developments, we've tried things but that's for next year, and it probably won't be useful here. But the package is more comfortable here than at Qatar is starting better, but with the small gaps, anything can happen and we want to be comfortable until Q3 if possible.”
“It's okay, it's not easy on the tires apparently, a lot of things could have been better on the settings and the balance, but I spent some time in the dirty air and it's hard to see how the balance is changing, but what we have to do for FP3 and the race is clear.”
Liam Lawson was just behind his teammate at the end of testing and he is satisfied with the behavior of his VCARB 01, even if he still wants to make progress against his team's direct rivals: “We think that's the case, we still have one free session before qualifying. We're in a good situation, we're progressing, like everyone else.”
“Compared to last week, we are in a better position. But at the same time, we are not where we would like. Haas with Nico [Hülkenberg] was third in the session! We need to close the gap but it’s a good start.”
-The New Zealander is not surprised to see the Haas so fast: “Honestly no, because they have been fast recently. In Qatar he kept a Red Bull behind him in the race and they were solid. Maybe the advantage earlier in the season is no longer there and it will be a difficult weekend.”
Ayumu Iwasa (photo below) made his second FP1 of the season after Suzuka, and he was happy to be back behind the wheel of an F1 car: “It was another incredible day for me. I really enjoyed it and had a good feeling with the car, more than in my previous experiences behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car.”
“I hope the team was able to get some good data from the testing we did during the session. It was a bit difficult to increase the pace with all the elements we had to test, but I was able to going for a lap with new tires towards the end Overall, I'm happy with how everything went and it was a useful experience for my future.”
