Still “a lot of things to improve” at Barcelona according to Gasly

The Catalan heat is causing some headaches for the stables. In Barcelona, ​​with temperatures exceeding 30°C, the tires suffer and the cars are difficult to adjust. This is for example the case with Alpha Tauri. Pierre Gasly (8th in FP1, 11th in FP2) admitted that the conditions did not favor the car's behavior. “Today was not our best Friday, it was extremely difficult. We can't get the car where we want it, the conditions aren't helping and it's difficult to manage, but it's the same for everyone. »

Victims of early and rapid wear of the tires, Franz Tost's men did not manage to find the solution on Friday and must still work on their long stints in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix. “It won't be an easy race for anyone, the car has never liked these super hot temperatures, so we will have to analyze everything tonight and figure out what is best for us to get the most out of it” admitted the Norman pilot.

Jonathan Eddolls, chief race engineer at AlphaTauri, revealed the difficulties his team faced on Friday. “The conditions were significantly different from those of the winter tests, with track temperatures close to 50°C. This had a significant impact on tire performance, grip, balance, handling. » According to Eddolls, “no pilot was really satisfied” of their set-up after the second practice session. The Faenza team still has to work while Sunday is forecast to be the hottest day of the weekend.

Q3 objective for Gasly and Tsunoda

The last free practice session on Saturday promises to be still very studious, even if the objective of qualifying for Q3 cannot be put aside. “There are a lot of things we need to improve on tonight (Friday). After FP3 tomorrow (Saturday), we will be able to see what is achievable for us in qualifying. We're not too far from the top 10, so we just have to focus on ourselves and hopefully we'll be in Q3. » according to Pierre Gasly.

Yuki tsunoda (10th in EL1, 14th in EL2) showed his frustration at the end of the first day of the weekend. “I'm not happy with the car at the moment” declared the Japanese, who is also aiming for a place in the top ten on the grid. “We have a lot of work to do for tomorrow (Saturday) if we aim for Q3 in qualifying, but I think it's possible, we still have another practice session to make changes to the car and get the best part of this package. » Like many teams, the last free practice session on Saturday afternoon (from 13:00 p.m.) should be very busy for AlphaTauri.

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