FP1 at the back of the field
Free practice at the Japanese Grand Prix wasn’t easy for many drivers and teams, mainly due to the multiple interruptions in FP2, which saw no fewer than four red flags. The constant stoppages prevented teams from carrying out a consistent program, starting with Haas, who ended up at the bottom of the timesheets in FP1 with Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon in 18th and 19th place respectively.
Progress with the new floor
The two drivers from the American team, which this weekend is running a special livery on the VF-25, finished 14th and 15th in FP2, this time with Ocon ahead of his young teammate, who is also making his debut at the Suzuka circuit: “FP2 was tough, I didn’t get many laps in with all the interruptions,” Ollie Bearman commented. “The track is tricky with this wind, so it wasn’t surprising that a lot happened. I felt quite good, so I’m disappointed not to have put together a proper lap and shown what we could do. I had a good feeling in the afternoon, while the morning was a bit tougher, but we made some changes and we’re making small steps forward. The new floor felt fine—we haven’t fully analyzed it yet, we’ll need to go over it tonight to make sure everything’s okay, but so far there’s nothing unexpected, which is a good sign.” – the Ferrari junior added.
Esteban Ocon agrees
A mix of positive steps and difficulties—this was also highlighted by Esteban Ocon at the end of the sessions, as he looks ahead to FP3 and qualifying tomorrow, scheduled for 4:30 and 8:00 AM Italian time respectively: “It was a tough session; we had a lot of red flags so we couldn’t complete the run plan we had in mind. It’s more difficult than China at the moment—there are things we need to work on and we’ve tested them on both cars. We need to dig deep overnight and pick what’s best for us—it’s up to us to find more performance. I think we’ve made progress with the floor and we’re heading in the right direction.”
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