Friday: Button appreciates, Pérez learns respect
Nearly cloudless day for Jenson Button, who never tires of driving on this track he particularly loves. Sergio Pérez's program was cut short following his exit during free practice 2, and the Mexican lost valuable track time. The two McLaren drivers also wished to extend their condolences to the family of Maria de Villota.
Jenson Button – 11th and 9th:
« It’s great to drive on this track. Throughout the day, we’ve seen many drivers make mistakes, but that’s the nature of this place; it’s unforgiving. Obviously, we don’t like to see accidents like Checo’s, but you appreciate having to respect this course.
It was a relatively good Friday. We found a good balance on the hard tires but we still need to work with the mediums because we are not gaining enough time compared to the hards. In any case, both compounds work relatively well. I think it will be cooler tomorrow, so we will need to be cautious in the direction we take with the settings.
The news of Maria de Villota’s death is tragic. She had been through so many trials, more than anyone could in a lifetime. It is a real shock for the entire F1 family and the world of motorsports. My thoughts are with her family.
Sergio Pérez – 9th and 16th:
My accident during Free Practice 2 was my fault. I was positioning the car to enter Spoon, put my right rear wheel on the grass, and lost control of the rear. At the speed I was going and since there aren’t many run-offs, I went into the wall. The impact was quite hard, but fortunately, I’m okay. The accident means we didn’t have all the track time we needed with a full tank of fuel. But we can use some data collected by Jenson, and our goal for tomorrow is to get into Q3.
I heard the bad news about Maria de Villota at the end of the session. It’s really sad to learn this kind of news about someone you know. My thoughts obviously go out to her family during this difficult time.
