Friday: The heat did not make things easy for Marussia
The Marussia drivers struggled to find the right grip in the heat of Sakhir but remain convinced they have collected the necessary data to find solutions for the remainder of the weekend. Jules Bianchi, replaced by Rodolfo Gonzalez during Free Practice 1, believes he can still improve once he has spent more time on the track.
Max Chilton – 21st and 20th:
I am happy to have been able to drive so much during the two sessions today. This is especially important with the harsh conditions we are facing, which obviously have a huge impact on how the car behaves here. The heat makes it difficult to find the right grip.
We tried several things and we collected a lot of data: all this will require our attention tonight but I am sure that we can reach some conclusions that will allow us to improve things for tomorrow.
Jules Bianchi – 21st [in Free Practice 2]:
« It was not an easy thing to get into the rhythm this afternoon. Seeing and hearing the challenges Max and Rodolfo faced this morning, it was clear that Free Practice 2 would not be a walk in the park either.
The heat plays an important role in how the car has performed, but I think that, on my side, we were limited by time to improve these issues in the span of an afternoon. Given that, I am not unhappy with my time as I was making progress and I am convinced that, overnight, we will have found a good solution for tomorrow.
Rodolfo Gonzalez – 22nd [in Free Practice 1]:
« Although my first experience driving the MR02 was rather brief, it was a good start for my first test session before several others this year. In my schedule, I was able to do different things before the gearbox problem. I felt comfortable with the car and I could see that Max and Jules were going to have a challenging day with the heat and track conditions.
I look forward to making a greater contribution to the team’s performance during a Grand Prix, and it will definitely be better next time.
