Friday: No Miracle for HRT in Singapore
The three HRT team drivers were able to take the wheel today during the two practice sessions in Singapore. Narain Karthikeyan replaced Vitantonio Liuzzi during the first session. And the day was not extraordinary, as the three men occupied the last two places each time.
Daniel Ricciardo – 23rd and 23rd
I knew before this Grand Prix that it would be a huge challenge and it didn’t discourage me, but it is really hot and the air doesn’t circulate on the track; it’s like a sauna! I really enjoyed it nonetheless because the circuit is good: narrow and challenging. You almost can’t blink. Today was a positive day but we are still a bit behind our rivals. We have to try to close the gap for tomorrow’s qualifying session. Racing at night is not very different in terms of visibility, but it’s really stunning to see the reflections on the cars. I really enjoyed racing at night for the first time.
Vitantonio Liuzzi – 24th (free practice 2)
I’m quite happy with the way the session went. We made some adjustments in terms of settings; there was a bit too much understeer, and we also modified the balance. We always encountered traffic when we put on the soft or super soft tires, so we couldn’t achieve better times, but I’m confident for the rest of the weekend. With five grid penalties, there’s not much to expect for tomorrow, so we need to focus on Sunday’s race.
Narain Karthikeyan – 24th (free practice 1)
It was fantastic to be back in the car today. I dusted off all the cobwebs after two and a half months without driving. It was a good session even though driving on a new track wasn’t ideal for me. But I’m happy with how the testing went, especially since I was faster than Daniel before the end. In the last lap, I had a good lead, but I hit traffic and couldn’t do better. It’s a shame the session was shortened because we couldn’t do many laps, and with the red flags, I didn’t manage to find a good rhythm. But I was consistent nonetheless, and that’s positive.
