Friday: Significant tire wear for Force India drivers

Adrian Sutil – 12th (Free Practice 2)

«Suzuka is always a circuit I enjoy, and I appreciated being able to drive the car this afternoon. We followed our usual program: a few short stints, long runs, and we tested both types of tires. What we found is that both types of tires degrade quite quickly, especially when it’s hot like today. I had a bit of understeer at the beginning of the session, so we worked on improving that. We managed to make progress in the end, but there is still work to be done tonight to find a better balance.»

Paul di Resta – 14th and 15th

I made my debut at Suzuka today, so the first session was mainly about getting used to the track to find a good rhythm. I knew it was a technical lap and I can still find time in many corners, especially in the first sector. There was quite a bit of wind today, even more so this afternoon, which affected the car a lot. Our two cars had different programs, and it seems that the choice made on Adrian’s car is the best for the rest of the weekend. So, I spent a lot of time fighting with the rear of the car, and it was due to significant tire wear – both for the soft and medium compounds.

Nico Hülkenberg – 12th (Free Practice 1)

« It was a positive session for me. We achieved everything we wanted to do, which gave us data to compare the tires, and I was also able to test new brake materials. But as always in the first session, the track was quite dirty, and the car was not easy to drive because we didn’t yet have a good balance, which is important to be fast on a very high-speed circuit like this one. Regarding the tires, there is significant wear on the mediums, but I think it will improve as the track gets rubbered in. But in any case, I think both sessions showed that the race is not going to be easy with the tires. »