Friday: Räikkönen and D’Ambrosio do the work at Lotus
On this very particular Friday after the suspension of Romain Grosjean, Kimi Räikkönen and Jérôme D'Ambrosio, the Franco-Swiss replacement, drove diligently, a way to explore different options for the Finn and to quickly accumulate experience behind the wheel of the E20 for the Belgian.
Kimi Räikkönen – 7th and 6th:
« It was a good day. We tried different things without encountering any issues and I am happy with the car. My pace on the long stints wasn’t bad and I wasn’t far from the best time of the day. There aren’t many corners here, but driving with little downforce means I’m lacking grip when braking and in the chicanes. It’s not easy to make the perfect lap here, but maybe we can improve tomorrow. We’ll see. »
Jérôme D’Ambrosio – 15th and 12th:
Overall, it went well and it’s a pleasure to be back behind the wheel. Taking over on short notice is not an easy task. There are many things to absorb and with the low grip on this circuit, finding the limit is complicated. But we did a lot of work and I was able to complete many laps, which is a good start. It’s hard to say where I stand at this moment. But I have progressed steadily from one session to the next and my goal is to reach other levels. We’ll see from here. So far, so good.
