Friday: Routine for Alonso, wind disrupts Räikkönen
Fernando Alonso was comfortable during both sessions but is currently refusing to aim for an ambitious podium at the F1 GP. On the other hand, setup issues disrupted Kimi Räikkönen, possibly due to the strong wind gusts on the circuit.
Fernando Alonso (No. 14) – 3rd and 3rd
Competitive this Friday, Fernando Alonso didn’t let any particular optimism show: This Friday was similar to many others and we followed our program, testing some parts and working on the settings in the morning, while assessing the tire temperatures in the afternoon. At the moment, I can say that it’s difficult to get the hard tires to the right temperature.
In case of rain during qualifications tomorrow, which is forecast by the weather, the Spaniard expects to see Ferrari taking advantage of this good Friday more during the race than in qualifications: « Now, as always, we must analyze everything to understand which parts to use tomorrow, although as expected, it should rain. In reality, the data we collected today will be more useful for the race. Here, there is always a strong wind that helps us in some corners but hinders us in others: but it’s the same for everyone. Now, all we can do is wait and see what happens. »
Kimi Räikkönen (No.7) – 5th and 9th
The fortune was not quite the same for Kimi Räikkönen. The Finn had setup problems between the two sessions: « This morning, during the first session, everything went reasonably well. We followed the usual program, with the analysis of the car’s behavior on hard tires, and we just had some problems with traction in certain parts of the circuit, as well as a bit of understeer in high-speed corners. During the second session, we made some small changes that didn’t work, and the car’s behavior was no longer the same, so we reverted to the morning setup, but unfortunately, we experienced the same problems. »
The Scuderia driver strongly suspects that the gusts at Silverstone altered the overall balance of his car: « Now, we need to find out what happened between the two sessions, even if I think it is partly due to track conditions and the very strong wind gusts today. I am certain that studying the data will provide us with the information we need to be as prepared as possible for tomorrow. »
