Italian F1 Grand Prix 2011: Free Practice Report (VMM)

LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-26A-01
- P1 programme: 18 laps, 1m23.865s, 1st
- P2 programme: 21 laps, 1m24.046s (+0.036s), 2nd

“We spent today working on wing set-ups – it looked like some teams may have been running lower downforce than us - but once we used DRS we were looking pretty good.


“It’s interesting to see the different downforce levels - some teams are faster along the straights – but we’re faster through the middle sector.

“It’s always a compromise, but our long-run pace doesn’t look at all bad. We were pretty strong in both sessions and, on heavier fuel, I think we’re slightly stronger than the Ferraris.

“At the end of P2, the Red Bulls were looking pretty strong, but I’m pretty sure they weren’t on the same fuel load as us, which is encouraging. Jenson and I are both running the same wing set-up as each other, and I feel really happy with it.

“We’ll make some small changes overnight, but I think we can challenge the Red Bulls this weekend.

“The car is going really well, and we’re continuing to make small improvements, but it’s going to be a hard race.”

JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-26A-04
- P1 programme: 19 laps, 1m24.786s (+0.921s), 2nd
- P2 programme: 30 laps, 1m24.508s (+0.498s), 7th

“Some of the things we tried on my car throughout the day worked better than others, so we’re not really where I feel we ought to be yet, and we haven’t yet determined what downforce level to run.

“I don’t yet feel totally at one with the car, but we’re working on it. In fact, I think there’s going to be quite a lot of data to look over tonight before we choose a direction for the rest of the weekend.

“Otherwise, there’s a fresh surface on quite a lot of the circuit, so there’s quite a bit of sliding about, which is tough on the tyres, particularly over a long run.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team Principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Monza is always a very challenging circuit: obviously, you want to be as fast as you possibly can along the straights, but it’s actually a very delicate trade-off between drag and downforce through the corners.

“You don’t want to damage the tyres too much by running too little wing and allowing the car to slide excessively – but if you run too much, you risk struggling along the straights.To make it even harder, we need to further balance the set-up for an end-of-straight speed with and without DRS, and, furthermore, to optimise the car for more extensive use of DRS during qualifying.

“Consequently, today was very much about analysing our downforce levels to ensure that both Lewis and Jenson felt comfortable with the car, and that our engineers were happy with our pace.

“There’s still some more work to be done, but we’re encouraged by our initial pace today and feel confident that we can make good progress before tomorrow’s sessions. Lewis was particularly happy with his car’s balance today, Jenson perhaps a little less so.

“Nonetheless, we’re comfortable with both drivers’ pace and we’re looking forward to another encouragingly constructive day tomorrow.”




















* Official photos and report courtesy of VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES *

Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Italian F1 Grand Prix 2011: Free Practice Report (MGP)

The first two practice sessions for the final European race of the 2011 season, the Italian Grand Prix, took place today in warm sunshine at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.


• Michael and Nico completed a total of 113 laps (655 km) during the two practice sessions, more than two race distances
• Nico’s car had a KERS problem at the start of P2, which required the system to be changed and cost him some track time
• His programme was subsequently adapted to focus on race preparation and he did not complete any running on lower fuel
• The fastest time of the afternoon - 1:24.010 - was over a second slower than the fastest time from P2 in 2010 - 1:22.839

Michael Schumacher
“It’s always a special feeling to be here in Monza. It began yesterday when I did my lap of the circuit, saw the tifosi and enjoyed the particular atmosphere of this track. Then going out in the car today, it’s nice to feel what comes across from the fans - it reminds me of being at my home races. In terms of the character of the circuit, we are usually good on braking and traction, and there are not so many of the medium and high-speed corners in which we have not been so strong this year. It certainly looks good in terms of my position today, and I’m pleased with that; but we will only find out tomorrow what it is really worth.”

Nico Rosberg
“I didn’t have an ideal session this afternoon as we had some issues, particularly with the KERS problem at the start of the session. However by the end of the day, we have learned quite a lot for the race, and importantly I was able to get used to the track. Monza is a very different circuit from many others with the high speed sectors and low downforce corners and it takes a bit of time to find your rhythm here.”

Ross Brawn
“We had two very solid practice sessions today and achieved some good work. We had a small problem with Nico’s car this afternoon which required the KERS pack to be changed, and the team did a good job to get him out again so quickly. I’m pleased with our progress over the course of the day, and we’re looking forward to a good weekend at this very special race track.”

Norbert Haug
“A constructive first day for us here on this classical race track in the beautiful Parco di Monza. Nico had a KERS problem at the beginning of the second session which cost him 10 laps compared to Michael, who completed 39 laps this afternoon including race simulations and one option run on a lower fuel load. The lap times during our race simulation runs looked consistent. Tomorrow, and on Sunday, we can build on the decent base we have found today.”


































* Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS *

Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.