2007 Turkish Grand Prix Free Practice Report
Adrian Sutil (car 20, F8-VII/01):
FP1: 21st 1:31.445 (31 laps)
FP2: 21st 1:31.153 (32 laps)
Sakon Yamamoto (car 21, F8-VII/02):
FP1: 22nd 1:32.270 (35 laps)
FP2: 22nd 1:31.175 (32 laps)
Weather: Highs of 35 C ambient, 48 C track in the second
session, 30 C ambient, 41 C track in the first
24 August 2007 - The Turkish Grand Prix kicked off today
with two free practice sessions at the Istanbul Park Circuit
on the outskirts of the vibrant city of Istanbul. The Etihad
Aldar Spyker Formula One Team had a trouble-free day to complete
its programme of fine-tuning set-up, tyre comparison and acclimatising
to the dirty, low-grip circuit.
Adrian Sutil and Sakon Yamamoto covered nearly 700km over
the day and were particularly closely matched in the second
session, which was shortened by half an hour when a drain
cover came loose.
Work will continue overnight to optimise the balance of the
F8-VII ready for a final one hour practice and Qualifying
tomorrow.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
'Today was a fairly standard Friday practice for us. At first
the track was very dirty so we tried to do some longer runs
and wait for conditions to improve. Over these runs we checked
temperatures and then did some set-up work. The car balance
was not quite right as we had a lot of understeer and the
tyres are very hard and difficult to use, but we will check
the data tonight and do all the normal things to set it up
for tomorrow. We should be alright as normally we manage to
get a good set-up for the race and I think we should be able
to do it here too.'
Sakon Yamamoto (car 21)
'Today I am very happy as I got used to the different type
of tyre and got more familiar with the car. We also did some
long runs with a heavy fuel load, which hopefully is good
for the race as I could get a feeling of how the heavier car
behaved. We finished our whole programme and I am very satisfied
but we will keep working for tomorrow.'
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer
'A reasonably productive and useful day, working through the
programme with no real issues. We had a difficult first session
with the track conditions and low grip on the harder tyre,
but both drivers were able to complete their programmes including
some long runs. A particularly impressive session from Sakon
in the afternoon as in only his second time in the car he
matched the pace of his team-mate.'
|
